backstory
she loved lucy
��� Irma Kusely was Lucille Ball���s hairdresser for more than 50 years.
A
diminutive woman who worked with some of Hollywood���s most legendary stars���
Katharine Hepburn, Angela Lansbury and, of course, Lucille Ball���Irma Kusely passed away at
95 in 2009, but more than a decade ago she sat down with Michael Gordon to talk about her
remarkable career for his book, Hair Heroes. During a stint at Max Factor, Kusely learned how
to do wigs. ���Tey had a tremendous wig department,��� she said. ���For instance, Gone with the
Wind required boxes of curls for all the southern belles. It was all real hair done authentically.���
Kusely took the skills she acquired at Max Factor with her when she went to work with Lucille
Ball on her ���rst television show, I Love Lucy���the two had met when Lucy was just an ing��nue
at MGM. Working six days a week, Kusely hand-dyed every wig that Lucy wore on the show.
���She had the smallest head in the industry,��� said Kusely, who created Lucy���s signature looks
for the next 50 years.
52
The Colorist | MARCH/APRIL 2013 | thecoloristmag.com
��� IRMA KUSELY
created Lucille Balls���s
���artichoke cut,��� which
the star loved.
��� TO DYE THE WIGS
to match Lucy���s hair,
Kusely used Tintex,
which was used to
dye clothes.
��� KUSELY TAUGHT
Lucy how to mix her
own color, which
she���d take to a
Beverly Hills salon so
someone could apply
it. ���They would always
think the method I
gave them was silly���
using three different
colors���because
they thought it was
possible to do it with
just one, and I used
to say, ���Oh, sure, go
ahead!������ Kusely told
Michael Gordon.
��� KUSELY WAS THE
frst hairstylist to get
screen credit on a
television show for her
work on I Love Lucy.
��� MANY OF THE WIGS
Kusely created were
shipped to Florida���s
Walt Disney Museum
to complete the Lucille
Ball display.
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF HAIR HEROES.
��� QuickFacts