View source for Vidal Sassoon

{{Short description|British hairstylist (1928–2012)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix   = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| other_names        = 
| image              = 6.6.06VidalSassoon.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| caption            = Sassoon in 2006
| alt                = photo of Sassoon
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=y|1928|01|17}}
| birth_place        = [[Hammersmith]], London,{{nbsp}}England
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=y|2012|05|9|1928|01|17}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California,{{nbsp}}U.S.
| known_for          = <!-- Founder of Vidal Sassoon -->
| notable_works      = five-point cut
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* Hairstylist
* businessman
}}
| title              = 
| term               = 
| predecessor        = 
| successor          = 
| party              = 
| citizenship        = {{ublist|
* United Kingdom
* United States (from{{nbsp}}1972){{zwj}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Sassoon, Vidal  |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sassoon-vidal|access-date=2022-01-30|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia.com]]}}</ref>
}}
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Elaine Wood|1956|1958|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Beverly Adams]]|1967|1981|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Jeanette Hartford-Davis|1983|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Rhonda "Ronnie" Holbrook|1992}}
}}
| children           = 4, including [[Catya Sassoon|Catya]]
| parents            = 
| relations          = 
| website            = {{URL|sassoon.com}}
}}
'''Vidal Sassoon''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|CBE}} (17{{nbsp}}January 1928{{snd}} 9{{nbsp}}May 2012) was a British hairstylist and businessman. He was noted for repopularising a simple, close-cut geometric hairstyle called the five-point{{nbsp}}cut, worn by fashion designers including [[Mary Quant]] and film stars such as [[Mia Farrow]], [[Goldie Hawn]], [[Cameron Diaz]], {{langr|de|[[Nastassja Kinski]]}} and [[Helen Mirren]].{{zwj}}<ref>[http://www.hairfinder.com/celebh/hairstyle-helen-mirren.htm Helen Mirren with a chin length bob], Hairfinder</ref>

His early life was one of extreme poverty, with seven{{nbsp}}years of his childhood spent in an orphanage. He quit school at age{{nbsp}}14, soon holding various jobs in London during World War{{nbsp}}II. Although he hoped to become a [[Professional association football|professional football]] player, he became an apprentice hairdresser at the suggestion of his mother.

After developing a reputation for his innovative cuts, he moved to Los{{nbsp}}Angeles in the early{{nbsp}}1970s, where he opened the first worldwide chain of hairstyling salons, complemented by a line of hair-treatment{{nbsp}}products.{{zwj}}<ref name="Martin">Martin, Richard. ''Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', St. James Press (2000) p. 313</ref>{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" />

He sold his business interests in the early{{nbsp}}1980s and began funding Israeli [[think tanks]]. In{{nbsp}}2009, Sassoon was appointed{{nbsp}}[[CBE]] by Queen [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth{{nbsp}}II]] at Buckingham Palace. ''[[Vidal Sassoon: The Movie]]'', a documentary film about his life, was released in{{nbsp}}2010. In{{nbsp}}2012, he was among the [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British cultural icons]] selected by artist Sir{{nbsp}}[[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]] to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork, the [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover|album cover for the{{nbsp}}Beatles' ''Sgt.{{nbsp}}Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'']], to celebrate the British cultural figures of the prior six{{nbsp}}decades.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news|title=New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday|url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/02/peter-blake-sgt-pepper-cover-revisited|work=[[The Guardian]]|year= 2016}}</ref>

