High Styles

“Buddy, you go to my head!” Abigail van Buren, of “Dear Abby” fame, wrote these words to Buddy Walton, 20th century hairdresser to the elite. She was only one of Mr. Buddy’s many fans. Recipient of the World Gold Medallion, the industry’s highest honor, he was a favorite of society ladies, stage and screen stars, and national and international political figures, such as the Bry, Waldheim, and Busch families of St. Louis; Martha Raye, outrageous Phyllis Diller, and Sophie Tucker, Last of the Red Hot Mamas; gracious Eleanor Roosevelt and genuine Queen Silvia of Sweden. As owner of seven successful salons, in St. Louis and in Florida, Mr. Buddy heard it all. Now he’s telling tales—the enlightening and sometimes surprising stories of the rich and the famous that made his lifelong career entertaining as well as successful. “Get ready for a fascinating trip in the way-back machine! High Styles transports you to a bygone world of glitz and glamour, and as a true pioneer—one of the first male hairdressers in a conservative, Midwestern city—Buddy Walton proves today’s groundbreakers could learn a lot from old school. An entertaining quick-read of a life well-lived.“
—Victoria Wurdinger, Beauty industry journalist and author

“Buddy’s is a real American success story. His love for his clients, celebrity and down-home, shines from every page of this memoir.“ —Mary Atherton, Editor in chief, Modern Salon and Process “When all planes still had propellers and travel by train was still a reasonable way to cross the country, passing through St. Louis was the only way to get anywhere else. Every movie star, dance troupe, theater company, and visiting royal entourage spent at least one night in St. Louis. For most of these celebrities, the first thing on their To Do list was to phone Buddy Walton for rinse, set, and style. More than once I’ve thought that we should have named our airport after Buddy.“ —Francis G. Slay,