The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 70, No. 32 - August 12, 2021
The New YouTube Theater’s
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was Historic
The ribbon was cut on the brand new YouTube Theater and “WOW” is all we can say. When you attend one of the many events at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park this year, you will absolutely be blown away. The state-of-the-art theater is a 227,000 square foot,
three-story indoor venue situated under the same roof canopy as SoFi Stadium and American Airlines Plaza. It’s truly one of a kind. Photo courtesy City of Inglewood.
Dale Snowberger from front page
Tonsorial Parlor.
So, what is Snowberger’s back-story? He
grew up hunting and fishing and schooling in
rural Ohio. His brother, Ronald, who was 17
years older than Dale, somehow ended 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-and-half
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 week-
long 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.” •