==Early life==
Sassoon was born to Jewish parents in [[Hammersmith]], [[West London]], and lived nearby in [[Shepherd's Bush]].{{zwj}}<ref name="Tel obit">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/9255724/Vidal-Sassoon.html |title=Telegraph obituary |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=10 May 2012 |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref> His mother, Betty{{nbsp}}(Bellin) (1900–1997),{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Abbe A. Debolt |author2=James S. Baugess|title=Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4WFjKG6vmUC&pg=PA582|access-date=10 May 2012|date=31 December 2011|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1-4408-0102-0|page=582}}</ref> an [[Ashkenazi Jew]],{{zwj}}<ref name="jewishledger.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishledger.com/2012/05/vidal-sassoon-fought-in-israels-war-of-independence/|title=Vidal Sassoon fought in Israel's War of Independence|date=16 May 2012}}</ref> was born in [[Aldgate]], in the [[East End of London]], in{{nbsp}}1900. Although she was surrounded by grinding poverty, Sassoon writes that she nonetheless resolved to make the best of her life.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> Her family had emigrated to England from the [[Russian Empire]] in the{{nbsp}}1880s to escape the [[antisemitism in the Russian Empire|antisemitism]] and [[pogroms]] then prevalent.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> His father, Jack Sassoon, a [[Sephardi Jew]],{{zwj}}<ref name="jewishledger.com" /> was born in {{langr|el-Latn|[[Thessaloniki]]}}, in the northern part of Greece.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio">Sassoon, Vidal. ''Vidal: The Autobiography'', Macmillan (2010) e-book</ref> They met in 1925 and married in 1927. They then moved to Shepherd's Bush, which contained a community of [[Greek Jews]].{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> Sassoon had a younger brother, Ivor.{{zwj}}<ref name="Armstrong">{{cite news|url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article6882818.ece |title=Vidal Sassoon: the man who made English hairstyling great |last=Armstrong |first=Lisa |date=21 October 2009 |work=[[The Times]] |publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] |access-date=10 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615164502/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article6882818.ece |archive-date=15 June 2011 }}</ref>

His father abandoned the family for another woman when Vidal was three years{{nbsp}}old.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> With his mother now unable to support the family, they fell into poverty and were evicted, becoming suddenly homeless.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> They were forced to move in with his mother's older sister. There, they shared a two-room{{nbsp}}[[tenement]] with his aunt and her three{{nbsp}}children. The tiny flat where the seven of them lived had no bathroom or inside toilet, forcing them to share the one outside landing toilet with three other families. He remembered often standing in line to use it in freezing weather. Their roof was also falling apart, which let rain pour through. "All we could see from our windows was the greyness of the tenement across the street", writes Sassoon. "There was ugliness all around."{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

Due to poverty as a [[single parent]], his mother eventually placed Sassoon and his younger brother in a Jewish orphanage, where they stayed for seven{{nbsp}}years,{{zwj}}<ref name="Telegraph">{{citation|first=Chrissy|last=Iley|title=Vidal Sassoon interview|url=http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8480525/Vidal-Sassoon-interview.html|date=16 May 2011|access-date=11 May 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref> until he was 11, when his mother remarried.{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt" /> His mother was only allowed to visit them once a month and was never allowed to take them out.

===Education===
He attended Essendine Road Primary School, a [[Christian school]] of about a thousand{{nbsp}}children. He was frequently taunted by classmates as a "[[Yid]]" or with chants of "[[Jewish stereotypes|All Jews have long noses]]".{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> One of his proudest days at the school was winning the [[100-yard dash|100-yard{{nbsp}}dash]] in an all-school contest. "The urge to win has never left me", he writes.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

[[File:A group of children arrive at Brent station near Kingsbridge, Devon, after being evacuated from Bristol in 1940. D2592.jpg|thumb|left|British children being [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated to the countryside during{{nbsp}}WWII]]]]
However, he says that he was "a very bad student" with abysmal grades in most classes, except for [[mental arithmetic]]. After one session of mental arithmetic, his master said teasingly, "Sassoon, it is a pleasure to see that you have gaps of intelligence between bouts of ignorance".{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> He took a volunteer job as a [[choir boy]] for the local [[synagogue]], which gave him one of the few chances to see his mother, who would [[Sabbath in Judaism|come on Saturdays]].{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

Sassoon and the other children at the school were [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated after WWII began]] on 3{{nbsp}}September 1939. He was 11{{nbsp}}years old. "It's a date I'll never forget", he said. "Suddenly my brother and I and all our fellow orphans were on trains with hundreds of thousands of other kids, moving out of London."{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> He and his brother were taken to [[Holt, Wiltshire]], a small village of a thousand{{nbsp}}people.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

=== First jobs ===
[[File:The Home Front in Britain during the Second World War HU44272.jpg|thumb|alt=black-and-white photo of civilians sheltering in underground station|[[London Underground]] bomb shelter in London during World War{{nbsp}}II]]
After his return to London, he left school at the age of 14 and worked as a messenger. The war was in full force with London still being bombed, which forced him to sleep in [[Air raid shelter|underground shelters]]. During work hours, he said "I got used to seeing bodies and blood, and hearing cries of agony" as he carried messages from [[central London]] to the docks.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

