Celebrity hairdresser Kenneth Battelle, the man behind Audrey Hepburn's sweep and Jackie Kennedy's bouffant

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland were clients of Kenneth Battelle. The Syracuse-born celebrity hairdresser, who created styles for Manhattan socialites, foreign royalty, first ladies and movie stars, died at age 86 on Sunday at his home in Wappingers Falls, New York.

Secretary of Grooming:: Kenneth Battelle, the hairdresser who gave stars their calling-card hairdos in the Sixties, died on Sunday at age

As New York's answer to London's Vidal Sassoon, Battelle's clients also included Katharine Hepburn, Gloria Vanderbilt, Brooke Astor, Lauren Bacall and Lucille Ball, who called him 'God'.

Battelle's four-story beauty parlor at 19 East 54th Street, which caused panic in 1990 when it caught fire and burned to the ground, was known as Fifth Avenue's place of fun.

In 1961, when he became the first and only hairdresser to receive the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award, Vogue magazine remarked that 'almost every famous female head in the world has gone or will go' to Battelle.
When Glamour put his name on the cover, circulation increased, recalled Karlys Daly Brown, a former beauty editor of the magazine, to The New York Times.
Famous for steering his clients away from permanent dyes, bleaches and hair spray in favor of a more natural look, Battelle, born in 1927, was labeled an 'institution'.
 When he felt Mrs Kennedy's cut was too short and curly for her height and prominent cheekbones, he decided to stretch her hair out by setting it with big rollers, he told Vanity Fair in 2003. Battelle, nicknamed the Secretary of Grooming, perfected her bouffant style; a look he thought would balance out her broad features. 

Hairdresser to the stars: Mr Battelle made a splash with his style of movement and shine, cutting and Jackie Kennedy's bouffant hair from 1954

Using some hair spray, he allowed a few wisps to fall away to make her look less 'set.'
 Miss Monroe’s hair was damaged by over bleaching and perming: in 1958, Battelle was credited with restoring her locks to its soft luster. Battelle styled her for President Kennedy’s 45th-birthday rally in May 1962 at Madison Square Garden, where she famously sang 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President.'

Battelle staretd his career as a short-order cook and dishwasher to help support four younger sisters after his parents divorced when he was 12.

Style-setter: Coined New York's answer to London's Vidal Sassoon, Mr Battelle's clients also included Audrey Hepburn, Gloria Vanderbilt, Brooke Astor, Lauren Bacall and Lucille Ball, who called him 'God'

At 17 he enlisted in the Navy and attended Syracuse University on the G.I. Bill, assistance provided for returning World War II veterans. When money ran out, he saw an ad for $100-a-week jobs to anyone who finished a six-month course - he enrolled in beauty school.

His first job was at the Starlet Beauty Bar, opposite the Greyhound bus station in Syracuse, then working briefly in Miami and later in New York City where he arrived with $9 in 1950.
Four years later while working for Helena Rubinstein, newly wed Mrs Kennedy arrived at the salon and when her usual hairdresser was busy, the receptionist paged Kenneth Battelle.