Helen Hunt

Biography

Helen Hunt was a hair stylist in Hollywood movies from the 1930s up to 1967, when she worked on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. She was the chief hair stylist for Columbia Pictures. Hunt fell into her career by accident. She was working as a stenographer for a costume company in Omaha, Nebraska. She began washing and arranging the company's wigs on her own time because they were being neglected. When she went into a shop to look over a display of wigs, she was offered a job by the owner, George Westmore of Hollywood. This eventually led to a position with Columbia Pictures. She worked with Rita Hayworth before the latter became a star. According to some sources, it was Hunt who came up with the idea to dye Hayworth's black hair auburn. She also arranged for the painful, lengthy electrolysis that raised Hayworth's hairline. During the course of her career, she also styled such stars as Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Loretta Young and Evelyn Keyes. Cult movie actress Pamela Duncan credited Hunt with bringing her to the attention of the casting department of Columbia.