Hollywood costumer Deirdre Naughton dies at 63

Deirdre “Dee” Naughton, a longtime Hollywood costume designer who lived on and off in Laguna Beach, has died at the age of 63.

Naughton, who worked on the 1970’s and ‘80s TV shows “All in the Family,” “Eight is Enough” and “One Day at a Time,” died Feb. 27 after she was struck by a car while walking home from a retail center in Los Angeles on Dec. 11.

Her death was confirmed by her sister, Clare Naughton.

“She was very social, funny, highly intelligent, gifted and loved people,” Clare said. “She will be missed.”

Naughton’s family and friends recalled the fashion designer’s magnetic personality, loyalty to her inner circle of friends and penchant for couture, glitz and glamour.

“She had three loves — fashion, family and Laguna Beach,” said Paul Merritt, a former candidate for the Laguna Beach City Council. “She just sparkled.”

Merritt met Naughton in a liberal arts class at Orange Coast College decades ago, he said, and the two remained friends.

As classmates at OCC, they signed up for a school-sponsored archaeological dig in Hawaii. He remembered taking a hike with the fashion enthusiast into a volcano crater and was astonished to see Naughton in sandals rather than the required uniform boots.

“She told me, ‘These are stylish,’” he said with a laugh.

She also carried an oversized bag to hold her hair curler on the hike.

“We were in the middle of a volcano crater and Dee had to bring that,” he said. “She was quite a kick.”

Merritt said Naughton had lived on and off in Laguna Beach in the 1970s and 1980s, and when she lived in Los Angeles, she was drawn back for visits to the canyon and Heisler Park.

Deirdre Carmel Ann Naughton was born July 13, 1951, in Galway, Ireland, to Kevin and Bridget Naughton. She was the oldest of four children.

Naughton attended fashion school in New York, where she won awards for her fashion and costume designs. While living in New York City, she embraced the city’s nightlife by going to nightclubs and parties with fellow artists and designers, including Elsa Peretti and Roy Halston Frowick. She was a regular guest at Studio 54 and at Max’s Kansas City, a hangout of choice for Andy Warhol and his entourage during the 1960s and 1970s.

Her Irish-Catholic parents were friends of the late actor Carroll O’Connor and his wife, Nancy. Nancy, a costume designer, asked her husband to give Naughton a job, and that request led to Naughton’s first position as a designer — for “All in the Family.” O’Connor played the bigoted Archie Bunker on the successful series.

She later designed wardrobes for “Head of the Class,” “Square Pegs” and “A Different World.” Naughton also was the principal costume designer for plays and musicals, including “Guys and Dolls,” starring Milton Berle, and the movie “Penitentiary.”

Her costume design career ended in the late 1980s after she was injured in a car accident off Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach that killed fellow passengers in the vehicle.

She spent her remaining years collecting designer and vintage clothing, accessories and antiques.

In addition to her sister, Naughton is survived by her brothers Brian and Kevin; Kevin’s wife, Jocelyn; one niece; and three nephews.

Memorial services are pending.