Upon the insistence of his mother, they tried to get him into a hairdressing [[apprenticeship]]; his mother told him that her ambition was for him to become a professional hairdresser.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> However, he saw himself becoming a [[Association football player|football player]], a sport he excelled at. "I could not imagine myself backcombing hair and winding up [[hair rollers|rollers]] for a living."{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt" />{{zwj}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vidal Sassoon|url=http://www.biography.com/people/vidal-sassoon-20888267|website=[[Biography.com]]|access-date=3 September 2014|archive-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629224452/https://www.biography.com/people/vidal-sassoon-20888267|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When she took him to the hairdressing school of a well-known stylist, [[Adolph Cohen]], they were disappointed immediately when they were told it was a two-year{{nbsp}}programme and would cost much more than they could afford. "My mother looked so terribly dejected", he said, that as they left the salon, "I thought she might faint".{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" /> A few minutes later, Cohen called them back to the salon, then told him, "You seem to have very good manners, young man. Start Monday and forget the cost." His mother began to cry out of joy.{{zwj}}<ref name="autobio" />

===Political activities===
At the age of 17, although he had been too young to serve in [[World War II|World War{{nbsp}}II]], he became the youngest member of the [[43 Group|43{{nbsp}}Group]], a mostly Jewish veterans' underground organisation founded by [[Morris Beckman (writer)|Morris Beckman]] and several others which broke up fascist meetings in [[East London]]{{zwj}}<ref name="warrior" />{{zwj}}<ref name="The Archive Hour 2008">''The Archive Hour'', BBC Radio 4, first broadcast 19 April 2008.</ref> to prevent [[Union Movement|Sir{{nbsp}}Oswald Mosley's movement]] from spreading "messages of hatred" in the period following World War{{nbsp}}II.{{zwj}}<ref name="warrior">{{citation|title=Vidal Sassoon: Anti-fascist warrior-hairdresser|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1585110/Vidal-Sassoon-Anti-fascist-warrior-hairdresser.html|date=14 April 2008|access-date=12 May 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref>

In{{nbsp}}1948, at the age of{{nbsp}}20, he joined the {{langr|he-Latn|[[Palmach]]}} (which shortly afterwards was integrated into the [[Israel Defense Forces]]) and fought in the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|1948{{nbsp}}Arab–Israeli War]], which began after Israel declared statehood.{{zwj}}<ref name="The Archive Hour 2008" />{{zwj}}<ref name="fresh_air">{{cite transcript |last= Gross |first= Terry |author-link= Terry Gross |date= 10 February 2011 |title= Fresh Hair on Fresh Air |journal=[[NPR Fresh Air]] |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=133650184 }}</ref> Sassoon arrived in [[Mandatory Palestine]] in April{{nbsp}}1948, a month before Israeli independence. He fought in the [[Negev]] against the Egyptian{{nbsp}}Army.{{zwj}}<ref>[https://blog.nli.org.il/en/hoi-sassoon/ Israel, 1948: Vidal Sassoon in Combat]</ref> During an interview, he described the year he spent training with the Israelis as "the best year of my life", and recalled how he felt:

{{blockquote|When you think of 2,000{{nbsp}}years of being put down and suddenly you are a nation rising, it was a wonderful feeling. There were only 600,000 people defending the country against five{{nbsp}}armies, so everyone had something to do.{{zwj}}<ref name="Telegraph" />}}

==Career==
Sassoon resumed his hairdressing training under [[Raymond Bessone]] in his salon in [[Mayfair]].{{zwj}}<ref name="Mr Teasy-Weasy">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/years/1960/fashion3.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030819020925/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ilove/years/1960/fashion3.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 August 2003 |title=Mr Teasy-Weasy |publisher=BBC  | date = November 2008 | access-date = 31 August 2011}}</ref> Sassoon opened his first salon in{{nbsp}}1954 in{{nbsp}}London;{{zwj}}<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18008302 "British-born celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon dies"] BBC 9 May 2012</ref> singer-actress [[Georgia Brown (English singer)|Georgia Brown]], his friend and neighbour, claimed to be his first customer.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/06/obituaries/georgia-brown-an-actress-57-was-in-oliver.html | title = Georgia Brown, An Actress, 57; Was in 'Oliver!' | first= James | last= Barron | date = 6 July 1992 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Mia Farrow bob cut.jpg|thumb|alt=black-and-white photo|Sassoon cutting [[Mia Farrow]]'s hair for ''[[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' in{{nbsp}}1968]]

