Lynda Gurasich
Journeyman Hair Stylist
(1943-2020)
At a time in the early 1960s when film and television production was in abundance in Hollywood, the union had more jobs than they could provide qualified hair stylists. Although she had filled out an application for the union two years prior upon the recommendation of Helen Turpin, the head of hairstyling for 20th Century Fox Studios, she never heard from anyone. They called Lynda Gurasich at 6:00pm on a Monday night and asked her to report to Warner Bros at 5:48am (set up time was 12 minutes at that time). She would be working on The Great Race. Lynda was told to bring her kit, but since she was working in a salon at that time, she didn’t have a kit or even know what to put in it. She packed a little square overnight case with a comb and brush and put it by the door, ready to go the next morning.
In the dark the next morning, Lynda wandered around Warner Bros until she found the right stage. She spent three days on The Great Race teasing the background’s hair into big, high hair styles and pinned huge hats on top. When she arrived on the stage that morning, she met Jean Burt Reilly, the head of Warner Bros. hair styling who graciously and kindly gave her enough equipment to work with and showed her what to do. There were about fifteen other hair stylists on a big empty stage and they worked non-stop every morning, broke for lunch, did touch ups and did it all again the next day.
Within a short time her kit grew to be handle all situations and became two large duffle bags. She even carried Sterno to heat her curling irons in case they were out in the woods with no electricity. Lynda and was called to CBS for work on on Cinderella with Leslie Ann Warren, Ginger Rodgers, Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm and Jo Van Fleet. When The Sound of Music returned from working on location in Austria, Lynda did the Von Trapp children on Los Angeles unit for the musical numbers.
She filled in at CBS on variety shows for Red Skelton, Danny Kaye and others, but when she became pregnant and was visibly showing, CBS fired her because of insurance liability. After her son Chris’ birth, she returned to work and finally had achieved enough days that she could take "the test." Although it was grueling she passed the practical, written and interviews that was part of the process at that time. She went to Fox Studios and helped wherever needed, sometimes films, other times on tv series The Virginian, Burke’s Law, The Green Hornet andThe Name of the Game. At that time, credit was only given to the studio department heads and only women were allowed to be hair stylists, and only men were allowed to be make-up artists.
Lynda Gurasich went on to be one of the most in-demand hair stylists from the 1970s until her retirement 2003. She was recognized as one of the "Big Five" hair stylists who were most requested and respected artists at that time, working with the top directors and actors. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman earned her one of two Primetime Emmys (and two more nominations), and feature films All the President’s Men, Exorcist II; The Heretic, Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Silverado, The Witches of Eastwick, No Way Out, The Accidental Tourist, Dick Tracy, Bugsy, Jurassic Park, Bullworth, Town and Country, and dozens more assured her membership into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where she participated with the Makeup Artists and Hairstyling Branch Executive Committee for many years. She worked with Warren Beatty for 30 years, and her clientele included Hollywood stars Barbra Streisand, Kevin Costner, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Matthew McConaughey, Angelica Huston, Michael Douglas, Burt Reynolds and many others. Her quick dry wit, sharp intelligence, tremendous talent and a love of the collaborative process of filmmaking made Lynda Gurasich a much-beloved icon in the industry.
Lynda is survived by her son, Michael. Her other son Christopher pre deceased her and passed January 29, 2016. Lynda was born July 4th, 1940 and passed November 16, 2020. For the last couple of years she had been a resident at the Motion Picture Television Fund campus. Due to Covid19 protocols, there will not be any services at this time and our sincerest condolences go out to the Gurasich family.
