- Evelyn Sakash has died. She was 66 years old.
- The set designer, who won an Emmy for her work on Between the Lions, went missing six months ago.
- Madeline O'Connell Hartling, a friend of Evelyn's, confirmed she was found by cleaning staff this week under a pile of debris in her home.
Set designer, Evelyn Sakash has been found dead in her home in Queens, New York. She was 66 years old.
Police confirmed the news to People; Evelyn had been missing since September 2020. Cleaning staff, whom her sister, Ellen Brown, sent to clear out her home, found her body under a pile of debris on Tuesday Madeline O'Connell Hartling, who created a GoFundMe campaign for Evelyn in December, said. The page has since been raising funds to cover Evelyn's funeral expenses.
Evelyn worked on films such as Still Alice, Mermaids, Taxi and Made in America and television shows including Orange Is the New Black and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She won a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy for outstanding achievement in art direction/set decoration/scenic design in 2003 for her work on Between the Lions, before she was nominated again in 2004.
Evelyn's sister told the New York Daily News on Wednesday: "This is just devastating. She had a full life. She was so extraordinarily talented. She was a brilliant mind... I don't want my sister to be remembered like that, like the way she was found."
Though the publication shared photos of Evelyn's cluttered and messy living conditions, Ellen added: "This was clearly in effect for a long time. She sometimes kept people at bay. The headline says 'Queens hoarder,' but that's not who she is."
Madeline O'Connell Hartling, who was a scenic artist herself, said: "I had no idea that she was living in her home like that. It was part of her life but it was not all of it so I hope she can be remembered more charitably... She should be remembered by the contributions made to the industry and with the kindness she approached everyone she knew."