Governor Charlie Baker’s Hair: A Very Brief Retrospective
Charlie Baker’s head of hair, a fulsome collection of locks that oversaw its master’s rise to the governorship of Massachusetts, met its match today in a confrontation with some #2 clippers. Let us all mourn the loss with a brief elegy to its glory days.
Gov. Baker gets hair shorn http://t.co/3w5FzrQtoA MT @MassGovernor: Getting buzzed to benefit @DanaFarber pic.twitter.com/L5UTw2M97a
— WBUR (@WBUR) April 7, 2015
Baker joined the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and employees of Granite Telecommunications in Quincy to cut off his hair and raise awareness for the charity, a good cause to be sure. For Baker’s hair, the end came as a final chapter in a decades-long decline that saw its length shortened bit by bit. Fans and admirers took today to remember the hair’s glory days: the 1970s, an era when flowing locks were in vogue, an era when rock and roll filled the airwaves, an era when Charlie Baker didn’t have to look the part at meetings of the Republican Governor’s Association. Baker’s youthful head of hair from that era has achieved some notoriety thanks to his 1978 Harvard yearbook photo. (Deval Patrick’s Harvard yearbook photo brought him some fans, too.)
The transition in #magov: pic.twitter.com/X7YDcEz4dz — Michael Levenson (@mlevenson) November 5, 2014
But Baker’s hair’s real brush with fame came in a “60 Minutes” report on the band Aerosmith. During that broadcast, an image flashed across the screen, and eagle-eyed viewers spotted a familiar face in the crowd. It was Baker, front and center, attending a 1979 show in Providence. Look at that mop.
.@SteveGrossmanMA Not bad, but needs more sideburn. #TBT #mapoli #magov http://t.co/BASV8LdQ7w -Team CB pic.twitter.com/0vfjSTiWxH — Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) May 23, 2014
They say age and stress spawn hair loss in men. That hasn’t been true in the traditional sense for Baker, but his hair has gotten shorter since his rock concert days. But even during his gubernatorial campaigns, neatly parted and combed to the side, his hair stood in contrast to Deval Patrick’s close shave.
Associated Press
Now, though, he’s got more of a G.I. Joe look. Don’t be too sad, though. Baker will never be a college kid again. But hair, unlike age, can be reclaimed. Maybe another charity can sponsor his hair growth. Like Movember, but for ’70s-style mop tops.
A buzzcut for Dana Farber as part of Granite Tel's shave today. Over $3 MM raised. My wife is a very good sport! pic.twitter.com/W015ySeTV3
— Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) April 7, 2015
