Mr. Kenneth

Kenneth Everette Battelle (April 19, 1927 – May 12, 2013), more usually known as Mr. Kenneth, was an American hairdresser from the 1950s until his death. Sometimes described as the world's first celebrity hairdresser, Kenneth achieved international fame for creating Jacqueline Kennedy's bouffant in 1961. He counted Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and many of America's most high-profile socialites such as Brooke Astor and Happy Rockefeller among his clients. His father was a shoe salesman, who divorced his mother when Kenneth was 12, leaving their son to support his family through cooking and washing dishes, selling beer and working as an elevator operator. Aged 17, he joined the navy for eighteen months, after which he studied liberal arts at Syracuse University for six months (which was all his G.I. Bill funding allowed for) before dropping out when the funds ran out. After this, he studied further at the Marinello Academy of Beauty Culture in Syracuse, before finding a job at the Starlet Beauty Bar salon opposite the Greyhound bus station. and the actress Kay Kendall, who in 1957, was steered towards Kenneth by Lilly Daché's house model, Gillis McGil.

"Secretary of Grooming" to the Kennedy administration Among Kenneth's regular clients was Karlys Daly Brown, the beauty editor for Glamour, who in 1961 commissioned Kenneth to write articles on how women could care for their own hair, and, uniquely for a hairdresser, featured him on Glamour's front cover. The salon, simply known as Kenneth, officially opened on March 4, 1963. Despite this, clients such as Grace Mirabella and Kitty D'Alessio, the President of Chanel, remained loyal to Kenneth. While Lee manages the salon, Kenneth was still doing haircuts in 2008.

Kenneth died on May 12, 2013, at his home in Wappingers Falls, New York. He was 86.