This blog post is about Marilyn Monroe’s Hairdresser, Mickey Song, who famously styled Marilyn’s hair the night that she performed at Madison Square Garden for President John F. Kennedy’s Birthday.

I painted this portrait of Marilyn over twenty years ago. It took me the better part of a year and a half to create, working from 3 different images. I wanted something original that had never been seen before, an image that wasn’t just a copy of a famous photograph. Little did I know that a decade later I would meet the hairdresser who’d styled Marilyn’s hair for that memorable night at Madison Square Garden.

A client of mine used to go to Mickey’s home studio on Roxbury,  just off Pico Boulevard by the Museum of Tolerance.  I’d heard rumors around town about some guy who did Marilyn’s hair, but I had no clue who he was, or if he was even still alive. The subject came up with my client because I’d just found out that my painting was going to be published in the book Marilyn in Art by Roger G. Taylor, and I needed a proper title for it. She called him, told him about my painting, and arranged for us to meet.

I arrived at Mickey’s home studio and was a bit stunned. It was crammed with Marilyn memorabilia in a doll museum sort of way… not the way I would expect a guy to live. It was more like the way my late aunt lived, with collectable dolls crammed in every nook and cranny of the house. That said, Mickey was very proud of his collection, and was more than thrilled to tell me about the night he’d met Ms. Monroe. Apparently he’d been John and Bobby Kennedy’s hairdresser,  and was flown to New York to style the presidents hair the night of his birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden. He told me that the Kennedy’s had asked him to do Marilyn’s hair, however, online accounts vary as to how it all came about. Mickey told me that if her hair was turned under, then he flipped it up, remolding it into what you’ll see in the video below. You have to remember that in those days women’s hair was done via roller sets on wet hair under a hairdryer. Therefore, women frequently had their hair ‘combed out’ into different looks. It’s very different than today’s blow-out mentality where you start every hairdo from scratch with wet hair.

Mickey told me that the reason Marilyn was late to the stage, was because there were issues with her dress. I believe she’d been sewn into it for starters… but then something happened that created a wet spot on the dress. I’m not sure where the spot was, but it had to be blown dry before she could take the stage.  He also mentioned that Jackie Kennedy was not in the audience that night,  because she knew that Marilyn would be making an appearance. Mickey told me that after he returned to Los Angeles, Marilyn made contact with him on more than one occasion, trying to find out what was going on with Jack and Bobby because they were starting to shut her out. He told her that his loyalty was to the Kennedy’s and that he really couldn’t help her.

I returned to Mickey’s home for a second visit a few weeks later, after I’d made my decision about what to name the painting. I brought it with me so that he would have the opportunity to see it in person.  He was thrilled with the title: Marilyn – A Tribute to Mickey Song. We also discussed Mickey’s weight issue and I told him that I was very concerned for his well being and was afraid that he might suffer a heart attack. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened on May 29th, 2005. He never lived to see the published book, so I’m very grateful that I chose to tell him about the naming of the painting ahead of time instead of trying to surprise him after it was published. I attended his memorial service at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery… just a few yards from where Ms. Monroe was buried. On a side note, It must have been very strange for Mickey in the 1960’s to watch that entire cast of people die within a 6 year period: Marilyn in ’62, JFK in ’63, and RFK in ’68.

I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to meet Mickey. He was a kind soul and lived quite a remarkable life in regards to the celebrity clientele he kept. It’s hard to believe that his hands created the flipped up curl that would later define my painting. The painting fittingly resides with a collector in New York City. I’m producing a giclee copy of this painting as a silent auction item for an upcoming event which will be held on March 18th, 2015. It’s the Norma Jean Gala at Hollygrove, the home that Marilyn resided at as a child from 1935-37. If you’d like to learn more about this event, or make a contribution to Hollygrove, please follow the green link.