Saturday Morning Beard Fact

‘Among the most copiously bearded men of his generation was the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who became one of the most famous faces in London. Shaw’s facial hair was so well known he could be recognised just in silhouette. One story claims that an eager advertising executive from a razor company hit upon the publicity stunt of persuading Shaw to shave off his beard. The writer is said to have responded with a perfectly composed postcard of refusal:

Gentlemen:

I shall never shave, for the same reason that I started a beard, and for the reason my father started his. I remember standing at his side, when I was five, while he was shaving for the last time. ‘Father,’ I asked, ‘why do you shave?’ He stood there for a full minute and finally looked down at me. ‘Why the hell do I?’ he said. He never did again.

Source: Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards, Lucinda Hawksley