Kojak, Farrah, Rachel and Bert: TV's greatest hairstyles

TV and Radio



Are you going to tell him? Mr T and his idiosyncratic locks. Photo: Supplied


From famous chrome domes to the legendary hairdo of Rachel from Friends, the hairstyles of our TV favourites are a topic of constant fascination. Here we present our take on some of the greatest hair moments in television history.


#1 Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) Could Marge's preposterous blue 'do be television's most iconic hairstyle? Adding a good two feet (61cm) to her overall height, Marge has worn the gravity-defying beehive ever since her fateful high-school prom - when she first hooked up with Homer. About five years ago we learned - shock, horror - that Marge's hair is in fact grey and that blue is not her natural colour.


#2 Rachel Green (Friends) The hairstyle sported by Jennifer Aniston's character in the first two seasons of the show quickly became known simply as 'the Rachel'. The short, layered cut launched many imitations, particularly among British women, who besieged their local hairdressers in their thousands clutching magazine pictures of Aniston. Years later, Aniston reportedly confessed she had no personal fondness for the signature style, calling it 'the ugliest haircut I've ever seen'.



Kinda blue ... Marge Simpson.


#3 Walter White (Breaking Bad) Whether Walter White's shaved-head, forced on him by his chemo-induced hair loss, can be regarded as a true hair 'style' is moot. Originally, the character, played by Bryan Cranston, sported a messy auburn no-style hairdo in keeping with his daggy everyman character. However, after a quick session with the razor early in series one, he instantly morphed into Heisenberg and things went steadily downhill from there.


#4 Kojak Telly Savalas' chrome dome was as much a part of his image as a wise-cracking New York detective as was his omnipresent lollipop. The Greek actor originally shaved his head for the role of Pontius Pilot in the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told, in 1965, and decided after that to permanently steer clear of barbers.


#5 The Fonz (Happy Days)

Who loves ya? Telly Savalas.


Looking back to those far-off Happy Days, the fact Arthur Fonzarelli was cast as the bad-boy outsider now seems naively cute. Along with that leather jacket, what made the clean-cut Fonzie seem so dangerous to TV audiences was his greaser quiff. Nobody batted an eyelid about the inordinate length of time he spent hanging around the gents tending to his hair.


#6 Bert Newton

If you're moved to wear a toupee, then presumably hair loss is something of a touchy subject. Not so with Bert 'Moonface' Newton, who regularly cracks gags about his own hair loss and the sandy-coloured rug he usually wears. In 2009 he famously removed the hairpiece as a tribute to his late friend Don Lane.



Iconic ...Farrah Fawcett


#7 Farrah Fawcett (Charlies Angels etc)

Was there ever a hairstyle that screamed 1970s more than the layered, flicked-back coiffure sported by Farrah? Created by hairdresser to the stars Allen Edwards, it became the most copied look of a generation and even spawned a tribute song of sorts from Californian indie band Capital Cities.


#8 Worzel Gummidge

Wild ... Julius Sumner Miller.


Worzel Gummidge, Jon Pertwee's scarecrow-come-to-life character, was a firm favourite with a whole generation of kids. Apart, that is, from those, like me, who were seriously creeped out by that whole head-changing shtick. Whatever. But one of the main defining characteristics of scarecrowedness was the wild hair protruding at all angles from under his hat. It was surely the only TV hairstyle that needed thatching rather than styling.


#9 Mr T (The A-Team)

Born Laurence Tureaud, Mr T pretty much played himself in The A-Team. A former bodyguard, professional strongman and nightclub bouncer, he was genuinely tough. The idiosyncratic mohawk hairstyle he wears is reportedly based on the traditional style of Mandinka warriors. It also, of course, looks pretty stupid - but it's a safe bet no one ever dared tell him.


#10 Julius Sumner Miller

One of the original media superstars of science, Julius Sumner Miller was the very epitome of the mad scientist, with his brusque manner, quirky intensity and endless question: 'Why is it so?' And like any self-respecting mad scientist, he had mad hair. Resembling nothing so much as an exploding mattress, his wild locks were presumably the result of a man who had way too much on his mind to bother with mundane things like a hairbrush.


0 Comment "Kojak, Farrah, Rachel and Bert: TV's greatest hairstyles"

Posting Komentar