THe Man Who Created Those Iconic Beatle Bobs/Wigs Died Today

[Me.]

Magic to ’Do: How Paul Huntley Became a Broadway Wig Master

“With the news that Tony Honor for Excellence winner Paul Huntley has died, we're looking on his career with this Playbill profile, originally published in May 2017, as Huntley regales with showbiz stories from working with Mae West, Patti LuPone, and more.

Broadway has always been a place where legends walk among us, but those legends often seem firmly in front of the footlights. Not so, as anyone who’s spent any time behind the scenes can attest. One such living luminary is Paul Huntley, still as active now as he was 40 years ago, when he outfitted Patti LuPone with Eva Peron’s varying hairstyles, created the original wigs for Sweeney Todd, and coiffed everyone from Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

Huntley, who works with a small team of five, had a desire to create wigs since he first watched his mother get ready to go out as a little boy in 1930s England. After a stint as an actor and military service, Huntley apprenticed with Stanley Hall’s Wig Creations, where, he says during an interview at his Upper West Side townhouse, “we would do every known actor in the world at that time.”

That’s no mere exaggeration. Wig Creations worked on everything from El Cid to Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra—the latter of which required fitting 1,000 extras with period wigs for the unforgettable moment when Liz makes her entrance into ancient Rome. He was also once responsible for going to Mae West’s room at the Dorchester Hotel for her wig fitting.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/magic-to-do-how-paul-huntley-became-a-broadway-wig-master

“Tony-honored wig master Paul Huntley has passed away at the age of 89 following a short illness in London. His death was announced July 9 in an Instagram post.

Over a six-decade career that spanned 200-plus Broadway shows, Mr. Huntley created the instantly recognizable hairstyles for Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Patti LuPone in Evita, and Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray, among many others. His most recent designs will be seen in the musical Diana when it debuts on Netflix in October ahead of a Main Stem run beginning in November.

Mr. Huntley made his Broadway debut in 1973 with a production of Uncle Vanya, starring Julie Christie and Lillian Gish. He didn’t stop until earlier this year, when he announced his retirement. Along the way, he designed wigs for Cats, the 1998 and 2015 revivals of Cabaret, The Producers, Hairspray, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, and Tootsie. Among the many stars he’s worked with are Jessica Lange, Donna Murphy, Betty Buckley, Glenn Close, Mae West, and Carol Channing.

He moved to the U.S. upon recommendation from Mike Nichols in the ‘70s, where he remained for the rest of his career. Usually working with a small team, Mr. Huntley became an institution in his own right. The designer was known for reading the entire script and diving deep into the characters’ psyche before getting started. “If an actor looks in the mirror and isn’t happy with what he or she sees, that’s not good,” he said in an interview. “They have to be totally happy with the way they look, totally secure when they go on, because it plays an important part in the result.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/wig-designer-paul-huntley-dies-at-89

[Me.]

1. People...

you do understand those Beatles cuts were not real, they were wearing wigs. And the first time you saw them with mustaches or any facial hair, they tried them out with fakes first.