Frank Sinatra was a notorious womanizer during his heyday that had a penchant for sleeping with every woman that he could. The star certainly not above throwing money around to get the women he wanted. But the woman that Frank gladly paid $20,000 a year for wasn’t a lover. Instead, this woman actually served a much more interesting function for the beloved crooner. Join Facts Verse as fans can’t believe that Frank Sinatra paid $20,000 for this woman.
Frank Sinatra Loved to Keep Up Appearances
It should come as no surprise to Frank Sinatra’s biggest fans that the beloved crooner was fairly particular about the way that he looked during his lifetime. This was particularly true during the star’s heyday, when his fraternizing was at it’s peak. Frank became known as much for his impeccable style as for his talents. And he could rarely found looking disheveled or unkempt. Frank Sinatra attempted to make his dashing appearance seem as if it took no effort for him to maintain. And he was largely successful. However, the inside scoop from those that knew the singer best has shone some light on how much work the man really put into his looks.
Actress Shirley MacLaine used to be a good friend of Frank Sinatra’s. And she has recalled fondly and humorously how she used to watch as Frank would go about making himself up for his various public appearances. It seems that Frank put more care into his looks than she did. And she could hardly believe her eyes as she watched all the elaborate procedures that the star had to go through to look the way that he did. Although Frank spent a great deal of his time drinking, gambling, and barely sleeping. His appearance made it hard to tell that he didn’t take good care of himself.
While speaking on the matter of Frank’s appearance, Shirley also noted that it was ironic Frank should care so much about his looks. When he could seen in his personal life fraternizing with mafia members, drinking, gambling, and cheating on his spouses. Perhaps Frank’s obsessive insistence on keeping up appearances came from some place of guilt inside of his heart. Or maybe the star was simply afraid of the public finding out who he really was. Join Facts Verse as fans can’t believe that Frank Sinatra paid $20,000 for this woman.
Frank’s Strict Grooming Standards
In order to keep up his appearances, Frank Sinatra had to keep incredibly strict standards about his looks. The star known for his excessive hygiene practices. As well as his impeccably tailored suits. To top it all off, the man always exceptionally groomed. However, for much of the star’s career, it seems that the hair on his head wasn’t his own. Instead, Frank was a longtime user of toupees.
Frank’s hair started thinning fairly early on in his career. And the star’s ego wouldn’t allow him to seen out in public without his impeccable hairdo. Therefore, the beloved crooner forced to turn to toupees in order to fill the hole on his head. When it came to picking out toupees, Frank used the same care that he exercised when picking out his impeccably tailored suits. Just like Frank’s suits, the star’s toupees were custom-made for him by the best in the business. Not only were Frank’s toupees excellent. But the singer was also always sure to keep numerous extras on hand just in case he needed a new look or replacement. Join Facts Verse as fans can’t believe that Frank Sinatra paid $20,000 for this woman.
Frank’s Toupee Lady
One might think that Frank ensuring he had plenty of extra toupees on hand wouldn’t have been too complicated of a matter. However, the lugging around of the star’s hairpieces was actually a full-time job, and one that paid exceptionally well! The person that Frank put in charge of carrying around his toupees was apparently just an inconspicuous looking little old lady with grey hair. She could constantly seen following behind Frank with a giant bag full of toupees. With the singer apparently requiring her to carry around 30 toupees at a time. According to the little old lady, Frank then had another 30 toupees that he was carrying around on his own person.
It’s doubtful that Frank could’ve needed all of these toupees in one day. But the singer simply wanted to prepared. For her services, the little old woman that carried around Frank’s toupees was given around $400 a week. And which comes out to around $20,000 a year.
Frank’s little old toupee lady followed him around wherever he went. Whether he was performing a show or acting in a motion picture. Most folks eventually caught on to what the little old lady’s job was, and it wasn’t exactly a secret. A surprising number of stars have worn toupees over the course of Hollywood history. Frank certainly wasn’t the only person of his stature in the entertainment industry that needed a toupee in order to keep up appearances. And toupees are still more common than most of the public might realize today! If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
How Many Hairpieces Did Frank Carry Around?
