Historic News Film Reveals Era of Hair Discrimination

Newly digitized film recalls popularity of short-hair wigs.

By Rick Fredericksen

The mysterious reel of 16 mm film had been stored in basements at homes where I've lived for 50 years. The label says "Bell strike." I had an inkling of what might be on the spool of color film, but no longer had a convenient way to review it; the analog format has been outdated for decades. So it was forgotten in boxes with old video tapes from my journalism career.

I got tired of seeing it over the years and decided it was time to have it remastered. A specialist in Tennessee could handle the job and I received the digitized recording on a thumb drive 48 years after it was broadcast. It was a 1971 news story I'd done soon after starting my first job in commercial TV at KRNT, the CBS station in Des Moines, Iowa. Known locally as TV8, the station is now KCCI-TV. That film is my earliest known stand-up in existence.

The four minute news story held up well. The multiple splices did not break and the mag-stripe audio was in mint condition. Beyond the physical state of the film, the content is what told an amazing story. It was from a time when even slightly long hair was unacceptable. Remember the scandalous mop tops worn by The Beatles?

As a cub reporter at KRNT, I had a shag hair style that was deemed inappropriate to be seen on-camera. Our #1 rated audience would surely complain and I understood the concerns of my bosses.  There was a compromise. I did what other young men did in the '70s: concealed my hair under a short-hair wig. The short-hair wig phenomenon crossed professions; a doctor friend wore one in the hospital to hide his "hippie hair." Even Iowa National Guard soldiers wore them during their weekend drills.

Still frame from a 1971 stand-up report (wearing wig) from a picket line.

My wig looked surprisingly natural. I would carry it in my camera bag when I covered the Polk County Courthouse, which was my news beat after anchoring morning newscasts on KRNT radio.

I can remember ducking into the men's room before filming my stand-up reports. It only took a couple minutes to pull it on, from front to back. Once the photographer gave me a "wrap," it was back in my carry-bag. (See link to video below)

Looking at the film today, I am more embarrassed by the wrap-around eye glasses, the Elvis sideburns and my stilted delivery. But I'm actually pleased at where I was at the age of 21, perhaps 22. The Communications Workers of America were striking Bell Telephone and pickets were marching outside their building in Des Moines, just around the corner from KRNT.

The posting is a classic example of how we produced stories in the age of film, before video tape became the newsroom standard. My film reel was the "A" roll, which was the primary film that included stand-up, interviews and the sound track. Typically, a "B" reel would be used to show general scenes to help tell the story. In this case, a "B" reel might show more of the picket lines, which is preferable to seeing me read my script.

My real hair, at the anchor desk in 1974.

As my career advanced, so did public acceptance of  things like hair length and dress codes, and women and minorities on local news. I started anchoring live newscasts and the photo above, from a 1974 newscast, shows me without a wig. Yes, it was a little long, but management was willing to tolerate it.

A couple years later I grew a beard and controversy returned. Viewers wrote in to complain; one man called me "Rasputin." The beard was later accepted as well, although when my career took me to the CBS affiliate in Hawaii, my first assignment was to shave. By then I was ready.

Today, there are still common sense boundaries that on-air news personnel mustn't cross--just watch your local news and you will not see nose-rings, facial tattoos or other contemporary taboos that would be dis-qualifiers. But cropped hair styles are no longer required, and well-trimmed beards are even popular.

I don't pretend to be a trailblazer like Mary Brubaker, Connie Mc Burney and Mollie Cooney were to women broadcasters, or Dolph Pulliam was to minorities, all former on-air talent at TV8 when I was there. One thing I can predict with confidence: today's generation of young news reporters will look back in 50 years and think they looked pretty silly, just as I did.

As for my short-hair wig, it's gone now. I kept it for some years and then revived it for a Halloween costume. Dressing up as an old man, I sprayed it grey, dressed accordingly, and nobody knew who I was. Now, my hair is turning natural gray and is shorter than that old wig.

Click to see short-hair wig video