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HAIRSTYLING PIONEER, VIDAL SASSOON
1928 - 2012
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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The hairstylist, Vidal Sassoon, who recently
passed away, was Jewish. He was one of the most elegant and influential stylists of the 20th century,
Sassoon knew the meaning of "nakhis"/
"naches" - satisfaction. He said, "Hairdressers are a wonderful breed. You work one-on-one with another human being ("mentsh") and the object is to make them feel so much better and to look at themselves with a twinkle in their eye. Work on their bone structure, the color, the cut, whatever, but when you're finished, you have an enormous sense of satisfaction."
Before we begin our Yiddish guide to Sassoon, here's a list of essential terms/sentences:
"di hor" - the hair
"der sherer" -the barber
"der shaytl" -the traditional
women's wig
"der sheynkayt-salon" - the beauty parlor
"Ikh vil a naye frizur." - I want a new
hairstyle.
"Ikh vil opfarben mayne hor." - I want to dye my
hair.
antisemitic taunts
Sassoon had experienced antisemitic taunts
as a schoolboy.
'arkhitekt" (architect)
Sassoon decided that if he could not change
hair dressing within a decade, he would
become an architect.
"baltsedoko" (A dispenser of charity;
someone who contributes frequently and
significantly to the "orem"--poor.)
Sassoon turned toward philanthropy later
in life. He founded the Center for the Study
of Anti-Semitism at the Hebrew Univ. of
Jerusalem. He also became deeply involved in the plight of victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Boys Clubs of America and the
Performing Arts Council of LA were among
the causes he also supported.
"bukhs" (books)
In 1967, Sassoon published an autobiography, "Sorry I Kept You Waiting,
Madam." In 1976, with his second wife,
Beverly, he wrote, "A Year of Health and
Beauty." In 1984 he released "Cutting Hair
The Vidal Sassoon Way."
"ferd" (horse)
Sassoon told the London-Daily Mail that his
third wife, Jeanette Hartford, a horse-trainer, "gave me up for horses."
"finf" (5)
Sassoon's five-point style was influenced by
Bauhaus architecture; it made him a
worldwide fashion brand.
"finf toyznt" ($5000)
Sassoon made the headlines when he was
flown to Hollywood from London, at a reputed cost of $5,000, to create Mia Farrow's pixie cut for the 1968 film, "Rosemary's Baby."
"froy" (wife)
With Sassoon's second wife, Beverly Adams,
he had three children: Catya, Elan and
Eden. They also adopted a son, David.
"fusbol" (soccer)
Sassoon was a die-hard fan of the Chelsea
soccer team.
"gesheft" (business)
In 1950, Sassoon won his first hairdressing
competition and at 26 he opened his first
shop in fashionable Bond Street in London's West End.
"heym" (home)
Sassoon lived in a Richard Neutra-designed
home in the Bel Air neighborhood of LA.
Neutra is considered to have been one of
modernism's most significant architects.
"hor" (hair) style
Sassoon's wispy-short early style was in vast contrast to the teased, brutally coiffed
styles of the 1950s. By 1963, he had created
a short, angular cut on the horizonal plane--the recreation of the classic "bob cut."
His style was a direct assault on the beehive
style and other towers of hair.
(FYI: Aretha Franklin said, "I"m a big
woman. I need big hair.")
The "Greek Goddess" was a short tousled perm--inspired by the "Afro-marvelous-looking women" he saw in Harlem.
"humorishtish" (humorous)
Sassoon had a sense of humor. One day at
the salon, a worried customer noticed Sassoon had been roughed up. "Good, God, Vidal, what happened to your face?" she asked. He replied, "Oh, nothing, madam, just tripped over a hairpin."
Jewish heritage
After WW II, Sassoon got serious about his Jewish heritage.
"kaylekhik" (round)
"Vidal was like Christopher Columbus. He
discovered that the world was round with
his cutting system. It was the first language
that people could follow." (quote by Angus Mitchell)
"kluger" (a smart person; a wise individual)
Sassoon recognized that the real profit was
to be made in hair products: shampoos,
brushes and hand-held blow dryers.
"krankayt" (illness)
Sassoon was diagnosed with leukemia in
2010 and died of this illness at the age of 84.
"khasene" (marriage)
Sassoon's first marriage was to his receptionist, Elaine Wood, in 1956. It ended
in divorce in 1963.
Sassoon married four times and had four children. His eldest daughter, Catya, died in an accidental overdose at age 33.
"kveln" (pride; to have pride)
Reflecting on himself as a Jew, Sassoon
said, "in the final analysis, because of all
the things I have been through, I feel very
humble in a way, that we produced so many
incredible people and there's only 13 million of us in the world and we still keep
producing. Essentially, I just have a certain
pride in the tribe."
"mazldik" (lucky)
Sassoon said [2010]: "I just consider
myself being one of the luckiest people in
the sense that creativity came to me and it
flowed."
"milkhome" (war)
In 1948, at age 20, Sassoon volunteered for service in the Israeli defense forces and
participated in the Arab-Israeli war.
He wanted to see action. He said, "I wasn't
going over there to sit in an office...I thought if we don't fight for a piece of land
and make it work, then the whole holocaust
thing was a terrible waste. But this way at
least we got a country out of it."
"mishpokhe" (family)
Sassoon is survived by his wife, Rhonda
(AKA "Ronnie), three children and seven grandchildren.
"muter" (mother)
Sassoon said that "It was my mother's idea
[to become a hairdresser]. Her feeling was
that I didn't have the intelligence to pick a
trade myself."
"opgebn koved" (to honor)
In 2009 Sassoon was honored by Queen
Elizabeth when he was named a Commander of the Order of the British
Empire.
"oremkayt" (poverty)
Sassoon was born into abject poverty. His
single mother put him-- and his brother-- into an orphanage at age 5 because she did not have the money to care for them.
"redn" (to speak)
Sassoon said, "In Britain I had always felt
like a second-class citizen. In Israel I had
found my dignity. I translated that dignity
into my career. I had been a shampoo boy...
I decided I could be better, do better. I
went to night school. I took courses in
elocution." (He took speech lessons to impress the glamorous clients he wanted.
They included movie stars and models such
as Suzy Parker, Nancy Kwan, and Mia Farrow.)
"shampu boy" (shampoo boy)
At age 14, Sassoon went to work as a
shampoo boy.
"sher" (scissors)
Rhonda Sassoon once told The New York
Times she never let her husband go near
her with his tools of the trade. He cut my
hair once and chased me around for most
of the weekend with a pair of scissors saying, "Stop. Stop." She said, "He kept
wanting to fix it." Source: The Washington Post, May 9, 2012
"shvindl" - (fraud)
Sassoon sued Proctor & Gamble in 2003. He accused the company of breach of
conract and fraud on the grounds that it had neglected his brand. The two sides
reached a confidential settlement in 2004.
tagline
Sassoon's tagline was "If you don't look
good, we don't look good."
"tate" (father)
Sassoon's father was a carpet salesman who abandoned his family for another woman and left his wife and two sons in
poverty. Sassoon referred to his father as a "con artist who had the gift of gab..."I was
later told my father spoke seven languages
and had sex in all of them."
"vashn" (to wash)
Sassoon opened beauty shops around the
world. He created hair products reflecting
his ethos liberation from styling, wash& wear, blow and go.
-----------------------------------------
MARJORIE WOLFE agrees with comedian, Rita Rudner: "Nobody's ever happy with
what they have. People with curly hair want straight and people with straight
want curly and bald people want everyone
to be blind."
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