Sassoon stated his intentions in designing new, more efficient, hair styles: "If I was going to be in hairdressing, I wanted to change things. I wanted to eliminate the superfluous and get down to the basic angles of cut and shape."{{zwj}}<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|last=Eby |first=Margaret |url=https://www.avclub.com/r-i-p-vidal-sassoon-1798231323 |title = R.I.P. Vidal Sassoon | work = [[The A.V. Club]] |date=9 May 2012 | access-date = 10 May 2012}}</ref> Sassoon's works include the geometric [[Permanent wave|perm]] and the "[[Nancy Kwan|Nancy {{langr|zh-Latn|Kwan|cat=no}}]]" hairstyles. They were all modern and low-maintenance. The hairstyles created by Sassoon relied on dark, straight, and shiny hair cut into geometric yet organic shapes. [[Peggy Moffitt]]’s hairstyle, an asymmetrical [[bowl cut]]{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich |url=https://phxart.org/exhibition/fearless-fashion/ |website=[[Phoenix Art Museum]] |access-date=4 September 2021}}</ref> created by Sassoon, became known as the "five point".{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Lowery|first=Allison|title=Historical Wig Styling: Victorian to the Present|year=2013|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|isbn=978-0-240-82124-5|page=194}}</ref>

In 1964, Sassoon created a short, angular hairstyle cut on a horizontal plane that was the recreation of the classic "[[bob cut]]". His geometric haircuts seemed to be [[wikt:severely|severely]] cut, but were entirely [[hair lacquer|lacquer]]-free, relying on the natural shine of the hair for effect. Advertising and cosmetics executive Natalie Donay is credited with discovering Sassoon in London and bringing him to the United States,{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/27/obituaries/natalie-donay-advertising-executive-63.html | title = Natalie Donay, Advertising Executive, 63 | date = 27 April 1991 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> where in{{nbsp}}1965, he opened his first New York City salon on [[Madison Avenue]].{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-taylor">{{cite web | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40A15F73A5B1A7B93C1A8178AD95F428785F9 | title = New Sassoon Style Is Over the Counter | first = Angela | last = Taylor | date = 13 November 1976 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref>

In 1966, inspired by 1920s film star [[Clara Bow]]'s [[wikt:close-cropped|close-cropped]] hair, he created designs for [[Emanuel Ungaro]]. Director [[Roman Polanski]] brought him to Hollywood from London in{{nbsp}}1968, at a cost of $5,000,{{zwj}}{{NoteTag|1={{Inflation|US-GDP|5000|1968|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{zwj}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}}} to create a unique [[pixie cut]] for [[Mia Farrow]], who was to star in ''Rosemary's Baby''.{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" />

In the early 1970s, Sassoon made Los Angeles his home.{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" /> In{{nbsp}}1971, he promoted his 30-year-old second-in-command, artistic director Roger Thompson, to director of the Sassoon{{nbsp}}salon, explaining jocularly that, "Twenty-five years of [[wikt:schlepping|schlepping]] behind a [[barber chair]] are enough!"{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-Oct1971">{{cite news | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C16FB345B1A7493CAA8178BD95F458785F9 | title = At Sassoon, There's a New No. 1 Hairdresser | work = [[The New York Times]] | first= Mary Ann | last = Crenshaw | date = 18 October 1971 | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> [[John Paul DeJoria]], a friend of Sassoon, co-founded [[Paul Mitchell Systems]] with [[Paul Mitchell (hairdresser)|Paul Mitchell]], one of Sassoon's former students. Mitchell said that Sassoon was "the most famous hairstylist in the history of the world".{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" />

