By PAM WIGHT Special to the Daily Press
Vernon Williamson charged 71 cents for a haircut when he first took over the tiny barbershop on 18th Street and Broadway in Santa Monica more than three decades. Now it’s $20 — still about half the city average.
Entering Williamson’s “Hair Broadway Barber and Beauty Shop” is taking a step back in time. Three retro, vinyl-covered barber chairs line one side of the small room, divided by a shampoo sink that is discolored from years of use. Two hair dryer chairs — the kind used in the ’70s that have built-in ashtrays in the arm rests — sit side by side. Even the waiting area’s chairs are the originals.
Williamson is stepping down from his proprietary position at the shop this month and handing the scissors to a new owner. High rents, restricted parking and a bad hip from years of standing have forced the 68-year-old to retire from a job he loves.
531,“When I first opened shop in Santa Monica, my rent was about a third of what it is now,” Williamson said.
Loyal patrons have touted Hair Broadway around town, helping to draw big-name celebrities and city officials as regular customers.
“I used to cut Steven Spielberg’s children’s hair,” Williamson said. “And people like actor Tony Todd — and just this morning the director of ‘Ray,’ James White, came in. I’ve also done the director of ‘Barber Shop 2,’ Kevin Sullivan, AJ Adande, the Los Angeles Times sports columnist, and (Santa Monica Police) Chief Butts. Also a lot of the police officers come in here.”
He’s even been invited to some Hollywood parties along the way, the most memorable being one hosted by boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
Williamson was born in Jackson, Tenn., and grew up on a farm in the nearby town of Dennmark. He remembers the Ku Klux Klan sweeping through his neighborhood to terrorize the local black residents.
“I remember when I was a little boy, we’d hear that the KKK was going to ride that night, and we’d have to go in the house and lock the doors and turn off all of the lights,” he said. “I was quite young, maybe 6 or 8 years old. We were scared because they’d come riding at night on their horses, and we’d hear them galloping down the road. My father always kept a shot gun behind the door.”
Williamson was 17 years old when his father died, followed by his mother a year later. He then left for St. Louis, Mo., to live near relatives. After working as a waiter on the railroad for a couple of years, he opened up a barbershop in St. Louis — a shop he ran for 20 years. In 1981, at age 45, he left town for sunny California.
“The weather in St. Louis was just too cold, freezing all my pipes at my shop,” he said. “So that’s when I migrated to California. I had some friends here. I live the single life. I was married at one time, but I always travel alone. I’ve been single for 37 years.”
Williamson has one son in Atlanta, a son and daughter in St. Louis, and four grandchildren. But he grew somber when he spoke of the son he lost.
“I lost one of my sons when I was here in California,” he said. “He was in St. Louis at the time. He died of that virus … the AIDS virus. It’s a terrible thing to lose a child. A really tough thing. He was only 37. But I guess those things happen.”
Williamson’s neighbor, Harry Keiley, described him as a throwback to an older time.
“He’s just one of those perfect neighbors who’s a good friend, respectful and helpful,” Keiley said. “He’s a quiet guy, but if you get him onto politics, he’ll open right up.”
Piled on the table in the waiting area was a diverse selection of reading material for the customers’ enjoyment. A yellowing book entitled “100 Amazing Facts About the Negro” and another, “Shaka: King of the Zulus,” entice any curious patron.
The Daily Press sat down with Williamson in his shop on Broadway to talk about life in Santa Monica.
How did you get into the barbershop business?
“I had to make a living for one thing. I had a brother-in-law back in the ’50s, and I used to work in his shop. I just got interested in doing hair there. He didn’t really teach me, but I always watched him as he was doing it. At that time, I was doing the brush off and the shoe shine and stuff... I was around 14 years old. I just love doing hair.”
What’s the secret of your success?
“Call it success going out with a bad hip if you want to. Standing behind that chair for 45 years has not been easy, believe me. I enjoy people really, I love people... you work with them so long they become like family, like brothers and sisters, because you know, I did women’s hair for like 40 years as well.”
How has Santa Monica changed?
“Santa Monica has changed so much I can’t keep track of it. So many buildings have gone up, the population has changed. There used to be a lot of black people here, right in this neighborhood.”
What do you like most about Santa Monica?
“The weather! I love being 18 blocks from the beach. And I really enjoy the people here.”
Who talks more, you or your customers?
“Well, you hear a lot of things from customers. Although they may talk, they want to make sure you’re doing a good job. But mostly I do more listening than talking. Unless the customer wants to engage in conversation, then I’ll talk. But basically I do a lot of listening. They like to be listened to.”
