Tony Duquette

Tony Duquette was an artist of many talents, creating sets for movies, costumes for Broadway, and jewelry for royals. Now, his legacy lives on under the direction of Hutton Wilkinson, who has been Duquette’s business partner since the 1970s.

Below, I will take you inside the legendary Beverly Hills estate of the eclectic Tony Duquette. I was fortunate to plan an event there a few years ago and remember it as completely fantastical and fabulous. Tony’s motto was “more is more,” exemplified in all the pictures below. I hope you enjoy the surreal world of Tony Duquette and get inspired!

“Duquette’s glamour was inclusive, clever, and weird; he would build pagodas out of old air force landing strips, and cover a ceiling in styrofoam grapefruit crates. He’d design an alligator costume for the San Francisco ballet, but make it cheetah-print to lighten things up.” (read more here)

TONY DUQUETTE AND HIS WIFE, BEEGLE.

“Duquette was best known for his decorating work in films during Hollywood’s golden era during the mid-20th century, but became renowned for his artful take on residential design – a fact which is seen through his dedication to his own estate. Marrying Asian influences with baroque and Renaissance concepts, objects and architecture, Duquette’s multi-structured estate was an eclectic mix for the traditionally standoffish Beverly Hills.” (read more here)

Beegle

Entourage of Animals

The final projects, completed with the collaboration of his business partner and design collaborator of 30 years, Hutton Wilkinson, included interiors for an 18th-century Parisian apartment situated on the Place de Palais Bourbon in Paris and interiors for the 12th-century Palazzo Brandolini on the Grand Canal in Venice. Duquette passed away from a heart attack on September 9, 1999, at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 85 years old at the time of his death.