Politicians' Shaves

[ateace]

My previous post in this thread, where I mention that Nixon shaved with an electric, refers to the time of the 1960 election.He may well have switched to the Trac II when it came out during his first term.

[GregPQ]

OK, Kennedy/Nixon shaving, as I remember it. I was obsessed with shaving at the time of the 1960 debates, and I haven't been the same since 11.22.63, if truth be told.

It was put about that Kennedy wore no makeup during the debate, because he'd been relaxing and working on his tan. Nixon had suffered a nasty gash in his shin from a car door, and was running a fever. They applied makeup because he apparently wasn't looking so great.

I heard that Nixon shaved with a blade--this would surely have been a DE in 1960--but after the 5-o'clock shadow remarks from the debates, he switched to an electric so he could touch up several times during the day.

Greg

[EL Alamein]

OK, Kennedy/Nixon shaving, as I remember it. I was obsessed with shaving at the time of the 1960 debates, and I haven't been the same since 11.22.63, if truth be told.

It was put about that Kennedy wore no makeup during the debate, because he'd been relaxing and working on his tan. Nixon had suffered a nasty gash in his shin from a car door, and was running a fever. They applied makeup because he apparently wasn't looking so great.

I heard that Nixon shaved with a blade--this would surely have been a DE in 1960--but after the 5-o'clock shadow remarks from the debates, he switched to an electric so he could touch up several times during the day.

Greg

Greg, thanks for that it's great to have a perspective from one who lived through it.

That said I recall as a younger man (before the advent of the internet) hearing from the previous generation (parents, teachers et al) that with regards to makeup during the debates it was Kennedy that gladly accepted makeup while Nixon eshewed it for a varity of reasons - he was very ill from a stomach bug and sweating profusely and the fear was that the makeup might run and cause a scene. There's also the tale that I heard that said he wanted to look natural against Kennedy's "phony" appearance with makeup.

I have no clue as to what the real truth of the matter was. In the end I am not sure it had any effect on the outcome of the election.

I DO recall a similar story about Ronald Reagan and makeup during his debates with someone (may have been 76 or 80, I can't remember). A fan wrote to Reagan and told him he was wearing too much makeup. Reagan wrote saying he was the only one who wasn't wearing any makeup. This is documented in some book I have at home, but I can't recall the title.

It was apparently the case that Reagan never wore makeup and the only enhancement to his visage came from a glass of wine - imbibed before most television appearances. Mike Deaver, his image controller, had Reagan do this because it made his cheeks rosey and thus he looked more approachable on camera.

Chris

[drmoss_ca]

Not related to politicians, but I have started noticing the quality of shaves of those who should know or do better. For example, I was invited to a black tie event opening a jewellery business in Toronto. The people were all well-to-do, and the models who had been hired to intermingle whilst wearing examples of the jewellery were gorgeous. But the shaves? Atrocious. It rather spoilt the evening when I started noticing this, but things were a little redeemed when there was a competition testing one's gemological knowledge, and my party took first, second and third place. Chrysoprase, chalcedony and the intricacies of red-white-black sardonyx are all bread and butter to me! I notice the same in the President's Council Lounge at the Canadian Opera Company. Most of the people there are far, far richer than me. But they have no idea how to shave. Someone, other than myself, ought to tell them.

Chris

[harper]

In my newspapering days I interviewed alone two governors of California, Nixon, Kennedy, Nelson Rockefeller, Goldwater, at least a half dozen US senators, many state and local politicians. Later in my life I spent some time private with Kissinger, a couple of Ontario premiers, one of whom I got to know well, a former Canadian Prime Minister and at no time did I ask any of them what kind of razor they shaved with or how many times a day they shaved. They would have thought I was weird to waste their time and my opportunity on such a topic.

[bernards66]

Bob, Well, I'm sure they would have. Still, we speculate, this being SMF and all. Sounds as if you had a most interesting career.
Regards,
Gordon

[harper]

Gordon: I have had a most interesting life in many ways. My consulting business took me to much of the world (excluding Australia and the southern part of South America) and put me in contact with a lot of the most famous and sometimes important people in the world (not always the same). However, I never forgot that I was the spear carrier and not the white hunter because often the important people were paying for my services and the people who sign the cheque most often call the shots. For about half my life I never thought about shaving except that it was a chore so I did it as expeditiously as possible. However, as you know, about 40 plus years ago I got interested in shaving ... mainly due to a visit to Trumper's on Curzon Street ... and it grew from there and it was about that time I began doing consulting work for Gillette (initially TRAC 11 but other products over the years). I suspect that if I were now dealing with some of those people I could find a way of getting into the shaving aspect probably along the lines of "I am doing some private research on shaving and wondered if you could tell me what kind of razor, cream, etc. you use ... off the record and just for my info." I am not sure Nixon would have answered that and I interviewed him three times (and talked to him a couple of other times casually); I think Kissinger would have told me because I had a personal relationship with him due to our having mutual friends. I bet Rockefeller would have told me (again, mutual friends) because he was an open and easily likeable person. I had lunch with Sinatra once (four of us) as a result of his being a friend of the guy I was having lunch with ... but I'm not sure he would have responded. Even though I was not then a newspaperman I had been and Sinatra did not like the press much.