Why have you stayed in this business for so long?
“It has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I ever had, barbering. I mean I met people from all around the world. I used to have a globe sitting on the table here, and I would mark where people were from. That is until Sept. 11. Since then, it went down to zero. My business has been down since Sept. 11. I hardly get anybody from around the world now. There was one customer from Switzerland who came here to do stem cell research, but he doesn’t come anymore. But now that they passed Prop. 71, I think he’ll be able to come to Los Angeles.”
What do you think about the elections?
“I was quite disappointed. I was hoping to get someone other than George Bush, to be quite honest with you. I was quite surprised it went as it did. I was reading the BBC News this morning, and it said that the Queen was very shocked, as well. As far as George Bush goes, I just don’t believe in violence. I believe in possibly trying to talk things over. People are supposed to be civilized. They’re supposed to be able to sit down and discuss things, especially when you’re the leader of a country, the head of state. Saddam Hussein told Bush that he would be happy to meet him somewhere and discuss things, but Bush refused. I was quite shocked that he wouldn’t sit down and settle things, and instead he went about getting a whole lot of people killed. I think it could have been handled differently.
72F,“Now with Sept. 11, I have no idea what happened. But it seems to me the CIA and FBI weren’t doing their job. And if a 26-year-old man can hijack a plane and come in and take down our buildings like this, someone wasn’t doing their job. I haven’t seen any heads roll. Good thing I wasn’t in charge, because some heads would roll. We’re paying a billion dollars a year to keep this country safe. It’s hurt business all around. They should have done a better job. Here they let 11 young men come in and take us apart.”
Do you think Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction?
“I really don’t know. But I know he asked Bush to sit down and discuss that he had no WMDs. I saw that on ‘60 Minutes’ with Ed Bradley, and I think they should’ve sat down. Grown men should sit down and talk. During the Vietnam War, I was doing a lot of those young kids’ hair, 18, 19 years old — going off to war. I’d do their hair and literally a month later, I’m looking at them dead in the casket. A lot of black people got killed in the Vietnam War. I think it’s sad that I’m doing a nice young man’s hair, who’s been raised to be nice and kind, and all of a sudden he’s dropped in the middle of Vietnam and a month later he comes back dead. There’s something wrong with that. And for what?
“Our country sometimes bothers me. They’ve been known to bomb our own citizens. Like the time the police or government bombed that black neighborhood in Philadelphia a long time ago. And then they killed all those people in Waco — women and children. They shouldn’t be bombing citizens. And we continue to send black men over to the war to supposedly keep a place free, and we’re not even free here. We’ve been under terrorist attack for hundreds of years. A lot of Christians, who aren’t supposed to be for war, voted for George Bush, and it makes you wonder.”
Do you belong to any organizations or clubs?
“No, I don’t belong to any religious organizations. I’m a spiritual person, not a religious person. I have no ties to any religion. I went to Egypt a couple of years ago, and some people asked me if I was with any Christian group and I said, ‘No. I’m not here to Christianize anybody. I’m just a tourist, that’s all.’ I’m not one of those Jesus freaks. There are lots of them here. They try to convert me, but that’s a waste of time. I like to treat people the way I like to be treated — with kindness and respect.”
Do you come from a religious background?
“I grew up in the church. We had to walk two miles down the railroad track to get to church. Most of what we learned at church was hellfire and damnation. You’ll go to hell if you don’t do this or you don’t do that. That devastates the mind. America should have been teaching us how to speak Spanish instead of hellfire and damnation. We’ve got Spanish on one side and French Canadians on the other. We should have been speaking Spanish and French.”
Why does church devastate the mind?
“You get a row of little children sitting on the bench and hearing hellfire and damnation, and it destroys their minds. Christianity is destroying a lot of little minds, with the hellfire and damnation. Not just to pick on Christianity, but a lot of the religions do that. I just mentioned Christianity because I’m in a so-called Christian country. Most religions are doing something that they shouldn’t be doing. I’m just a spiritual person. I found that as a child there were a lot of evil ones in church. My father didn’t believe that hellfire stuff and tried to keep us away from those evil ones who preached that stuff.”
Box:
Vernon Williamson
Age: 68.
Residence: Near Berkeley and Colorado Ave.
Family: Single, three sons, one daughter, four grandchildren.
Education: Washington Technical School in St. Louis, Mo.; Moler Barber College in St. Louis, Mo.
Hobbies: Golf, swimming at the Santa Monica YMCA.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 8, 2004. Read the original PDF.