Famous Hair
If there would be a time machine and we would be able to travel back in time we would have some encounters with women whose long hair made them to somebody very special in the eyes of the people.
Today we want to remember to opera singer Blanche Thebom:
Blanche Thebom, the leading dramatic mezzo-soprano
at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 1940s and 1950s, has been an
eye-catcher ever since she stepped on stage in 1941. Her lovely voice and her
striking good looks convinced both critics and audiences. And: Miss Thebom had
the most beautiful hair in show business. Her long dark-brown hair made her to
a unique attraction and she had never to wear wigs for her roles of long-haired
heroines.
Blanche Thebom, born to Swedish-American parents
on September 19, 1918 in Monessen/ Pennsylvania, studied singing in New York
and had her concert debut in December 1941 with the Met. About that time she
decided to let her raven tresses uncut so her hair reached knee-length in the
late Forties. On this photograph she is lying venuslike on a white rug and lets
her hair fan out to full length. It belongs to a series shot by photographer
George Karger 1950 and was printed in magazine LIFE in 1951.
For her different opera roles she
used her locks to artistic advantage by braiding them, rolling them into buns
or weaving them with flowers or jewels. Miss Thebom had some minor appearences
in Hollywood movies, too (For example "The Great Caruso", 1951).
Blanche Thebom combs her beautiful hair out on this
striking photograph from the year 1950, when her locks reached a length of more
than 5 feet (152 cm). Miss Thebom was 5 feet 7 inches tall (169 cm).
Click here for another photo from this series!
During the 1950s when she also sang
in various opera houses in America and Europe, her tresses reached the tips of
her toes. Then her hair grew longer than she was tall: 6 feet 7 inches (200
cm)! This rare photo from her wardrobe is probably from the Mid-Fifties.
Because Miss Thebom was also a
client of the famous hair care specialist George Michael of Madison Avenue,
this framed wall-photo still hangs in his N.Y. salon. Miss Thebom headed
several opera arts training programs from the late 1960s and lived
in San Francisco until her death on March 23, 2010.
Archive of other famous ladies
