Paul Huson (born 19 September 1942) is a British author and artist currently living in the United States. In addition to writing several books about

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

he has worked extensively in the film and television industries.

Early life

Huson was born on 19 September 1942 in London, the son of the author Edward Richard Carl Huson and painter and motion picture costume designer

Olga Lehmann Olga Lehmann (10 February 1912 – 26 October 2001) was a Chilean-born British visual artist. Early life Born in Catemu, Chile, to Mary Grisel Lehmann (née Bissett) and mining engineer Andrew William Lehmann, Olga Lehmann had one sister, ...

. Huson attended

North Bridge House School North Bridge House School is a private school located in London for children aged 2 to 18-year-olds. The school has six different locations for different age groups. The Nursery School, in Hampstead on Fitzjohn's Avenue, is for 2 to 4-year-ol ...

from 1949 through 1956 and

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...

from 1956 through 1959, then entered the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

as a Diploma student from 1959 through 1963, with a principal in painting under

Andrew Forge Andrew Murray Forge (10 November 1923, Hastingleigh, Kent – 4 September 2002, New Milford, Connecticut, United States) was an English painter, academic, and art critic. After Leighton Park School, Forge studied art at the Camberwell School of ...

and a subsidiary in theatrical design under

Nicholas Georgiadis Nicholas Georgiadis CBE ( el, Νίκος Γεωργιάδης; 14 September 1923 – 10 March 2001) was a Greek painter, stage and costume designer, best known for his work in ballet, particularly in collaboration with Sir Kenneth MacMillan. ...

and

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its laun ...

. In 1963 he was awarded an Associated Rediffusion Scholarship to study film under

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

for a further post graduate year.

Work in film and television

After a walk-on role in

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...

's film starring Gerard Phillipe, '' Monsieur Ripois'', Huson acted in

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

's film of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'' playing the part of Edward, Prince of Wales, one of the two

Princes in the Tower The Princes in the Tower refers to the apparent murder in England in the 1480s of the deposed King Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. These two brothers were the only sons of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville sur ...

. From 1965 through 1968 Huson worked as an art director for

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, UK, before emigrating to the United States, where he began writing books and stories and scripts for American television, which included the television series ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

'' and ''

James at 15 ''James at 15'' (later ''James at 16'') is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977, and was intended ...

''. Between 1982 and 1987 he and his partner

William Bast William Bast (April 3, 1931 – May 4, 2015) was an American screenwriter and author. In addition to writing scripts for motion pictures and television, he was the author of two biographies of the screen actor James Dean. He often worked with hi ...

wrote and produced three television series ''

Tucker's Witch ''Tucker's Witch'' is a comedy-detective series that aired on CBS television from October 6 to November 10, 1982, and again sporadically from March 31 to June 9, 1983. It stars Tim Matheson and Catherine Hicks as a charming married couple, Rick ...

'', ''

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

'', and ''

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert ...

'' (a spin-off of the

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

series ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

''); ''The Colbys'' won the 1986

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

. In 1989 he and Bast wrote a two-part series ''Twist of Fate'', followed in 1991 by '' The Big One: the Great Los Angeles Earthquake'', another two-parter, which was instrumental in alerting Los Angeles to their inadequate earthquake response arrangements at that time. In 1995 Huson and Bast wrote the teleplay for

Danielle Steel Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth-bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million ...

's popular novel ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

''. In 1995 they wrote '' Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare''; a paranormal thriller ''The Fury Within''; and ''Power and Beauty'', a controversial biographical teleplay about socialite

Judith Exner Judith Exner (January 11, 1934 – September 24, 1999) was an American woman who claimed to be the mistress of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Mafia leaders Sam Giancana and John Roselli. She was also known as Judith Campbell Exner, and Judit ...

and her relationship with President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

Esoteric studies

While still a student at the Slade Huson studied the

Qabalah Hermetic Qabalah () is a Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Bu ...

and the Western Esoteric Tradition with

Dion Fortune Dion Fortune (born Violet Mary Firth, 6 December 1890 – 6 January 1946) was a British occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author. She was a co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted ph ...

Society of the Inner Light A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

. In 1964 he worked as

Karlis Osis Karlis Osis (26 December 1917 – 26 December 1997) was a Latvian-born parapsychologist who specialised in exploring deathbed phenomena and life after death. Biography Karlis' first research, conducted in the 1940s, was inspired by the wo ...

' research assistant at the

American Society for Psychical Research The American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) is the oldest psychical research organization in the United States dedicated to parapsychology. It maintains offices and a library, in New York City, which are open to both members and the gener ...

in New York. In 1965 he studied the history and practices of the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ce ...

and the

Stella Matutina The Stella Matutina (Morning Star) was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known a ...

under the aegis of

Israel Regardie Francis Israel Regardie (; né Regudy; November 17, 1907 – March 10, 1985) was a British-American occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer who spent much of his life in the United States. He wrote fifteen books on the subject of occultism. Bo ...

. Huson subsequently wrote a number of popular books on occult and allied subjects: the influential ''

Mastering Witchcraft ''Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks and Covens'' is a book written by Paul Huson and published in 1970 by G.P. Putnams- the first mainstream publisher to produce a do-it-yourself manual for the would-be witch or warlock. ...

'' (1970) a study of

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

symbolism ''The Devil's Picturebook'' (1971); ''Mastering Herbalism'' (1974); an introduction to parapsychology '' How to Test and Develop your ESP'' (1975); two novels, ''The Keepsake'' (1981), and ''The Offering'' (1984), and a second work on tarot symbolism and the history of

tarot reading Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...

, ''Mystical Origins of the Tarot'' (2004). He generally illustrates his non-fiction books himself, and designed a deck of tarot cards based upon his research, ''Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot'' (2009).

Memberships

He is a member of the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

of America, the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

, the

Writers Guild of America, west The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

, and the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Personal life

Huson lives in Los Angeles. His frequent collaborator and partner for forty-nine years was

Notes

External links

Paul Huson's web site, containing excerpts from some of his books.
* *
Paul Huson: Google Book Search
*
Interview with Paul Huson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huson, Paul 1942 births Living people Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of University College London English occult writers Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn LGBT writers from England People educated at Leighton Park School Society of the Inner Light Tarot readers