At first glance, all is well in this brightly colored February 1958 image, showing a gent and his daughter (although it COULD be his granddaughter) on the Dumbo Flying Elephants attraction in Fantasyland.
Our first zoom-in of the day also shows a fairly normal tableau that includes the Fantasyland Art Corner.
It's this second detailed view that shows a flagrant violation in good taste and personal grooming. To the left of our subject's hand is a man who appears to be sporting a very bad comb over.
Although hair restoration has improved in the last decade, there are still a few men out there who practice this horrible technique. To enlighten the uneducated, a comb over is a hairstyle worn by bald/balding men in which the hair is grown long on the sides (or the back) and combed over the bald area in a fruitless attempt to hide the baldness. Instead, what it typically does is call even more attention to it. Some famous examples of comb overs include Zero Mostel:
Donald Trump:
One would think that Trump's wealth would allow him to avoid a comb over, but his ego and confidence apparently override any shred of good taste. Worst of all would have to be Dick Van Patten. This man played an all-American father on the hit TV show "Eight is Enough," giving men all over America permission to wear this horrid hairstyle, including my father.
I still get nightmares of my dad jumping into a swimming pool, with the water slowly removing the effects of all the hairspray. Before I knew it, the hair that had been so carefully combed over from the side of his head would be sticking straight up. Oh the shame.
Gentlemen of America, please unite and help wipe out this hideous practice. This looks so much better:
Wouldn't you rather be smooth like Dumbo?
This JELL-O commercial seems like a great way to end today's post:
See more Daveland vintage & current Dumbo at Disneyland photos on my Dumbo web page.
I agree Dave…or how about the Sierra Mist commercial?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fo6raY--NnM
- Darryl
My grandfather was a proponent of the comb over. I had to zoom in on those photos because the guy in the background could have been him. Since I inherited his lovely hairline, I just comb what I have straight back. I'm not bald on top just extremely thin. All those wild hairs need to go somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI tried shaving my head but then I look like the guy from Pawn Stars.
Dick Van Patton`s combover was indestructable. One episode of Eight is Enough had him in a storm looking for his missing son. Hurricane force winds and that combover wouldn`t budge one strand of hair. I was in complete awe.
ReplyDeleteHysterical and true.
DeleteZero Mostel improved his technique though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hihX_meIOOM
ReplyDelete31:19 onward showcase him from all side in many dynamic poses :), this time he managed to cover everythin combing front to back and probably sides to center as well, even simulating a side of center part, then he combed a portion front to back to hide the cowlick. It's more natural than Trump's and I think he could even have improved it by combing more of it, especially on his left side, to the side to make hair fall more naturally on his parietal.