Rommy Hunt Revson
Rommy Hunt Revson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rommy Kolb February 15, 1944 White Plains, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 7, 2022 (aged 78) Rochester, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Nightclub singer, vocal coach, inventor |
| Known for | Inventing the scrunchie |
| Spouse(s) | Four times divorced, including from John Revson |
| Children | 1 |
Rommy Hunt Revson (née Kolb; February 15, 1944 – September 7, 2022) was an American nightclub singer and creator of the scrunchie.
Early years
Revson was born in 1944 in White Plains, New York. She worked in the 1970s and 1980s as a singer in Manhattan nightclubs. She was also a voice teacher.[1] Revson wrote at least 30 songs, including Pretty Girls written as a memorial to her deceased friend Denise Fugazy.[2] While working as a singer, she met Revlon cosmetics heir John Revson to whom she was married for a year after a six-year courtship.[2]
The scrunchie
In 1986, Revson invented the scrunchie, a hair accessory used to hold the hair in a pony tail.[1] Revson invented the scrunchie after her divorce from Revson while preparing for job interviews and trying to protect her brittle and thinning hair after having it bleached. She created the scrunchie out of soft fabric to avoid damaging her hair with elastic bands or plastic clips. She received a design patent for the invention.[3] The invention, originally known as the "Scunci", was named after Revson's pet poodle. It later became known generically as the scrunchie.[1]
Revson began a business to market her Scuncis and had $20 million in orders in the initial months. Unable to keep up with demand, Revson's business failed, and she thereafter pursued a business model of enforcing her patent and licensing it for manufacture by others.[4] Revson's patent expired in 2001, but before it did, more than two billion Scrunchies were sold.[5] Revson made $1 million a year in royalties from the scrunchie for more than 12 years.[1]
Personal life and death
Revson was married and divorced four times, and had one son.[1][6] At the time of her death, she was a resident of Wellington, Florida.[1]
On September 7, 2022, Revson died in Rochester, Minnesota, aged 78, from a rupture in the ascending aorta. She died at a hotel room near the Mayo Clinic, where she was undergoing medical treatment for Cushing's disease and Ehlers–Danlos syndrome.[1][7][8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Sandomir, Richard (September 14, 2022). "Rommy Hunt Revson, Creator of the Scrunchie, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Millie Wolf (January 8, 1986). "'Pretty Girls': Song Written As Memorial To Rommy Revson's Friend". Palm Beach Daily News. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ethlie Ann Vare, Greg Ptacek (2002). Patently Female: From AZ to TV Dinners, Stories of Women Inventors and Their Breakthrough Ideas. John Wiley. p. 140. ISBN 0471023345.
- ^ Robin D. Givhan (September 24, 1995). "Ponytail-holders turn out to be worth a fortune". The Palm Beach Post. p. 6D – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Book documents women's patents". Chicago Tribune. October 23, 2002.
- ^ Richard Johnson (March 30, 1992). "Bauble, bauble, toil & royal trouble". New York Daily News – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Schonfeld, Alexandra (September 15, 2022). "Rommy Hunt Revson, the Woman Who Invented the Scrunchie, Dies at 78". People. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Griffin Wynne (September 15, 2022). "The Inventor Of The Scrunchie Left A Lasting Mark On Fashion: Rommy Hunt Revson, who died Sept. 7, created one of fashion's most memorable accessories". HuffPost.