THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 50 JULY 31, 2019
COURTESY OF JIM MARKHAM (3).ProfileStyle
jail. The former inmate was thought to have
information pertaining to the cult leader’s
motive for the murders. But Markham doesn’t
believe any of the taped conversation from the
sting was used in the trial that took place in
1970 and 1971. “This guy looked spooked, really
scared,” he says of the meeting.
Five decades later, Markham floats his own
theory, one that deviates from the official
“Helter Skelter” scenario put forth by Manson
prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi: that the cult
leader ordered the Tate murders in hopes
that it would spark an apocalyptic race war as
foretold to him in what he believed were coded
lyrics on The Beatles’ White Album.
Though Markham is reluctant to denigrate
the memory of Sebring, who was his mentor
and after whom he named his son, he claims
that the late hairdresser knew Manson and
suggests that the murders were the result of a
drug deal gone bad — an account that aligns
with a once-popular explanation that fell out
of favor as the Helter Skelter narrative became
dominant. Back in 1969, Sebring was nick-
named The Candyman and was said to have
used his salon to peddle drugs to the stars.
“I don’t want to get into the drugs, but I
never bought into the race war theory. I believe
Manson had gone up to the house” — Polanski
was away shooting a movie — “and Manson
wanted to sell cocaine and marijuana,” he
says. “He showed Jay and Wojciech the prod-
uct. They were going to buy some of it, but
the two of them beat him up at the gate. The
next night, Manson sent the Family up [to kill
them].” Markham adds, “I’ve lived with that
for 50 years. I still believe that.” He declines to
elaborate further given that he is still in touch
with Sebring’s nephew Anthony DiMaria, who
is planning a movie about the murders.
In Once Upon a Time, Manson appears before
the killings at the Cielo Drive house. The film
implies that Manson was looking for record
producer Terry Melcher, the son of Doris Day,
who with girlfriend Candice Bergen had
moved out before the murders. (In real life,
Manson, an aspiring musician, was intro-
duced to Melcher, who declined to sign him, by
The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson.)
Once Upon a Time offers a revisionist his-
tory of the murders and introduces fictitiousThis was a very powerful man at the time.”
In the years after the Manson murders,
Markham forged his own path — one that
diverged from his humble beginnings of
charging $5 a haircut in Albuquerque.
After winning the silver medal in the HairMarkham continued to intersect with the
Tate family while the Manson investiga-
tion played out. “When I took over the salon,
Sharon’s mother, Gwen, treated me like a son,”
he says. Markham dated Sharon’s younger
sister, Debra, who consulted on Tarantino’s
movie. “She looked just like Sharon. They were
a real nice family.”
In 1972, he founded Markham Products
with backing from actor Peter Lawford, all
the while cutting and styling for the likes
of Newman (“my first, my favorite”), Robert
Redford, Johnny Carson, Paul Anka, Joanne
Woodward and Jacqueline Bisset. Newman
was particularly loyal, allowing Markham to
hang a framed letter in the salon in 1971: “He
wrote, ‘Dear Jim, just a note to let you know
that I’m a Sebring fan and you’re still running
a first-class operation.’ ” Markham also taught
a young Jon Peters the Sebring method. The
hairdresser turned A Star Is Born producer
took one of his classes in the early ’70s.
While doing a house call at Denis’ Modern
Film Effects, a postproduction house
that worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark and
Apocalypse Now, Markham met Cheryl, then a
receptionist. They married in 1982 and began
running the businesses together. After sell-
ing Markham Products in 1989, Markham
launched ABBA Pure and Natural Hair Care,
one of the first vegan lines in the U.S., then
sold it in 1997 for $20 million. With Pureology,
a line created in 2001, Markham made his
biggest contribution by developing the now-
ubiquitous sulfate- and carcinogen-free
shampoo. “The concept for Pureology started
from a phone call,” says Cheryl. “My best
girlfriend said, ‘I got diagnosed with ovarian
cancer. My doctor gave me a list of don’t-use
ingredients. You’ve got to make me things
that I can use.’ ” In 2011, Markham founded his
final company, ColorProof Evolved Color Care.
Perhaps in a nod to Once Upon a Time, salons
that stock the ColorProof product line are
being offered classes on the scissor-over-comb
technique pioneered by Sebring and perfected
by Markham.
Although he provided original hair salon
items to Once Upon a Time’s props department,
Markham’s input was otherwise limited. His
offer to cut the hair of Damian Lewis, who plays
former client and Sebring International inves-
tor McQueen, was rebuffed because Tarantino
already had hired a hair team. “It looked like
it was an ’80s look,” he says of Lewis’ cut. “But
otherwise, Damian looked and acted exactly
like Steve McQueen.”
Except for a handful of longtime, non-celeb-
rity clients, Markham rarely cuts hair these
days. Looking back to before the Manson mur-
ders, he waxes nostalgic. “It was the time of my
life,” he says. “But then it was really awful. The
whole city was terrorized. It went from being
loosey-goosey to very guarded overnight. They
brought about a whole new era.”1 Peter Lawford
(right) jokingly cut
Markham’s hair
circa the ’70s.
2 Markham (right)
with celebrity
hairstylist Vidal
Sassoon in 1968.
3 Jay Sebring
Salons were located
in West Hollywood,
New York and
London, among
other cities.321characters into the blood-soaked narrative,
namely Leonardo DiCaprio’s actor Rick Denton
and Brad Pitt’s stunt double Cliff Booth.
Margot Robbie plays Tate, while Polanski has a
bit part, played by Rafal Zawierucha. Markham
mostly approves of the film, but he bristles at
the depiction of Sebring. “I thought Jay was
marginalized, and that upset me,” he says.
“They portrayed him as this sort of houseboy.Olympics, he had flown to Los Angeles in 1966
to learn Sebring’s method of cutting and styl-
ing. (At the time, the celebrity hairstylist was
romantically involved with Tate and living
with her.) Markham describes Tate as a “really
sweet lady,” but says he never saw the actress
with Polanski. “She was always without him,”
Markham says. “She seemed to like Jay a lot.
They were always kissing. Lovey-dovey.”“ I believe Manson had gone up to the house to sell cocaine
and marijuana. The next night, Manson sent the Family.”