Curls have been around since the beginning of time. In honor of Man Week, we thought we’d showcase some of our favorite curly icons through the ages — men who wore their curls with pride rather than cutting them off.
Stone Age: We weren’t around during the Stone Age, but if today’s caveman stereotype is any indication, curly hair was a hot look for prehistoric humans.
Samson
The Bible: Samson is a Herculean figure, who is granted tremendous strength through the Spirit of the Lord to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men, including wrestling a lion, slaying an entire army with nothing more than the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple. Through it all, he rocked his curls.
Emporer Hadrain
Roman Empire (AD 117 to 138″>: The Roman Empire reached its peak geographical size under Emporer Hadrian’s rule, and his curly hairstyle was the look of the day for Roman men.
12th Century: Sir Lancelot was one of the Knights of the Round Table. He is typically considered to be one of the greatest and most trusted of King Arthur’s knights and played a part in many of Arthur’s victories. He is perhaps most famous for his affair with Arthur’s wife Guinevere and the role he plays in the search for the Holy Grail. Long curls were the look of the day during the Middle Ages.
King Henry VIII
Tudor Period: King Henry VIII was known for his many wives. Maybe it was his curls that attracted them!
18th Century: Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. He was military governor of Florida (1821″>, commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815″>, and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. Like many presidents of his time long curls were considered presidential, even if it was a curly wig they were wearing.
19th Century: Curly Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pen name Mark Twain, is known for such novels as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist, is best known for his theory of relativity as well as his wild curls.
Turn of the 20th Century: Charlie Chaplin was one of the stars of silent film. His curls peaked out from beneath his trademark bowler hat.
20th Century: Curlytop Jerry Garcia was one of the founders of the legendary band the Grateful Dead.
What would the ’70s have been without the Brady men and their Brady perms. They helped launch a perm explosion among men.
Fitness enthusiast Richard Simmons is known for his ‘fro as much as for his exercise empire.
We could choose rockers from any number of hair bands to celebrate, but we opted for Ted Nugent. You can’t think of Nugent without thinking of those long, wild curls.
Gene Shalit, the film and book critic on NBC’s The Today Show, He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, his colorful bow ties and his wild curls.
Kramer, aka Michael Richards, was known for his wacky personality and his crazy curls, which were his trademark.
Sideshow Bob Roberts
Since Sideshow Bob Roberts first appeared on “The Simpsons” on October 9, 1994. Voiced by Kelsey Grammer, he has become a pop culture icon, and so has his palm-tree-like hair.
The 21st century: The 21st century already has brought us many curly male icons, including teen idol Corbin Bleu, actor Adrian Grenier, comedian Carrot Top and the Jonas Brothers.
