Jay Sebring
Jay Sebring | |
---|---|
Born | Thomas John Kummer[1] October 10, 1933 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
Died | August 9, 1969 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 35)
Cause of death | Multiple stab wounds |
Other names | Thomas John Sebring, T. J.[1] |
Occupation | Hair stylist |
Spouse |
Bonnie Lee "Cami" Marple
(m. 1960; div. 1963) |
Partner | Sharon Tate (1964–1966) |
Thomas John Kummer (October 10, 1933 – August 9, 1969), known professionally as Jay Sebring, was an American celebrity
Early life
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Sebring was the son of an accountant, Bernard Kummer, and his wife, Margarette Gibb.[2] He grew up with one brother and two sisters in a middle-class home in Detroit, Michigan.
After graduating from
In Las Vegas, on his 27th birthday October 10, 1960, Sebring married model Bonnie Lee Marple,[3] nicknamed Cami[4][5] – a union which ended unofficially in August 1963.
Career
In Los Angeles, he graduated from beauty school and opened a shop on Fairfax Avenue, designing and building it for less than $500. Kummer cut hair for 13 hours a day, sleeping in the back, but was challenged by mounting costs.[1] He promptly "invented a whole new way of cutting men's hair".[6] His innovations including shampooing men's hair before styling it, cutting their hair with scissors instead of clippers, and using blow dryers, which were popular in Europe but not well known in the United States.[6] He used hairspray in an era when Brylcreem was the accepted hair product for men.[7]
His breakthrough happened after meeting actress
In Los Angeles, his modish salon and his style of cutting hair proved popular. He taught his methods to others who then opened Jay Sebring Salon franchises; his styling techniques were still being taught 40 years after his death.[6] In 1967 he opened the company Sebring International to franchise his salons and sell hair care products.
At a time when
His business, Sebring International, was flourishing by the late 1960s, with profitable salons in West Hollywood, New York City and London. Sebring maintained a playboy lifestyle, with high-profile Hollywood personalities like Beatty among his closest associates.
Sebring assisted with launching the film career of Bruce Lee, after meeting him at the International Karate Championships in Long Beach in 1964. He introduced Lee to his producer friend Bill Dozier, who started Lee's career with The Green Hornet.[10]
Although not seeking an acting career himself, Sebring made a cameo appearance in a
Jay Sebring was one of the people profiled in the 1967 cult documentary,
Back in 1969, Sebring was nicknamed The Candyman and was said to have used his salon to peddle drugs to the stars. Jim Markham was Sebring’s protege and business partner in a budding franchise of men’s hair salons and has made this statement publicly.[14]
Relationship with Sharon Tate
Sebring was introduced to
Tate went to London in early 1966 to work on The Fearless Vampire Killers with film director Roman Polanski. They began a relationship, and Tate ended her relationship with Sebring, who travelled to London to meet Polanski. He befriended Polanski, while remaining a friend to Tate. Polanski would later comment that despite Sebring's lifestyle, he was a very lonely person, who regarded Tate and Polanski as his family.
In the summer of 1968, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate introduced Sebring to Polanski's friend
In early May 1969, Sebring opened a new salon at 629 Commercial Street in San Francisco, and a champagne reception followed. Guests included Abigail Folger and her mother, Ines, as well as Paul Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward.
Death on Cielo Drive
On August 8, 1969, Sebring, Tate, Frykowski, and Folger went to El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant, together. After they returned to the Polanski residence on Cielo Drive, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins and Charles "Tex" Watson, members of the "Manson Family", entered the home. After coercing the four occupants of the house into the living room, they ordered them to lie face down on the floor. Sebring protested and asked the intruders to consider Tate's advanced pregnancy. Watson then shot Sebring, and kicked him several times in the face as he lay dying, breaking his nose and eye socket. He was then stabbed seven times and died from blood loss caused by his stab wounds. The group then murdered Frykowski, Folger, and Tate. Sebring's body was found lying down and bloodied, his face disfigured. A long nylon rope was placed around his neck and hung over one of the living room's ceiling beams. At the other end, Tate's body lay with the same rope around her neck. While the coroner's inquest found that Tate was still alive when she was hanged, in Sebring's murder it was found that he was hanged lifeless.
On Wednesday, August 13, funerals for Tate and Sebring took place the same day; the funerals were scheduled several hours apart (first for Tate and then Sebring) to allow mutual friends to attend both.
Sebring was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. Steve McQueen gave the eulogy.[15]
Legacy
A feature-length documentary
Emile Hirsch portrays Sebring in the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, directed by Quentin Tarantino, which contains a revisionist interpretation of the night of the Manson murders. In the film's version of events, Sebring survives, as the murderers do not attack at the Tate / Polanski address, but next door at the fictional Rick Dalton home.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Peterson, Bettelou (August 14, 1969). "Jay Sebring, Man with a Successful Idea". Detroit Free Press. Detroit MI. pp. 8–F. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
- ^ California, Death Index, 1940–1997
- ^ Nevada, Marriage Index, 1956–2005
- ISBN 9781439199091.
Jay Sebring.
- ^ "Obituary: John A. Marple Sr". South Jersey Times. December 4, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Tannen, Mary (August 18, 2002). "Message In A Shampoo Bottle". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ISBN 1-932100-28-8.
- ^ "Would you pay $50 for a haircut?". Star-News. August 3, 1963. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
- ^ Cosgrove, Jaclyn (November 24, 2017). "For families of Manson victims, 'We went from "Happy Days" to hell in one weekend'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- ^ Hermenaut.com Archived October 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Virginian" The Strange Quest of Claire Bingham (TV Episode 1967) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb
- ^ "To Tell the Truth". You Tube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- ^ Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! (1967) - IMDb
- ^ "Manson Victim's Friend Posits Alternative Motive: "I Never Bought into the Race War Theory"". The Hollywood Reporter. July 30, 2019.
- ^ Dunne, Dominick (April 2001). "Murder Most Unforgettable". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ "Jay Sebring Documentary Lands at Shout! Studios (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. February 26, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Jay Sebring Is the Godfather of Men's Hairstyling. So Why Haven't You Heard of Him?". Esquire. October 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth (2020) Release Info, IMDb, retrieved June 5, 2021
- ^ "Exclusive: Sneak Peeks At All the Fall Movies You'll Want to Stream". USA Today. August 28, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Jay Sebring...Cutting to the Truth: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Quentin Tarantino Talks Jay Sebring In New Doc On Celebrity Hairstylist Killed By Manson Family". Entertainment Weekly. July 28, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Remembering Jay Sebring, Hollywood's First Celebrity Hairstylist". Vogue. September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
External links
- Biography at Sebring International
- Jay Sebring.... Cutting To The Truth Official Trailer on Shout Factory's YouTube Channel
- Jay Sebring Salon featured in The Hollywood Dream (1965) on Alison Martino’s YouTube Channel
- Jay Sebring at IMDb