{{Short description|British wigmaker and hair designer (1933–2021)}}
{{Infobox person | name = Paul Huntley | image = {{CSS image crop |Image = Faye Dunaway and Paul Huntley During A Wig Fitting For The Wicked Lady.png |bSize = 450 |cWidth = 250 |cHeight = 300 |oTop = 0 |oLeft = 200}} | caption = Paul Huntley in 1983 | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|7|2|df=yes}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|7|9|1933|7|2|df=yes}} | death_place = London, England | occupation = Wigmaker, hair designer | partner = Paul Plassan (died 1991) | awards = Special Tony Award (2003) }}
'''Paul Huntley''' (2 July 1933 – 9 July 2021) was a British wigmaker and hair designer whose career in theatre, film, and television spanned more than 60 years. He created wigs and hairstyles for more than 200 Broadway and West End productions, as well as for numerous Hollywood films. Huntley's clients included many famous celebrities, among which Patti LuPone, Glenn Close, Carol Channing, Elizabeth Taylor, Alan Cumming, Sutton Foster, Jessica Lange, Betty Buckley, and Al Pacino.<ref name="guardian"/><ref name="nyt"/><ref name="telegraph"/>
== Early life == Huntley was born in London on 2 July 1933. His father was in the military, his mother was a homemaker.<ref name="nyt"/> Fascinated by his mother’s film magazines and the transformational capabilities of a brush and comb, he developed an early interest in hairstyling. After completing national service following the Second World War, Huntley sought an apprenticeship in the film industry but instead trained to be an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama, where he began designing wigs for productions.<ref name="guardian"/>
In the 1950s he joined Stanley Hall’s Wig Creations in London, a theatrical company noted for fine lace wigs used in film close-ups.<ref name="guardian"/> There Huntley became principal designer and got to work with Marlene Dietrich, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. He helped realize the elaborate braids for Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film ''Cleopatra''.<ref name="nyt"/> Taylor introduced him to film and theatre director Mike Nichols. He later invited Huntley to New York to design hair for the 1973 Broadway production of ''Uncle Vanya'', launching his American career.<ref name="guardian"/>
== Career == [[File:Glenn Close Wig And Costume Fitting For 101 Dalmatians (cropped).png|thumb|200px|Glenn Close during a wig and costume fitting for ''101 Dalmatians'' (1996)]] In the subsequent decades Huntley became one of the most sought-after wig designers in theatre and film. On Broadway, his credits included ''Evita'', ''Sweeney Todd'', ''Hello, Dolly!'', ''Cats'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'', ''Hairspray'', ''Bullets Over Broadway'', ''The Elephant Man'', ''Chicago'' and ''Anything Goes''.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="guardian"/> His film work included ''Tootsie'' (1982), ''The Addams Family'' (1991), ''101 Dalmatians'' (1996), ''Synecdoche, New York'' (2008), and the HBO film ''Phil Spector'' (2013).<ref name="nyt"/>
Huntley received a special Tony Award in 2003 recognising his contributions to theatrical design.<ref name="guardian"/>
== Later life and death == Huntley continued to work into his late eighties, creating wigs for ''Diana: The Musical'' (2021), representing stages in the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="guardian"/> He retired after suffering a fall that fractured his pelvis and subsequently returned to Britain.<ref name="guardian"/> Huntley died on 9 July 2021 in London at the age of 88 from a lung infection. His partner, Paul Plassan, with whom he shared both his home and business, died in 1991.<ref name="nyt"/>
== See also == * {{IMDb name}} * {{IBDB name}} * 57th Tony Awards * Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
== References == <references>
<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Horwell |first=Veronica |title=Paul Huntley obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/jul/20/paul-huntley-obituary |work=The Guardian |date=20 July 2021 |access-date=29 October 2025}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |title=Paul Huntley, Hair Master of Broadway and Hollywood, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/theater/paul-huntley-dead.html |work=The New York Times |date=13 July 2021 |access-date=29 October 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> <ref name="telegraph">{{cite news |title=Paul Huntley, British stylist who designed elaborate wigs for stars including Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close and Marlene Dietrich – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/07/14/paul-huntley-british-stylist-designed-elaborate-wigs-stars-including/ |access-date=29 October 2025 |work=The Telegraph |date=14 July 2021}}</ref>
</references>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley, Paul}} Category:1933 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Wigmakers Category:British hairdressers Category:People from London Category:Tony Award winners Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:LGBTQ people from London