[[File:Goldie Hawn - 1970.jpg|thumb|left|alt=black-and-white headshot photo|[[Goldie Hawn]]'s [[bob cut]] in ''[[Cactus Flower (film)|Cactus Flower]]''{{nbsp}}(1969)]]
Sassoon began his "Vidal Sassoon" line of hair-care products in{{nbsp}}1973.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/12/nyregion/new-yorkers-co-name-that-goop-and-make-it-personal.html | title = New Yorkers & Co.: Name That Goop And Make It Personal | first = Edward | last = Lewine | date = 12 April 1998 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> The actor [[Michael Caine]], who when young and struggling "was roommates with [[Terence Stamp]] and Vidal Sassoon{{snd}} he used to cut my hair, and he always had a lot of models around",{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/magazine/way-we-live-now-7-21-02-questions-for-michael-caine-international-man-mystery.html | title = The Way We Live Now: 7-21-02: Questions For Michael Caine; International Man of Mystery | first = Lynn| last = Hirschberg | date = 21 July 2002 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> claimed to have inspired this, saying, "I told him that he must have something that is working for him while he slept. I told him he had to make [[shampoo]]s and other hair-care products."{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/07/business/talking-money-with-michael-caine-appraising-caine-the-businessman.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | title = Talking Money with: Michael Caine: Appraising Caine, the Businessman | first = Geraldine | last= Fabrikant | date = 7 April 1996 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> Whatever the inspiration, Sassoon's brand was applied to shampoos and [[Hair conditioner|conditioners]] sold worldwide, with a commercial campaign featuring the slogan "If {{em|you}} don't look good, {{em|we}} don't look good."{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QonI2MWxoLY|title=YouTube|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> Former salon colleagues also bought Sassoon's salons and acquired the right to use his name, extending the brand in salons into the United Kingdom and the United States.{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" />

The [[El Paso, Texas]]-based [[Helen of Troy Corporation]] began manufacturing and marketing Sassoon hair-care products in{{nbsp}}1980.{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-sept1984">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/27/business/business-people-helen-of-troy-shifts-top-executive-officers.html | title = Business People: Helen of Troy Shifts Top Executive Officers | first = Kenneth N. | last = Gilpin | date = 27 September 1984 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> In{{nbsp}}1983, [[Richardson-Vicks]] purchased the Los{{nbsp}}Angeles-based Vidal Sassoon{{nbsp}}Inc.{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-April1983">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/25/business/richardson-seeks-sassoon.html | title = Richardson Seeks Sassoon | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 25 April 1983  | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> as well as Sassoon's [[Santa Monica]] hairdressing school; the company had already bought his European businesses.{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt1993">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/28/style/egos-ids-a-master-of-modern-hair.html | title = Egos & Ids: A Master Of Modern Hair | first =  Degen | last = Pener | date = 28 February 1993 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref> Sassoon's 1982{{nbsp}}sales of hair products had topped $110{{nbsp}}million,{{zwj}}{{NoteTag|1=equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|110000000|1982|r=-7}}}} in{{nbsp}}{{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{zwj}}<ref name="inflation-USGDP" />}} with 80{{nbsp}}percent of revenues coming from the{{nbsp}}US.{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-April1983" />

Two years later the company was bought by [[Procter & Gamble|Procter{{nbsp}}& Gamble]]. Sassoon, who remained a consultant through at least the mid-1990s,{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt1993" /> sued P&G in{{nbsp}}2003 for allegedly neglecting the marketing of his brand in favour of the company's other hair product lines, such as [[Pantene]]; the parties reached [[Lawsuit settlement|a settlement]] the following year.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Financial/P-G-settles-lawsuit-with-Vidal-Sassoon |title=Sassoon and P&G settle lawsuit |website=Cosmeticsdesign-europe.com |date=3 September 2004 |access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref>

He sold his business interests in the early{{nbsp}}1980s to devote himself to [[philanthropy]]. By{{nbsp}}2004, it was reported that Sassoon was no longer associated with the brand that bears his name.{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" /> He also had a short-lived television series called ''Your New Day with Vidal Sassoon'', which aired in{{nbsp}}1980.

Sassoon was twice a guest on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', on 27{{nbsp}}June 1970{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015msp9 |title=Desert Island Discs – Castaway: Vidal Sassoon |publisher=BBC |date=14 October 2011 |access-date=29 December 2016}}</ref> and 9{{nbsp}}October 2011, when he was also Resident Thinker on the [[Nowhereisland]] art project.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nowhereisland.org/#!/logbook25|title=Nowhereisland|website=nowhereisland.org}}</ref> He was a mystery guest on ''[[What's My Line?]]'' in March{{nbsp}}1967.{{zwj}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/whats-my-line/episode-854-98376/|title=What's My Line?: EPISODE #854|website=[[TV.com]]|access-date=31 July 2019|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802021151/http://www.tv.com/shows/whats-my-line/episode-854-98376/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Honours ==
Sassoon was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]{{nbsp}}(CBE) by Queen [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth{{nbsp}}II]] at Buckingham Palace in the [[2009 Birthday Honours|2009{{nbsp}}Birthday Honours]].{{zwj}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=59090 |date=13 June 2009 |page=24 |supp=y}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Sassoon Salon, Albion Street, Leeds (4th July 2011) 001.JPG|thumb|alt=photo of building exterior with "Sassoon Salon" over entrance|Sassoon Salon, [[Leeds]]]]

