Ka cika wannan jumla: An haifi Paul Detlefsen a Copenhagen, Denmark. Shi ɗan likita ne. Ya yi karatu a Makarantar Cibiyar Nazarin Fasaha ta Chicago kafin ya koma Hollywood don gina sunansa a matsayin mai zane-zane. Bayan bai yi nasara a matsayin mai zane-zane ba, ya samar da bayanan fim. An zabi shi a
17th Academy Awards, tare da abokan aiki John Crouse da Nathan Levinson, don aikin su a fim din 1944 "The Adventures of Mark Twain". Sauran fina-finan da aka ba Detlefsen sune "The Horn Blows at Midnight" (1945), "Escape in the Desert" (1945), da kuma "Shadow of a Woman" (1946), amma ya shafe shekaru 20 a Warner Brothers Studios, a ƙarshe ya tashi ya zama mai kula da sashen zane-zane wanda ya kirkiro matte backdrops.