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Larchmont Chronicle Neighborhood newspaper representing Hancock Park, Larchmont Village
Miracle Mile, Park La Brea Fremont Place in the Wilshire center area of Los Angeles. Local News and
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Hancock Park area. Founded in 1963 on Larchmont Bouelvard, Los Angeles, CA, California

August 2, 2002

Earle Adams

Alicia Doyle

When Earle Adams was pushed into the hairstyling industry by his parents as a young man, little did he know he would find two life-long loves.

Now 80 and retired for a decade, the N. Citrus Avenue resident has more than 50 years of coifing under his belt, with satisfied clients including Veronica Lake and Doris Duke.

"When you are a creative artist, you are never old," said Adams, who was the first male hairstylist at The House of Westmore in Hollywood at age 23. "It was always fun. The industry is just as exciting then as it is now."

Adams has seen his share of styles over the years, from the glamour bob to the flip, the pageboy to the shag. His vast experience combined with his knowledge of now obsolete salon equipment caught the eye of organizers putting on a show about the history of coiffure in the 20th century, said DeeDee Gordon, show curator who sought Adams' expertise for the national event.

HAIRevolution opened in June at the Parsons School of Design in New York, and will travel to Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis and Chicago throughout the summer. The show features photographs, artifacts and videos that document the impact of popular culture on hair trends from 1900 to the millennium.

Adams' know-how helped organizers with various aspects of the exhibit, which include a decades-old permanent wave machine that created the style with electrical metal rods in aluminum sockets. Today, plastic rods and liquid solutions are used.

"They didn't know how these things worked," Adams recalled. "When they looked at the wave machine, they thought it was a torture chamber."

Part of the show explores how celebrity hairstyles influenced the masses, making Adams' work significant because he was responsible for Veronica Lake's finger waves, Gordon said.

"Earle is one of the first celebrity hair stylists," said Gordon. "All the show girls were going to him. Earle's salon was the place to go."

Born a first generation American to Polish parents, Adams said he didn't know the difference between a hair cut and a bobby pin when he enrolled in beauty school in Milwaukee as a young man at the urging of his family.

"I was embarrassed, because no boys went to beauty school at the time," Adams said.

Little did he know he would find his second love there: wife-to-be Bernice.

Adams completed his courses and ended up in Washington, D.C. in a salon at The Mayflower Hotel.

In 1945, he moved on to The House of Westmore, then considered the leading salon in Hollywood. The clientele list included celebrities such as Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, and "everybody who was popular during the time."

Earle and Bernice were married in 1951. Three years prior, the pair opened Earle Adams Magic Fingers on Highland and Franklin avenues, where Earle was the star stylist, and Bernice the backbone of salon operations.

In 1954, the couple moved to La Brea and Lexington, and re-named the salon simply: Earle Adams.

They gave the building a face-lift in 1961 to emulate a French regency home, which made the salon look more like a palace than a beauty parlor, Adams remembered.

"It had sliding glass doors, a chandelier...all of our clients were wearing mink coats and chinchillas," he said.

When the Adams were not busy running their business, they were traveling the world, including Japan, where Earle was named one of the top 10 stylists in the world. The couple team-taught styling classes at modeling schools throughout Los Angeles, and taught self-improvement courses for unwed mothers at juvenile hall.

Looking back, the Adams say they have good reason for the words already etched on their vault at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

"It's Been Fun" spell the letters on Bernice's. The word "Ditto" is on Earle's.

"We've always been in the right place at the right time," Earle Adams said. "We still are."

Larchmont Chronicle
542½ North Larchmont Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Editor & Publisher: Jane Gilman
Associate Publisher: Irwin Gilman

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