Page 14 August 12, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Dale Snowberger from front page
Tonsorial Parlor Owner Dale Snowberger. Photo provided by Dale Snowberger.
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up in Manhattan Beach, plying his trade at
his hair salon, Manhattan Fashions, down
by the beach.
When Snowberger was twelve, he and his
mother took a trip West to visit Ronald. and
spent the summer in the South Bay. His brother
had secured an apartment in El Segundo
for Dale and their mother. Snowberger said
that he was quickly hooked on the charms
of the beach lifestyle. When he returned
to the Buckeye State, Snowberger told all
interested that he was moving to California
after his high school graduation. And so, he
did, landing here on July 12, 1971.
“I remember the first day at the beach
in Manhattan,” Snowberger said. “Ike and
Tina Turner were listed on the marquee at
(the long-gone) Cisco’s Bar, across the street
from Panchos. How cool, I thought.”
Snowberger initially planned to attend
college in pursuit of an art degree but was
sidetracked when he decided to first attend
cosmetology school to work in his brother’s
salon and earn some Benjamin’s to pay his
way through school. He cottoned to the hair
salon business, but did end up attending some
classes at UCLA, which led him to take on
freelance graphics work. That work led to
drawing a monthly column for a national
magazine, teaching an art class at a middle
school, and attempting to syndicate a couple
of comic strips.
All these endeavors took place while
Snowberger was simultaneously perfecting
his hair-styling skills.
In 1974, Snowberger had an opportunity
to work at the Tonsorial Parlor, which, at the
time, was in Manhattan Beach on Highland
Avenue near 33rd Street. “Eventually, I bought
the business,” he said, “which was started in
1968, and moved it to El Segundo six-andhalf
years ago.” Snowberger said it took a
couple of years to convert the space under
the Grand Avenue Hotel to the hair-cutting
salon he had envisioned.
Snowberger calls his shop “a combination
hair salon and museum. If you saw my shops
Old West décor, you would realize I love the
history of the Old West,” he said. “From the
tin ceiling to brick and barn wood walls, and
photos of the good and bad guys from the
Old West, along with all the memorabilia. I
am quite proud of it.”
He said that even people who do not need
their locks shorn would quickly visit just to
“take a look” at the impressive retro décor.
This scribe fits into this category, having
recently received my every-three-week buzz
cut courtesy of my brother. But I did drop
into the shop on a Saturday morning to view
the impressive array of Old West photos,
brickbats, and memorabilia that adorn the
walls and shelves.
Snowberger said that, over the years, he
had pursued other entrepreneurial business
opportunities, including participating in the
venture of a coin-op laundry that he owned
for 12 years with his brother, teaching martial
arts, and acting professionally. He plays the
guitar and bluegrass banjo and has participated
in numerous road races, from 10K’s
to marathons to 50-mile Ultra competitions.
He also likes to get out on the road and ride
his Harley.
Of his acting career: He is listed by the
IMDb film website as receiving credits
for acting in three films, including the
2001 Johnny Depp film “Blow,” which
didn’t have anything to do with blow-drying
a clients hair and featured the at-the-time
located in Manhattan Beach Tonsorial
Parlor and its owner, Paul Barile, who was
portrayed in the movie, under a different
name, by none other than Paul Reubens, aka
Pee-Wee Herman.
Back to reality. When not looking for
adventure on the pavement atop his Harley,
Snowberger has “ridden in a couple of weeklong
cattle drives,” as well as several other
“historical horse rides.” He plans to ride in
the Eastern Sierra Rock Creek Pack station
horse and mule drive in September, a four-day
drive bringing the animals down to Bishop
or Lone Pine from the higher elevations in
the Mammoth Lakes area for the winter.
When he is not riding the Harley or driving
the horses and mules, Snowberger, who
moved to El Segundo in 1997 with his wife
Janet, helped parent his two daughters through
the El Segundo school system. He said that
his two daughters, as well as their husbands,
still “live and work here.”
Regarding his wife of nearly 40 years,
Snowberger called her “my childhood sweetheart
and soul mate. Snowberger said he had
been acquainted with Janet for more than 60
years. “She has been my supporter through
all my wacky and not wacky adventures,”
Snowberger said. Over the years, Snowberger
has crossed paths with more than a few locals.
One of those would be Fred McCown, who,
according to Snowberger, has been a friend
of his for more than 55 years. The friends
still get together whenever possible, and do
some horseback riding, typically on Sundays.
Here is what McCown wrote about Snowberger:
“Dale was a very good wrestler
throughout our school years. Very popular
with boys and girls alike. His talents (painting,
writing, music, acting) always amazed
me. He can sing and play many instruments.
We both loved the outdoors (fishing, camping,
hiking).
“He is very witty, and he is one of the
funniest guys I ever knew. In speech class,
he would sit in the back making stupid faces
while I would try to give a speech.
“I would beg the teacher to make him
stop,” continued McCown. “He never passes
up a chance to make you laugh. His driving
skills in high school were a bit suspect,”
McCown related. “I have been in many
small accidents with him. He liked to get in
punching fights while driving. For the last
25 years, we have both spent many hours
on the back of a horse. The two of us have
been on cattle drives in Colorado and horse
drives in the High Sierras. We still ride once
a week together. Dale is loyal; He will drop
everything to come running when needed. I
always considered myself as his frontman. I
know his humor so well he would use me to
set his jokes up. Most of all, Dale is about
the best friend a man could ever have. He
will stand by you at all costs.”
Snowberger friend Phil O’Connor was
there when Dale and he started the Lawndale
Ensemble Theatre. Emailed O’Connor: “In
the late 1980s, the city of Lawndale asked
if I could look into setting up a community
theater group, and Dale was one of the
first residents to step forward. He was a
major figure in our group effort to stage six
productions before we were left without a
performance space.
“Along the way, Dale became my barber,
and as the years progressed, the barber of
my now grown three sons.
“Over the thirty-plus years of our friendship,
Dale has revealed himself to be a wonderful
actor, musician, and artist. Honest and true
with a great sense of humor, Dale has shared
tales of his love of the Old West, cattle drives,
the banjo, and his treasured family.
“The oft used moniker of ‘Renaissance
Man’ seems to fit in Dale’s case: a Renaissance
Man with a Big Sky Country twist.”
Said Snowberger: “I’ve been blessed and
honored to have friends over the years come
by and spend 30 minutes with me every
month or so while I cut their hair and catch
up on their lives and families, and then they
give me money! It’s a good life!”
The local “Renaissance Man” will be
celebrating the big 7-0 in the next few days.
And that day will mark a 50-year career
barbering. Of his career path, Snowberger
said that “my summer job became a career.
Guess that I should have taken it more seriously
- LOL.” •
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