LA Times – ‘Pam & Tommy’: A tale of up-dos, fake breasts, tattoos … and a talking penis

The outrageous story of the internet’s first celebrity sex tape so frequently borders on the absurd that any retelling could quickly become a farce. To avoid that fate, the Hulu limited series “Pam & Tommy” faithfully and meticulously re-creates the 1990s tale about the whirlwind romance of “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, and the torturous consequences of a stolen videotape of their honeymoon lovemaking.

Where many productions might use computer-generated wizardry, the hair and makeup team here relied on handcrafted artistry and every tool in their arsenal. The crew’s many challenges included transforming Lily James, a pale, slight British actress, into Anderson, the perennially tanned, busty Malibu sex symbol — and making a rock star’s penis talk.

As head of the makeup department, David Williams controlled every character’s look — including actors playing Tommy Lee and his Motley Crue bandmates, Jay Leno, Hugh Hefner, Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione and private investigator Anthony Pellicano. He coordinated Barry Lee Moe’s wig and hairstyling team and the special effects from Jason Collins of Van Nuys’ Autonomous F/X, which crafted dozens of face and body prosthetics.

“The Lily makeup is the most comprehensive character makeup that I think any of us have done,” said Williams, a three-time Emmy winner who is also nominated for the Peacock limited series “Angelyne.”

”The vast majority of creating this look was painting highlights and shadows and contours and restructuring a great structure that was already there. We were turning one beautiful woman into another beautiful woman,” Williams said.

Moe designed and styled 27 custom wigs handcrafted by Wigmaker Associates in Beverly Hills, including Anderson’s trendsetting messy up-dos. James managed to disguise her British accent wearing dentures to invoke Anderson’s capped-teeth smile.
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