In any event I would have to find some way of getting into the topic but most of the people I dealt with were pretty easy to talk to (except Nixon who was an introvert in an extrovert's calling) and if you gave them a fair shake they gave you one.

Of course, at the time I was not interested in shaving so I didn't even think about it. I interviewed then ex-President Truman and I was more interested in whether he had changed his views on dropping the atomic bombs on Japan (he hadn't and I did not think he would have but I had to ask) than his shaving habits and I wonder what he would have said if I had asked him; probably something unprintable as Nixon once said to me because he knew I could not write it in a newspaper. Of all the people I have met over the years Truman made the greatest immediate impact because he had the most brilliantly blue eyes I have ever seen. My reaction in looking at his eyes (and I was not then a Truman fan, being a smart aleck young reporter) was that this man was not the feisty bantam rooster he pretended to be but a kind, gentle man. I have never seen such eyes in any person since.

[bernards66]

Bob, Wow!....ahem...pardon....yes, you have indeed had a MOST interesting life. Yes, I'd always assumed that Nixon was an introvert although, in my experiance, some very introverted people will talk a blue streak...if they trust you....and I doubt that Nixon trusted very many people. FWIW, according to the remembrances of one of Sinatra's close associates, he first shaved with a straight, then went to a 'safety razor', later using disposibles and ultimately, when elderly, an electric. That's what the gentleman wrote anyway. Jeez!...you interviewed Nixon THREE times?....and Truman?....I'm at a loss for words....
Regards,
Gordon

[Esoteric83]

Not to get too off topic, Harper, but do or have you watched Mad Men? I'm asking because it would be great to get your take on the time period, assuming that you may have crossed paths with or spent time with the Madison Ave. crowd in your line of work.

The current season is quite neat as it it set to the back drop of spring / summer 68, the MLK and RFK assassinations, and the crew takes on the new Chevy prototype - The Vega, after a falling out with Jaguar.

Anyways, a fascinating time period I could never get board with.

[harper]

Yes, I watch Mad Men and I think it is fairly accurate. However, I never saw people at any level drinking in their offices the way they do although the pressures from clients could be enormous at times. I watch the details pretty carefully and as far as I can tell they have the right whiskeys, etc. around and the men's narrow-lapel clothing is certainly right on the spot. I am a watch fancier and I have tried to get a good look at some of the watches worn but have never been able to.

I notice especially the women's clothing in the show because I thought that during that period -- Jackie Kennedy had a tremendous influence on the way women dressed then -- North American women dressed better than at any other time in my life.

I would imagine if they were shaving they would be using as I did some kind of Gillette DE and canned shave cream (I used to use Old Spice a lot). And they would be using some kind of stainless blades -- likely Wilkinson -- because by the mid-to-latish Sixties stainless had really knocked the devil out of the Super Blue business.

The Viet Nam war put a real damper on creativity about the time of Mad Men but before that I think it was one of the most energetic and exciting periods in American history. I'm glad I lived through it because it was wonderful for a while.

[rsp1202]

. . . The Viet Nam war put a real damper on creativity about the time of Mad Men but before that I think it was one of the most energetic and exciting periods in American history. I'm glad I lived through it because it was wonderful for a while.

Camelot? Though that was the image Jackie Kennedy pushed on Theodore White (who knew a good story hook when he saw one), there's some truth to it.

[harper]

I thought it was Camelot when the Super Blue blade came out but that was a couple of years before JFK. Still, I remember the first shave with that blade and how it just seemed to cut my whiskers without a pull, without a tug, even using crappy hand soap or shaving cream. I have wondered if the stainless blade had not taken so much of the market Gillette would have introduced TRAC11 when it did. The company clearly needed a home run once stainless blades got hold of the market and TRAC11 was their answer.(Gillette was also making stainless blades but most shavers get more shaves out of a stainless blade than they do out of a carbon blade.) As a result, blade sales grew with population growth and not necessarily by market share. While individual markets are individual one result was that Gillette blades were less expensive in Canada than in the US. Stainless blades took a larger share of the Canadian market than they did in the US so Gillette had to be more competitive in Canada.