Sassoon was married four times, first to Elaine Wood, his salon receptionist, in{{nbsp}}1956; the marriage ended in{{nbsp}}1958. In{{nbsp}}1967, he married actress [[Beverly Adams]], whom he met while filming ''Torture Garden''{{nbsp}}(1967).{{zwj}}<ref>Clemens, Samuel. "Beverly Adams", ''[[Classic Images]]''. November 2022</ref> They had three biological children, including daughter [[Catya Sassoon|Catya]],<!--spelled solid-->{{zwj}}<ref name="Bath">{{cite news | date = 4 September 2010 | title = Slowing Down Not My Style | url = http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Slowing-style/article-2609590-detail/article.html|access-date=11 May 2012|newspaper=thisisbath}}</ref> and adopted a son.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10617FC3F5B13778DDDA00994D9405B808BF1D3 | title = Mary Marshall Engaged to Wed W.E. O'Connell; Son to Mrs. Vidal Sassoon | date = <!--Monday--> 19 January 1970 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref>{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | first = Katherine | last = Bowers | title = Sassoon's Heir Apparent | url = http://www.wmagazine.com/beauty/2008/10/vidal_sassoon | date = October 2008 | access-date = 11 May 2012 | work = [[W (magazine)|W]] | archive-date = 29 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120329075742/http://www.wmagazine.com/beauty/2008/10/vidal_sassoon | url-status = dead }}</ref>{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt-taylor" />{{zwj}}<ref name="Itop110">{{cite news | title = Fantastic Faux! | first = Robert | last = Ito | work = [[Los Angeles (magazine)|Los Angeles]] | date = March 2005 |page=110| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SF8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110 | access-date= 1 January 2013}}</ref>{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/357363 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090115203943/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/357363 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 15 January 2009 | title = Sassone, Oley; List of alternative name: Sassone, Francis G. | publisher = [[British Film Institute]] | access-date = 2 January 2013}}</ref>{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/jack-sassone-obituary?id=14205197#:~:text=He%20is%20survived,and%20Lily%20Sassone | title=Jack Sassone Obituary (2010) - New Orleans, LA - the Times-Picayune | work=Legacy.com }}</ref> Sassoon and Adams divorced after 13{{nbsp}}years of marriage.{{zwj}}<ref name="Bath" /> His third{{nbsp}}wife was Jeanette Hartford-Davis, a [[dressage]]{{nbsp}}champion and former fashion{{nbsp}}model; they married in{{nbsp}}1983 and divorced soon after.{{zwj}}<ref name="Bath" /> In{{nbsp}}1992, he married designer Rhonda{{nbsp}}"Ronnie" Sassoon.{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2012/may/09/vidal-sassoon | title = Vidal Sassoon Obituary | first=Christopher | last = Reed  | work = The Guardian | location = UK | date  = 9 May 2012 | access-date = 26 March 2013}}</ref>

===Philanthropy===
Sassoon had a lifelong commitment to eradicating [[anti-Semitism]]. He started the [[Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism]], or{{nbsp}}SICSA, in{{nbsp}}1982.{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" /> Located at [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], it is devoted to gathering information about [[antisemitism]]{{nbsp}}worldwide.

After selling his company, he worked towards philanthropic causes such as the [[Boys Clubs of America]] and the [[Performing Arts Council of the Music Center of Los Angeles]] via his Vidal Sassoon Foundation.{{zwj}}<ref name="tele">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/9255934/Celebrity-hairstylist-Vidal-Sassoon-dies-at-home-in-L.A.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510003842/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/9255934/Celebrity-hairstylist-Vidal-Sassoon-dies-at-home-in-L.A.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2012|title=Celebrity hairstylist Vidal Sassoon dies at home in L.A |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> He was also active in supporting relief efforts after [[Hurricane Katrina]]. His eponymous foundation also funded educational pursuits on a need-basis in Israel and elsewhere. At the time of his death, he had academies in England, Canada and the United States, while planning to open locations in Germany and [[Taiwan]].

