Paul László (1900–1993) was born in Debrecen, Hungary. He studied
architecture and design at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart before joining the office of the German architect Fritz August Breuhaus (1883–1960) in Cologne. The period was marked by intense debate, as a new generation of architects called for a decisive break with past styles. László settled in Vienna in 1924, where he opened his own agency. He was regarded as one of the
leading architects of the period, alongside Hans Stock, Theodor Pfeiffer, Franz Kuhn, and others. He designed and decorated numerous private residences, including the Kopfensteiner House in Vienna and the Atlantica Bar in Prague. He also created ceramic tile stoves for the Heinsteinwerk company in Heidelberg. His projects were published in leading magazines such as Domus, Art et Industrie, and Innen-Dekoration.

During World War II, he boarded an ocean liner bound for New York, arriving with just $200 in his pocket. He later settled in Beverly Hills, California, where he established himself as an interior designer and architect at 362 Rodeo Drive. His reputation and elegance quickly attracted Hollywood’s cinematic and political elite. Each of his projects was conceived as a total work of art, with László designing even the smallest details. Furniture, lighting, vases, and accessories were harmoniously integrated with the colors, volumes, and materials of sophisticated interiors.

In 1947, he published Paul Laszlo: Interiors/Exteriors (Paul Laszlo Industrial Designer), a book documenting his career and works. Within a decade, he completed more than thirty-five private residences. Among the most notable were the Wichita Falls Palace for oil magnate Charles McGaha, featuring a horseshoe-shaped swimming pool and Lucite furniture, and the residence of producer William Perlberg, which included a swimming pool and a private screening room. Other clients included Gloria Vanderbilt Stokowski, Barbara Hutton, Sonja Henie, and film director William Wyler. The prominence of his clientele earned him the moniker “the Rich Man’s Architect,” in a 1952 Time Magazine article.

László collaborated with artists such as textile designer Maria Kipp, ceramicist and painter Karin Van Leyden, and sculptor F. F. Kern. His exacting yet open-minded vision sometimes led him to decline commissions that did not align with his aesthetic ideals. In 1948, he joined the design team at Herman Miller, where he worked until 1952 on innovative office furniture. During the 1950s, he designed several storage furniture collections, including the “Tressage” model, as well as seating for the company Brown Saltman, a company founded by David Saltman in association with designer Paul T. Frankl (1886–1958) in 1939. Other manufacturers also commissioned his work, including Glenn of California and the Widdicomb Furniture Company, associated with major figures such as Frank Lloyd Wright, T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, and Mario Buatta.

In addition to residential and furniture design, László created commercial architecture, including the Crenshaw Movie Theatre (1942), the Beverly Hills Hotel (1947), Saks Fifth Avenue in Long Beach (1947), and the Federal Department Store in Long Beach (1947). His more unexpected projects included an atomic shelter
designed for the U.S. Air Force and a visionary proposal for a future underground city known as Atomville.

Paul László remained active throughout his life. Celebrated and fulfilled, he passed away in Santa Monica in March 1993, at the age of 93.