Raymond Cusick
Biography
Raymond Patrick Cusick (28 April 1928 – 21 February 2013) was an English designer for the BBC. He is best known for designing the Daleks, for the science fiction television series Doctor Who. Cusick joined the BBC in 1960 as a staff designer and was responsible for the set design of many Doctor Who stories, creating not just futuristic settings but also historical sets and dioramas. Another BBC in-house designer, future filmmaker Ridley Scott, had been assigned to design the Daleks in 1963, but scheduling conflicts saw the job handed to Cusick. Cusick worked on other BBC television programmes including The Pallisers, The Duchess of Duke Street, On Giant's Shoulders, When the Boat Comes In, Rentaghost and Miss Marple. As Cusick was a salaried BBC employee at the time he designed the Daleks, he was not paid royalties. Given the large revenue generated by merchandise featuring Cusick's Dalek design, he felt that he should have been paid a royalty (as was script writer Terry Nation, who created the concept of the Daleks but did not design them). When Cusick left Doctor Who in 1966, unhappy with the lack of recognition he had received for his work on the series, the show's producer and head designer did arrange for the BBC to recognise his contribution with an ex-gratia payment of around £100. In the late 1970s, he was a designer for the James Burke BBC programme Connections.
Known For & Full Filmography12 Titles
Movie - 2006, 2h 15m • as Himself
The cast and crew's memories of the creation of the Daleks and the making of The Daleks.
Movie - 2006, 2h 15m • as Self
A feature on Doctor Who: The Beginning box set which tells the stories of the Doctor's time machine - the TARDIS.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Self
A look at the making of 'The Rescue' featuring members of the original cast and crew. Featured on the DVD "Doctor Who: The Rescue", available in the DVD Box Set "Doctor Who: The Rescue & The Romans"
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self (As Ray Cusick)
A look at the merchandising opportunities presented by the popularity of the Daleks.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Self
Actors, crew and historians look at both the reality and fantasy behind the story of The Romans. With actors William Russell, Kay Patrick, Barry Jackson, Anthony Andrews and Christopher Biggins, director Christopher Barry, designer Raymond Cusick, historian Dr Mark Bradley, writer James Moran, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and 1960s viewer Ian McLachlan. Narrated by John Bowe.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self (As Ray Cusick)
Since they first appeared on our television screens in 1963, the Daleks have been a source of enduring fascination for followers of Doctor Who. But just what was their appeal? With producer Verity Lambert, Dalek designer Raymond Cusick, director Richard Martin, actress Carole Ann Ford, writer Robert Shearman, designer Matthew Savage, model unit supervisor Mike Tucker and voice of the new series Daleks, Nicholas Briggs.
Movie - 2006, 2h 15m • as Self
Documents the making of the Doctor Who Serial, 'The Edge of Destruction'. It was released on the DVD of the serial and hence in The Beginning box set.
Movie - 1999, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A look at the various monsters that have appeared in Doctor Who.
Movie - 2009, 2h 15m • as Himself
Designer Raymond Cusick recalls his work on The Keys of Marinus, and discusses the challenges that this story held, with its weekly changes of location and inventive set-pieces.
Movie - 1992, 2h 15m • as Self
A documentary which, as the name suggests, is about the early years of the Daleks. Presented by Peter Davison, it contains many interviews and clips plus full episodes from the incomplete stories "The Dalek Master Planet" episodes 5 & 10 and "The Evil of the Daleks" episode 2.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
This documentary looks at the work of Uxbridge-based Shawcraft Models, who provided many of the props and models for Doctor Who during the 1960s.
Movie - 2010, 2h 15m • as Self
Raymond Cusick, the designer of the Daleks, visits the new series production studios in Cardiff to be shown around the TARDIS set and meet the latest version of a Dalek. With Raymond Cusick, production designer Edward Thomas and designer Peter McKinstry.