Obituaries : Mary E. Keats; Retired MGM Hair Stylist
Mary E. Keats of Van Nuys, who was manager of the hair styling department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios for a decade, has died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills. She was 70.
Born Mary Webster in New Jersey, she died Saturday of complications of diabetes, said her nephew, Grant Webster, whom she raised.
A resident of Van Nuys for 29 years, Ms. Keats came to California in the early 1940s and began working as a hair stylist for MGM in 1953.
In 1959, she became manager of the department until it closed in 1969. Ms. Keats worked on a free-lance basis for movie studios and television until her retirement in 1984. Through the years, she worked with many celebrities, including Elvis Presley, Eva Marie Saint, Liza Minnelli, Debbie Reynolds, Luciano Pavarotti and Burt Reynolds. She also traveled with Bob Hope during the Korean War.
She is survived by sisters Sylvia Schenck of Cathedral City, Calif., and Rae Callahaghan, Lucille Bracall and Diane Webster, all of New Jersey.
A graveside service will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Pierce Brothers Valhalla in North Hollywood, which handled the arrangements.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