Frank Sinatra’s go-to hairpiece a traditional black one that he could seen wearing the majority of the time. However, that didn’t stop the singer from paying $20,000 a year to have a little old lady carry around 30 back-up toupees of all different styles just in case. This woman’s name was Helen Turpin. And she has become somewhat of a notable figure due to the strange job she performed. Join Facts Verse as fans can’t believe that Frank Sinatra paid $20,000 for this woman.
Frank’s Toupee Lady Handsomely Paid
The aforementioned $20,000 a year that Helen Turpin paid in order to trail behind Frank Sinatra and lug around his toupees would equate to roughly $180,000 of today’s dollars when adjusted for inflation. This is no small sum, and it’s proof that Frank Sinatra took his toupees incredibly seriously! The care that Frank Sinatra put into his toupees paid off for the majority of the star’s career. As most people didn’t even realize that the singer’s hair wasn’t his own. However, those that knew Frank have shared that the star’s taste in toupees seemed to dwindle towards the end of his life. As he began to favor synthetic hairpieces to ones made with natural hair.
Back when Frank’s hairpieces were always on point, one of the men who helped ensure their quality was a man by the name of Joseph Paris. Joseph Paris is still around making hairpieces for celebrities today!
Joseph Paris: The Man Behind Frank’s Toupees
Toupees might be a lot more complicated than most people realize, and that’s where Joseph Paris comes in! Joseph worked with Frank during his early career. And now he works with current celebrities to ensure that they look just as dapper as Frank did. It might surprise viewers to learn about the kind of high-profile clientele that can be found in Joseph’s office. And as he is rumored to have served such notable clients as Burt Reynolds, Charlie Sheen, Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher, and Ben Affleck.
Joseph Paris certainly has a vast amount of knowledge about toupees. And it’s surprising to learn how much work goes in to ensuring that a toupee looks natural when sitting on a star’s head. According to Joseph, it’s better for stars to use clips to keep their toupees attached to their heads than to try. And use some kind of medical bonding because the medical bonding can become unsanitary and start to stink.
Back in the day, Joseph’s toupee skills made Frank Sinatra one of his regular clients. Frank would come to Joseph to get custom hairpieces made just for him. In order to customize a hairpiece for a client, not only do measurements have to be made. But the exact consistency of hair has to be determined. It seems that many people buy ready-made toupees that have too much hair, providing an unnatural look. When a celebrity comes to Joseph to get a custom-made hairpiece, they don’t have to deal with this.
More Celebrities Wear Toupees Than You Realize!
Since Frank Sinatra’s heyday, numerous other methods for dealing with hair loss have been offered up to the public. However, it still seems as if the toupee stands amongst all of them as the most popular. There have been numerous other stars over the course of Hollywood history that have relied on toupees. And some of them are still around fooling people with their hairpieces to this day! Ted Danson is one such star. And it appears that he has been utilizing toupees to hide his hair loss since the days of Cheers.
John Wayne started using a toupee in 1948. And the beloved Western star was never one to try to hide the fact that he had to seek extra help to cover up his lessening hair. Like Frank did during his heyday, John Wayne liked using custom-made hairpieces crafted from human hair. Humphrey Bogart also wore a toupee throughout most of his career.
The aforementioned Burt Reynolds hid his toupee usage from the public until the revelation of toupee receipts during his bankruptcy trial made the fact impossible to conceal. The receipts showed that Burt had spent upwards of $100,000 on toupees over the course of his career. Sean Connery is another star that wore a toupee. With some rumors claiming that the Scottish actor had to use hairpieces to hide his receding hairline as far back as his James Bond days. Finally, Frank Sinatra’s fellow Rat Pack member Bing Crosby was another star that famously wore a hairpiece. Unlike Frank, Bing eventually came to terms with his loss of hair, going without his toupee for a string of WWII USO shows.
Although one might assume that the woman Frank Sinatra spent $20,000 a year on was one of his lovers. It was actually a little old lady that he paid to carry around his toupees. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Frank Sinatra had to start wearing toupees fairly early on in his career. And that he travelled with as many as 60 toupees on him at a time in order to keep up his appearances? As always, like this video to show your support. And subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
