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Kaddish for hairdresser Vidal Sassoon at London memorial

October 12, 2012 12:13
Vidal Sassoon

By

Jennifer Lipman,

Jennifer Lipman

1 min read

Friends and colleagues of Jewish hairdresser Vidal Sassoon paid tribute to him at a London memorial service following his death in May.

Actor Jeremy Irons and architect Zaha Hadid were among those who spoke of his contribution to British industry and recalled his rise from humble origins in the Jewish East End to stylist to the stars. Other guests at the event included designer Zandra Rhodes, actor Michael Caine and hairdressers Nicky Clarke and John Freida.

Born in 1928, Sassoon spent part of his childhood in the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Orphanage in Lauderdale Road, before becoming a hairdresser's apprentice at the age of 14. He opened his first salon on Bond Street in 1954 and created a defining image of the 1960s with the "five points cut".

The service, held at St Paul's Cathedral, included a recitation of Kaddish by Baroness Rabbi Julia Neuberger as well as a reading from the book of Ecclesiastics.

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