What's up with Star Trek Sideburns?
- Thread starter backstept
- Start date
Just a guess, but real world sideburns in the 60s were long and bushy (and horrendous). So maybe the tapered short sideburns used in the Trek world were meant to look futuristic?
I always loved the look of the sideburns worn in Trek. I found them to be extremely sexy.
In order not to scare off extras and guest actors, who would have trouble getting more work on other shows if "Star Trek" had had a more radical "23rd century hairstyle" for Starfleet officers, it was decided to simply point the mens' sideburns.
I've recently heard that John Winston (Mr Kyle) was a Los Angeles barber whenever he wasn't working in TV - supposedly he was Gene Coon's regular barber - and I'm wondering whether he was the guy that would come in to the studio and point the actors' sideburns each week? I've never seen confirmation of this, but it'd be fun to find out for sure. (We do know that makeup man, Fred Phillips, did some barbering - he shaved Ilia's head, after all, and Billy Van Zandt has a funny story about his prep to play the Rhaandarite Ensign in TMP.)
I once tried to track Mr Winston down for an interview, not long after ST II, but he wasn't registered with the Screen Actors Guild any more.
^ Just what the hell did spur the development of Elizabethan neck ruffs, anyway? Chronically dull shaving razors? Rampant hickey-mania amongst the gentry? Inquiring minds want to know!
the reason I started this thread is that I was thinking of shaving my beard off and wondering what I'd do with my sideburns, and naturally I thought of Star Trek
I had pointed sideburns all through the 80s, but people didn't really notice until I was in Starfleet uniform. (I had to cover them with white makeup if I was performing my Andorian character.)
These days the sideburns are their own natural pale grey. Sigh... I can even play Mister Fanastic ("Fantastic Four") without needing to buy white colour spray!
Tried them myself when younger, but never worked for me. My idea on why they had the pointed variety was perhaps a fashion statement of the time with a little difference???
the reason I started this thread is that I was thinking of shaving my beard off and wondering what I'd do with my sideburns, and naturally I thought of Star Trek
To quote Captain Kirk in the NuTrek movie...."Do it! Do it! Do it!"
and then post a pic!
No. It was definitely a conscious decision to give the males something distinctive and futuristic, and was reported in numerous books and articles of the day. Had Roddenberry insisted on anything more radical, the extras and guests would have refused to work on Star Trek because it would have stopped them accepting other work.
Sounds like the perfect situation!
BTW, I always had the impression that the sideburns were a specifically Starfleet thing, as opposed to representative of a general civilian fashion. Sort of like the "high and tight" military cut today.
Just a guess here, but Spock had those sideburns in the original pilot, but I don't If I remember right, the doctor had longer ones and Pike's were pretty crisp and straight. I bet they developed from Nimoy's character. I still wear those sideburns, but the only one who recognizes them is my boss, another trek sympathiser.
That's why I made a point of specifying a '"23rd century hairstyle" for Starfleet officers...'
I think that both The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before Spock is the only one with pointed sideburns, and everyone else got them afterwards..
Of course, it wasn't just "Starfleet." Heck, it wasn't even just "The Federation." You can see that even the Kelvans (well except Kelinda) in "By Any Other Name" had pointy sideburns.
(You can even see where actor Robert Fortier's actual sideburns stop and the pointy part of the sideburns were simply applied with make-up.)
So, rather than giving all the Starfleet folks pointy sideburns in common, I think it was more of a shorthand way of conveying "The Hairstyle of The Future"--for everybody--not just Starfleet. You can tell it's The Future because they have sideburns unlike anything we currently have on Earth.
(You can even see where actor Robert Fortier's actual sideburns stop and the pointy part of the sideburns were simply applied with make-up.)
So, rather than giving all the Starfleet folks pointy sideburns in common, I think it was more of a shorthand way of conveying "The Hairstyle of The Future"--for everybody--not just Starfleet. You can tell it's The Future because they have sideburns unlike anything we currently have on Earth.
Oops. Dup.
Not necessarily. Maybe the Kelvans used images from intercepted Starfleet subspace transmissions as guidelines for their own disguises.Of course, it wasn't just "Starfleet." Heck, it wasn't even just "The Federation." You can see that even the Kelvans (well except Kelinda) in "By Any Other Name" had pointy sideburns.
(You can even see where actor Robert Fortier's actual sideburns stop and the pointy part of the sideburns were simply applied with make-up.)
So, rather than giving all the Starfleet folks pointy sideburns in common, I think it was more of a shorthand way of conveying "The Hairstyle of The Future"--for everybody--not just Starfleet. You can tell it's The Future because they have sideburns unlike anything we currently have on Earth.
Have we seen any other civilians on TOS with the pointed sideburns? And, actually, even if we have, it doesn't really tell us much (unless, of course, they all have them!). I regularly see civilians IRL wearing a high-and-tight cut, but I think the style is still generally considered a military cut.