While I have not done any work for Gillette in many years I have a healthy respect for the company and for that matter P&G (for whom I have never worked). These people may not cater to the interests of the shavers on SMF but they are not really interested in us. They are interested in the mass markets and make products they believe will appeal to them and they are very successful at it. Most shavers (and I was like this for 40 years) only shave because they have to and the easier it is the better. It is a chore and not a hobby.

I have more fun now shaving than I did then but there are still days when I find it a chore.

[Craig_From_Cincy]

Fascinating posts Bob! Your observations are invaluable to the rest of us here at SMF.

Incidentally, on Mad Men, Season 2, Episode 6 Don Draper is shown shaving with a black handled Gillette Super Speed:





...And this Everyready brush:



Thought you might find it interesting.

[harper]

Thanks for the kind words Craig. I have read a couple of stories about how the people at Mad Men work extra diligently to be sure that all the props are in sinc with the times and the Gillette DE would be on target. Any idea what kind of brush that is? Maybe someone on SMF who knows brushes can identify it. I don't really know much about brushes but it is not one that appeals to me. However, one thing I do know about brushes is how good many of them are and how they stand up under a lot of use and abuse. It is amazing when you take the time to think about how they are made and how good they are over the years.

Cheers

Bob

[F.W. Fitch]

However, that black Super Speed didn't come out until the early 70s.

Harper thanks for your vivid memories...enjoyed reading them.

One Nixon quote concerning Harry -- "He was a tough little bastard!"

Best, Fitch

[Craig_From_Cincy]

Are you sure about that Fitch? I only ask because over on another site posters were saying 1966. I have an O-2 from 1969 in my regular rotation.

[F.W. Fitch]

The long-handled adjustables yes. The regular-sized ,as appears in picture, 1972-76.

Hell! Maybe they came out in '67. When it starts getting to these (partially plastic) ones I get confused. Gillette didn't cause any of that confusion at all either!

Also, wanted to share this photo for Bob & all. From the Truman library they have bottles of "Top Brass" After Shave & Cologne. One tin of "Kings Men" talc. And he loved his pocket squares being the old haberdasher.

[harper]

Thanks for posting the photo. Truman was a dapper man and I remember now that you brought it up that he always had a handkerchief in his breast pocket. I remember how in high school many of us would sneer at his double breasted suits and his morning walks. What a small-town hick we thought ... never realizing that some of us would someday buy double breasted suits and not only walk but jog ... miles From the looks of his personal items it is clear that he was not a pretentious man and used what he liked and not what he was told he would like.

I suspect he would have used a straight because of his days in the army in WW1 but I really have no idea. My dad was a fighter pilot in WW1 in France and used a straight but moved to a DE after the war.

Cheers

Bob

[Esoteric83]

Thanks for the insight! The smoking made sense as I am old enough to kinda remember smoking indoors at places of business. The booze seemed questionable due to the excessive and constant consumption.

The Howard Johnson episode where the wife ditches him shows clearly an Omega with a black leather strap on Don. I am not sure the model, but it looked like a basic Seamaster.

Oh and the last episode has Don getting robbed of 4 (implied) watches, but they do not show or describe any of theme. I was hoping they would.

[harper]

Interesting about the Omega. In the Sixties I wore a stainless Omega Seamaster until I discovered Rolexes and then gave away my Omega ... pretty beat up by then. I wish I had kept it.

And I imagine I was shaving with some kind of Gillette razor ... with the exception of the Shick Injector which I didn't like I didn't know anybody else made razors ... and after about '63 I used only stainless blades.

I twigged on the four watches and like you I wish they had shown them or at least given us an idea of what brands they were. I have been a watch fancier since I was a kid but did not get into shaving much until about half my life was over. I made my first trip to London in '63 but didn't know about British shaving creams, etc. and it was not until I went back in '69 that I discovered Trumper's and from then on it only got better and better. For several years I was in London on business four or five times a year and spent a lot of time at Trumper's when it was really a great shop and when I could I regularly waited until I was in London for haircuts. The last time I was in the Curzon shop ... about four years ago I think ... it looked the same but had lost its panache with the exception of its showcases in front which were filled with wonderful things to pamper oneself with.

I still have the first brush that I bought at Trumper's. I don't use it anymore because it is kind of stiff and not the best badger around and I prefer a really soft brush. Still, it is a nice souvenir and I will keep it.