“You could see it all”: the biography of Marilyn Monroe’s hairdresser reveals a “secret” of the actress

The Hollywood star met the stylist when she came to him for help during a photo shoot, as her hair was falling out due to the bleaching and perm she was doing.

Almost six decades after the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe at age 36, a curious anecdote that occurred in 1959, during the premiere of the comedy ‘Some Like It Hot’, was born in the biography of her stylist. Kenneth Battelle, published recently, reports The Daily Mail.

Entitled ‘Kenneth: Shear Elegance’ and written by Giuseppe Longo, the book traces the life of Kenneth Battelle, the legendary New York hairdresser who, thanks to his professionalism and discretion, has earned the trust your famous customers, Hollywood stars like it Marilyn Monroe OR Jackie Kennedy.

The book, based on the author’s conversations with Battelle, who passed away in 2013, includes the hairdresser’s first meeting with Marylin Monroe, who called him in 1958 worried about the hair loss caused by the discolouring and perms she was having during I was filming “A some like it hot. ” That meeting would become a strictworking relationship and friendship.

The biography also includes the compromising circumstance that convinced the “sex symbol” of the need to do so discoloration of pubic hair not having to use underwear.

Kenneth remembers a film executive at the gala for that film’s world premiere in 1959 spilled champagne in her tight-fitting beige silk dress, transparent and revealing the actress’s “nakedness”.

“You could see it all, like he was wearing a wet shirt,” remembers Kenneth. “For the press conference, I told her that if she didn’t change her dress, you should at least wear underwear“The mythical actress refused, as she didn’t want visible lines to appear under her dress.

The stylist reminded her that other artists used to whiten their private parts to avoid wearing underwear, so she went to the hotel pharmacy and bought “milk powder of magnesia, 20% peroxide and ammonia alcohol”, a ancient whitening technique. Hair. “Now go to the bathroom,” he later told Marilyn, who obeyed and applied the remedy before taking the stage. “You couldn’t see anything when they turned on those bright lights. “he remembered Kenneth.