==Illness and death==
In June{{nbsp}}2011, it was reported that Sassoon had been diagnosed with [[leukemia]] two years earlier. He died from the disease on 9{{nbsp}}May 2012 at his home in [[Bel Air, Los Angeles]],{{zwj}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/vidal-sassoon-died-after-long-battle-with-.html|title=Vidal Sassoon reportedly had long battle with leukemia|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=25 November 2008|access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> in the presence of his family. A memorial service was planned for a later date.{{zwj}}<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.easyhaircaretips.com/celebrity-hair-stylist-vidal-sassoon-dead-84/|title=Celebrity hair stylist Vidal Sassoon dead at 84|last=EasyHairCareTips|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023193404/http://www.easyhaircaretips.com/celebrity-hair-stylist-vidal-sassoon-dead-84/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
{{Quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = Cornsilk|quote="He truly changed the world of hair and beauty. He was definitely the most innovative person ever to enter the industry. He led the way for the celebrity stylists of today."|source=[[Oscar Blandi]], celebrity stylist{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw">[http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/Liberator-of-ladies-hair-Vidal-Sassoon-dies-at-84/12992260 "Liberator of ladies' hair Vidal Sassoon dies at 84"], ''KSBW News'', May 9, 2012</ref>}}

"Vidal was like Christopher Columbus", said Angus Mitchell, who studied under Sassoon. "[[Columbus round Earth myth|He discovered that the world was round]] with his cutting system. It was the first language that people could follow."{{zwj}}<ref name="ksbw" /> Neil Cornelius, the incumbent owner of Sassoon's first solo venture, called him a "hairdressing legend".{{zwj}}<ref name="tele" />

[[Grace Coddington]], Sassoon's former model and creative director of American{{nbsp}}''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', said that he changed the way the public looked at hair:

{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |Before Sassoon, it was all back-combing and [[hair lacquer|lacquer]]; the whole thing was to make it high and artificial. Suddenly you could put your fingers through your hair! He didn't create [the five-point{{nbsp}}cut] for me; he created it on me. It was an extraordinary cut; no one has bettered it since. And it liberated everyone. You could just sort of [[wikt:drip-dry|drip-dry]] it and shake{{nbsp}}it.}}

John Barrett of the [[John Barrett (salon)|John Barrett Salon]] at Bergdorf Goodman said that Sassoon "was the creator of sensual hair. This was somebody who changed our industry entirely, not just from the point of view of cutting hair but actually turning it into a business. He was one of the first who had a product line bought out by a major corporation."{{zwj}}<ref name="nyt">{{Citation|first=Bruce|last=Weber|title=Vidal Sassoon, Hairdresser and Trendsetter, Dies at 84|date=9 May 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/fashion/vidal-sassoon-hairdresser-and-trendsetter-dies-at-84.html|access-date=11 May 2012}}</ref>

==Books and films==
* ''Sorry I Kept You Waiting, Madam'' (1968), his autobiography; New York: Putnam.
* {{cite book |title=A Year of Beauty and Health |last1=Sassoon |first1= Vidal |first2=Beverly |last2=Sassoon |author-link2=Beverly Adams |year=1975 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-207-95751-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/yearofbeautyheal00sass|url-access=registration }}
* ''Cutting Hair the Vidal Sassoon Way'' (1984)
* {{cite book |title=Vidal: The Autobiography |last=Sassoon |first=Vidal |year=2010 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |isbn=978-0-230-74689-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/vidalautobiograp00vida }}
* ''[[Vidal Sassoon: The Movie]]{{snd}} How one man changed the world with a pair of scissors.'' (2010), a documentary film directed by Craig Teper.

==See also==
* [[Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism]]

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project auto}}
* {{YouTube|28jvlBA0RMk|''Vidal Sassoon: The Movie''}}{{snd}} official trailer
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120208154847/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/antisemitism/voices/transcript/?content=20120105 ''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Vidal Sassoon] from the [[US Holocaust Memorial Museum]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060117082253/http://english.sem40.ru/jewish_fortune/8333/ The secret life of Vidal Sassoon]
* {{IMDb title|1649433|Vidal Sassoon: The Movie}}
* [http://www.j-grit.com/resisters-vidal-sassoon-anti-fascist-street-fighter.php J-Grit.com – Vidal Sassoon – Anti-Fascist Street Fighter]
* {{NPG name}}

{{Authority control}}

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