Three Men About Town

To all outward appearances, the Hollywood Hills home George Sunga shares with his wife, Judy, is an unassuming affair for someone whose producing work has placed him on the front lines of TV history more than once. Small but not cramped, contemporary but not trendy, Sunga’s home is much like the man himself: understated but deceptively chic. It’s only after a bit of time inside that one realizes how carefully put together the place is. While he’s always well-groomed and tastefully turned out, Sunga’s flair is in the details--an unusual textile or weave, an unexpected color combination, interesting buttonsNall of which add up to a casually innovative style that’s interesting but never gimmicky.

Sunga’s been a detail man in his career as well. The projects he’s worked on include “The Judy Garland Show,” “The Smothers Brothers Show,” “The Ed Sullivan Show” (when live from Las Vegas), “Person to Person” (with Charles Collingwood), “The Jeffersons” and “Three’s Company.” An officer of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences since 1989, Sunga has served on the Producer’s Guild board for 20 years and helped nurture last spring’s merger of the guild and the American Assn. of Producers.

Sunga, who got his start delivering mail at CBS during the ‘50s, sees producing as a mandate “to make things happen.” And perhaps it’s the producer’s attention to detail that defines Sunga’s style aesthetic. A favorite designer is Jhane Barnes, who is obsessed with textile technology and pioneered computer design in her intricate, unusual knits and patterns. “She’s very expensive now, but wasn’t always,” Sunga notes. “We got to her early.” “We,” in this instance, includes wife Judy, also an innovative dresser, who has logged more than 20 years directing the volunteer programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

“I wasn’t into clothing when I was young,” says Sunga, who grew up in San Diego. “We couldn’t afford it. I had one sweater in college.” He got interested while working on “The Smothers Brothers Show.” “It was at the Columbia studios on Gower and next door was this place called Lenny’s Boot Parlour. They had boots, and slacks you could have tailored [there]. It was quite the place.”

Sunga’s passion for travel has also shaped his taste. “I used to love Gucci loafers,” he says, “[but] the sole was paper-thin and you had to find a shoe place that would repair it the way it was constructed. Now, I want my shoes to be comfortable, period. But instead of tennis shoes, I have found Oxfords that are comfortable schlepping on cobblestones or marble steps like the Acropolis, and I can dress up in them at night.”

As such, Sunga favors the French sportswear label Faconnable, which produces innovative but restrained casual wear. His latest discovery is microfiber. “I have two casual suits that you would never know were microfiber. They never wrinkle and they’re a breeze to pack. I’m trying to get a tuxedo made in the same fabric.”