Charles Revson
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Charles Haskell Revson (October 11, 1906 – 1975) was a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created and managed Revlon Cosmetics through five decades.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in the fabled Jewish section of Montreal, Quebec, though he later asserted his birthplace was Boston, Massachusetts. He was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, after his family emigrated from Canada to the United States. His father worked as a cigar roller in Manchester, not far from where the Revsons lived in the Squog Area, a French-Canadian neighborhood that was part of Manchester's "Little Canada". Revson moved to Boston after graduating from Manchester High School West.
[edit] Founding of Revlon
When the cosmetics company he worked for did not promote him to the position of national distributor, Revson decided to go into business for himself. He enlisted as partners his brother, Martin Revson, and the chemist Charles Lachman. The "L" in Revlon was in recognition of him. The company was headquartered in New York City, which became Revson's adopted home.
Beginning in 1932, the company specialized in nail polish, offering a wider variety of colors than had been currently available. It was marketed through salons, and later department stores. Revlon Cosmetics then introduced matching lipsticks and entered the perfume and fragrance market with great success. Revson served as president of the firm from 1932 to 1962, and then as chairman until his death in 1975.
[edit] Quiz show scandals
In the mid-1950s by the company's sponsorship of the quiz show The $64,000 Question, which became a television phenomenon and boosted sales considerably. Revson and his brother Martin, second in charge at the company, demanded that the producers feed popular contestants with answers in order to keep them winning and maintain the program's high ratings. This sparked what later became known as the quiz show scandal, as the popularity of The $64,000 Question led to copycats (including the Revlon-sponsored The $64,000 Challenge, and the duplication of the producers' and sponsors' dubious methods to ensure a large viewership.
Steve Carlin, executive producer of Entertainment Productions, Inc., which produced The $64,000 Question and The $64,000 Challenge, was called to testify before Congress about the rigging of the TV quiz shows. He said that Revlon demanded the shows be rigged to ensure high ratings. "There is a tradition in television...of trying to please the client," Carlin testified. "We were willing to please the client." Neither Charles nor Martin Revson ever became the subjects of an official inquiry. By the time the quiz show phenomenon was over, killed by the revelations, Revlon had vastly increased its market share and was established as an international behemoth in its niche.
[edit] Personality
Charles H. Revson was a hard-driven perfectionist whose overbearing, imperious personality led most of his business partners to sever their connections with him by 1965. Revlon Cosemtics, however, was phenomenally successful, and when Revson died, he reportedly was a billionaire. His nephew and heir, Peter Revson, a Formula One racecar driver, had predeceased him in 1974.
[edit] Philanthropy
In 1956, Revson established the Charles H. Revson Foundation, which he funded with over $10 million dollars during his lifetime. The Foundation funded schools, hospitals, and service organizations serving the Jewish community, mostly located in New York. Upon his death, Revson endowed the Foundation with $68 million from his estate and granted the board of directors the discretion to chart the Foundation's future course.
In 1978, the Foundation began a formal grantmaking process, and since that time, has disbursed a total of $127 million. The Foundation's endowment has grown to $200 million, and it now disburses over $9 million annually.
