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Famed hair stylist Vidal Sassoon dies

Vidal Sassoon cutting Mia Farrow’s hair on the set of “Rosemary’s Baby.” (Courtesy Everett Collection)

LOS ANGELES – Famed hair stylist Vidal Sassoon, whose sleek geometric bob revolutionized hairstyles in the 1960s and who then had his name associated with a chain of hair salons and hair care products, died Wednesday, Fox News Channel reported.

The British-born Sassoon, who was 84, died of natural causes in his Bel Air home.

“We had a unit respond to a death investigation,” said LAPD spokesperson, Kevin Maiberger. “After arriving they determined he passed away of natural causes. There were family members at the residence. No crime was involved.”

A craftsman who favored non-fussy, wash and wear styles, Sassoon became a celebrity in his own right and also the subject of a documentary about his life, “Vidal Sassoon: The Movie” in 2010.

Born in the East End of London on January 17, 1928, he spent time in a Jewish orphanage when his single mother couldn’t care for him and his brother.

He left school at 14, began a hairdressing apprenticeship and at 20 joined the Haganah (which became the Israeli Defense Forces) to fight in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

A few years after returning to London, he set up his first salon in a single tiny room.

Sassoon was known for experimenting with new cuts and using geometric shapes that were so meticulously layered a shake of the head would instantly move the hair back in place.

He went on to open a New York salon and eventually gave his name to a chain of hair care salons in the UK and US and sold it to a number of hair care product manufacturers.

Sassoon was married four times.

He was appointed a Commander of the British Empire in 2009.