Here’s a heads up. TV stars with “bad hair,” or smooth operators with none at all, again will be brandishing their bald spots this fall. In fact it’s shaping up as a seminal season, even without John Lithgow and Michael Chiklis in play.
Sure it hurt when Daddio went down and Chiklis with it. He has terrible hair — and that’s a compliment.
Lithgow also left the thinning ranks when NBC dropped his long-running 3rd Rock From the Sun. Displaying the best widow’s peak in the business, his weekly presence spat in the face of Rogaine, Sy Sperling, hair-in-a-can and the entire “extra body” shampoo industry. He was a veritable Hair-cules for America’s sparse-on-tops.
Still, several standard-bearers are still with us.
Dennis Franz remains in place on ABC’s NYPD Blue, as do Kelsey Grammer (NBC’s Frasier) and Anthony Edwards (NBC’s ER). In late night, David Letterman continues to lose it while Paul Shaffer long has had nothing to lose. Also, let’s not forget Homer Simpson, whose signature croquet-wicket coif is accomplished with just two remaining strands.
The balding trio of Jason Alexander, Craig T. Nelson and Ted Danson respectively were in Seinfeld, Coach and INK four years ago. Danson, who renounced his toupee after Cheers, now is entrenched in CBS’s Becker, opening its fourth season tonight. Nelson also has another hit, CBS’s The District. And Alexander is back this week in ABC’s Bob Patterson sitcom, starting Tuesday.
But wait, there’s more — or less. James Gandolfini, star of HBO’s The Sopranos, can only lay claim to a hair-trigger temper.
Damon Wayans is doing his first full season of ABC’s My Wife and Kids. Let’s applaud his no-frills chrome dome. The same goes for Chi McBride on Fox’s Boston Public.
Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, who has the title role in CBS’s new The Education of Max Bickford, still has his acting chops, but little hair apparent.
James Cromwell (Babe) and his comb-over are on CBS in Citizen Baines. Jim Belushi and his increasingly high forehead are the stars of ABC’s According to Jim, arriving Wednesday. And sidewalled Richard Schiff will still be keeping the faith as White House communications director Toby Ziegler on NBC’s The West Wing.
Even veteran rug wearer Stacy Keach is now flaunting a generous portion of his scalp on Fox’s Titus.
None of this means that big hair is headed for a big fall. Our TV screens are still locks boxes, with the haves far outnumbering the have-nots. Cripes, you can hide a small country within the follicle forest of Rob Lowe of The West Wing or David Boreanaz of the WB’s Angel.
But a bared scalp isn’t the eyesore it used to be. Take it from producer Aaron Spelling, who used to swear by hair enhancement but now is inclined to let bygones be bygones.
“For the most part, you would never have gotten on a network 20 years ago if you had lost your hair. But I’m more interested in the eyes, not the hair. The hair doesn’t tell you the soul of an actor. The eyes do.”
He speaks the bald truth, no?
