Robert Wingo(I)
- Set Decorator
- Art Department
- Art Director
- Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys
- 6 nominations total
Set Decorator
Art Department
Art Director
- TriviaRobert "Rob" Wingo (born August 19, 1949) was hired by Bill DeCinces, in 1979, as a set decorator, Universal MCA Film and Television Studio. Rob's set decorating career centered primarily with the Universal Television Division, assigned by Bill DeCinces to various television productions. When the CBS TV "Murder, She Wrote" pilot was filmed in the 1984 summer, Rob and Thomas Bugenhagen shared the set decorator credit, working with the TV pilot art department staff, Thomas Meleck (Production Designer), and Mary Ann Biddle (Art Director). The pilot filmed distant location exteriors and some interiors in Mendocino, Northern California; utilizing the local exterior Ranger's Park office building, the Mendocino Hotel-Lodge exteriors and grounds. the hotel's interior lobby renamed the "Hill House" for the series; the Victorian (stand-in for Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove) house exterior street, yard and house, which was occupied and used by a local doctor as his office. The "green's crew" added flats of flowers to the garden plantings around the house and yard for Angela Lansbury's establishing house shots and for her scenes performed in front of the house's yard. Other Mendocino shop and street exteriors were initially filmed for the series establishing shots, which required Rob and Tom's swing gang crew to "decorate" the Mendocino township as Cabot Cove. Returning to Universal Studios, the Sheriff's office; Jessica Fletcher's Victorian interiors, including the Kitchen, dining room, entrance hall with matching (Mendocino Victorian) front porch and doors, living room; Seth Haslet's doctor's office interiors, and exterior porch; a hotel ballroom set had been built on stage 29. After the pilot episode was filmed, production continued with Leslie Parsons replacing Thomas Meleck as Production Designer, and Rob, continuing his show assignment of decorating the series, becoming Rob's permanent staff assignment. Universal's Production Services Art Department, and every television production being filmed on the lot, had two unique art department (assigned) teams alternating, with a seven to nine day prep period (scouting with each show's new director), followed by a seven to nine day filming schedule, as required by the script's actor schedule and shooting board. Rob and Leslie as the permanent art department team, alternated with another assigned staff art director/set decorator team rotating each filmed episode. After the 1990-1991 - 7th season (and year), the original producing team Peter Fischer and Robert O'Neill quit the series over CBS's order to reduce guest star salaries. Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw (husband/agent) became Excutive Producers for the 1991-1992 (8th) season. Rob was replaced with Fred Winston for the 8th season. Winston was replaced at the end of the 8th season with set decorators Lee Poll and Bill Gregory (9-12 seasons/1992-1996). Rob decorated several television MOW and series projects after departing his "Murder, She Wrote" assignment. Rob Wingo (age 46) died March 30, 1996.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content