Fred Hayman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 29, 1925
- Fashion retailer
- businessman
Fred Hayman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Fred Jules Pollag May 29, 1925 St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| Died | April 14, 2016 (aged 90) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Giorgio Beverly Hills |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
Fred Jules Pollag (May 29, 1925 – April 14, 2016), known professionally as Fred Hayman, was a Swiss-born American fashion retailer and entrepreneur, founder of Giorgio Beverly Hills in 1961 in Beverly Hills, California.[1] He was also known as "Mr. Beverly Hills"[2] and "Mr. Rodeo Drive".[citation needed]
Hayman was born to a Jewish family[3] in St. Gallen, Switzerland in 1925, the son of Richard Pollag and Irma Levy. His sister Yvette is four years older than him. After his father died, his mother married Julius Haymann (two n's), who already had a son, Eugene.[4] His family emigrated to New York during World War II, where Hayman found work as an apprentice chef at the Waldorf-Astoria.[5]
In 1943, Hayman joined the United States Navy, but stayed in the US training with the Navy to become a dentist until 1946, when he went to Paris and Mexico City, before returning to work at the Waldorf-Astoria.[4]
Career
Beverly Hilton
By the 1960s, Hayman was the manager of the Beverly Hilton hotel.[5] This was where he met Gale, who was working there as a cocktail waitress, and was also a divorcee. She was arrested for working underage; Hayman provided bail and they married a year later. He was sixteen years older than her.[5]
Giorgio Beverly Hills
Giorgio Beverly Hills was founded by Hayman and George Grant, who opened their women's fashion boutique in 1961 at 273 Rodeo Drive (at the junction with Dayton Way), which was then a very ordinary street. Gucci, Tiffany, and others established Rodeo Drive stores appeared in the mid-1970s. The name was derived from Grant's first name. Hayman recognised the potential of the site, as it was close to The Beverly Hilton hotel, where he had been working. The store used a signature yellow-and-white striped awning, which came to symbolise a Beverly Hills lifestyle. Hayman bought out Grant in 1962.[6] The store had a reading room, pool table and oak bar, so that men could amuse themselves while the women shopped.[7]
Customers included Natalie Wood, Princess Grace, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Diana Ross, Charlton Heston, and Elizabeth Taylor.[7]
In 1979, it was determined that there should be a signature fragrance and two years later in November 1981, Giorgio was launched.[6] In 1987, the fragrance business and the Giorgio Beverly Hills brand were sold to Avon for $165 million.[8]
Fred Hayman Beverly Hills
Following the sale of the Giorgio Beverly Hills brand, the store's name was changed to Fred Hayman Beverly Hills.[7]
Hayman owned an office building on Canon Drive, next to the restaurant Spago, which has his name on the top in a distinctive red script against a background of his signature yellow.[9]
Honors
In 2011, Hayman was honored with a plaque on the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style. Also in 2011, Rose Apodaca published a biography of Hayman, Fred Hayman—The Extraordinary Difference.[9]
Philanthropy
Hayman has donated to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden.[10] Together with his wife, he has donated to the Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills.[11]
