When was maybelline founded

Mabel's simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle's imagination and he started what would become a billion-dollar business, one that remains a viable American icon after nearly a century. He named it Maybelline in her honor. Arnold Anderson, Debbie Reynolds and Tom Lyle, Throughout the twentieth century, the Maybelline company inflated, collapsed, endured, and thrived in tandem with the nation's upheavals—as did the family that nurtured it.

Tom Lyle Williams—to avoid unwanted scrutiny of his private life—cloistered himself behind the gates of his Rudolph Valentino Villa and ran his empire from the shadows. Now, after a century of silence, this true story celebrates the life of an American entrepreneur, a man forced to remain behind a mask.

The Maybelline story provides classic literary satisfaction. We are especially fascinated to slip vicariously into the lives of the rich and privileged yet cheer for the underdog who overcomes obstacles to astound doubters with his success. We are enthralled with the historical sweep of events whose repercussions live on to the present, all elements of The Maybelline Story—which reads like a juicy novel, but is in fact a family memoir, distilled from nine hundred pages of family accounts from the 's to present.

An engrossing and captivating saga that spans four generations and reveals the humanity, the glamour, and the business sense of a family who changed the face of America and the world. Things might have been different, she speculates, if more next-generation members had been encouraged to attend college and work at the company. She took up with a mining executive named Warren Deuel and waited years for him to divorce his wife. Deuel died in a car accident in , only a few years after they finally were married; Evelyn spent years fending off his creditors, Sharrie writes.

In the s, after a feud with her son and several of her grandchildren, Evelyn drew close to her stylist, a man named Danie King who had performed with Liberace. King introduced her to Charles Harrison Dimmick, known as Harry, who was 12 years younger than Evelyn.

After five weeks of courtship, they were engaged without a prenuptial agreement. Evelyn changed her will, leaving everything to Harry and naming him trustee of her fortune, and gave him money to start a business that included a roller rink. As Sharrie tells it, Melinda—who had moved in with the couple and accompanied them on their honeymoon—drugged Evelyn before the papers transferring her trust account were signed.

She hired a Hot Springs attorney, Peter Petrouski, to represent her. Petrouski suggested she return to California—and asked for her Arkansas estate as payment. He also suggested she hire a shady bodyguard. After more questionable and expensive demands, Evelyn became suspicious and returned to Hot Springs to fight her case with a new attorney.

At her insistence, though, stylist Danie King accompanied her there. Her mother, wife number five, had disappeared without a trace. Evelyn was awarded a divorce and return of her property. But she refused to listen to warnings that Danie King, too, might be after her money.

The pair planned to transform the rink into the Palace Dinner Theater. But one day in , as construction was progressing, Evelyn found a letter from King detailing a plan to turn the Palace into a gay bar, Sharrie recounts.

Right before the theater opened, she caught him with men and began plans to cut him out of her will and their business partnership. Her body was found by the front door. The doorknob had come off in her hand; family members suspected it had been loosened, though King told authorities it had always been loose. A homicide investigation was not conducted.

When three third-generation sisters succeeded their late father as owners of Kwik Lok Corporation, they knew little about the business.

Since then, with mentoring from the board, they have encouraged management to make numerous positive changes. Fine jewelry is one of the few retail categories still dominated by independent multigenerational stores. There are nearly 21, specialty jewelers in North America. Many are third-, fourth-, and eve Family businesses are important contributors to the economic sustainability of their local communities—and often to the regions' social, cultural and charitable activities, as well.

Several of the c Julie Andrews, playing the title role in the film Mary Poppins, sang: "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and, snap, the job's a game. Skip to main content. The hidden history of Maybelline By Barbara Spector. Article categories:. A fresh start When three third-generation sisters succeeded their late father as owners of Kwik Lok Corporation, they knew little about the business.

Family jewelry stores opt for closure Fine jewelry is one of the few retail categories still dominated by independent multigenerational stores.