Tom Lyle Williams last pictures with the family.

Last pictures of Maybelline founderTom Lyle Williams in California, taken in 1973.

I was lucky enough to bring my fiance, Gene Dorney up to meet my Unk Ile, a couple months before we were married.  I remember my great uncle saying to me, "Gene is very intelligent, and you are very thoughtful."  Those were the last words spoken to me and I never saw my beloved uncle again.  He began to decline fast and wanted us to remember him as he had always been - strong, vital and handsome.

This picture was taken at the Bel Air estate - uncle Chet, me, Preston, auntie Mabel, Billee, Nana, Unk Ile and Donna, 1973.  It was Mabel and Chet's last visit to California.  I remember a bitter sweet feeling, knowing this was the last time I'd ever see them.  I was 25, about to be married and start a new life with Gene, but there was a sadness about that day I still can feel today.  The end of an era was about to take place.

uncle Chet, Jean and Noel Williams.  Unk Ile always had flowers on the piano and coffee table when the family came to visit.  I think the expression on Noel's face was somber and reflective, because he could see how gaunt and thin Unk Ile looked, a Shadow of the man he had always been.

Nana, auntie Mabel and uncle Chet.  Who would have believed the terrible fate that was facing my grandmother that day in 1973.  She was 72 here and continued to look youthful to her last day.  Sweet auntie Mabel the namesake for Maybelline was so opposite from Nana and many times I wished we could have had a grandmother more like her.  Uncle Chet was a great man, strong and steady and I loved him like a grandfather. 

My sister Donna, Billee and my little brother Preston.  I remember Nana bought us all new clothes for the occasion, insisting we look casual yet elegant.  She was good that way, always wanted us to live up to her standards right to the end.

Now stay tuned as I walk down the isle with Gene, at my father's estate in Palm Springs.  For the whole story please get your signed copy of the Maybelline Story for $14.99 at http://www.maybellinestory.com/ 

Maybelline Model? Not meant to be for me in 1966.

Maybelline switched gears in 1966 and focused on a more natural, softer teenage image.

                             Maybelline ad, 1966.

Nana, my dad Bill, me with dyed black hair and Unk Ile - Christmas at our house, 1965.  As Maybelline ads became softer and more natural, I screamed sexy and exotic.  Not good for an 18 year old as it turned out.

My grandmother  had convinced me to dress up for Christmas in a black cocktail dress, heals and of course my Chicken of the Sea hair-do.  When Unk Ile took one look at me he said, "My god, Sharrie, you look like your 35." 

Was that a good or bad thing?  I wasn't sure, but it wasn't what Maybelline was going for, targeting the teenage market in 1966.  In fact, Tom Lyle wanted just the opposite, soft, natural and sweet.  So my hopes of becoming the next teen Maybelline model were smashed. 

Nana watched me mope around a while, than said, "Sharrie, Darling, why don't you go back to Chicago next summer and stay with your aunts and uncles, meet your cousins and and get to know the Chicago branch of the family.
.

My spirits lifted and I was on my way.  Here I am, Queen of the super rollers, with my sister, Donna with pin straight surfer girl hair - happy to see me go for the summer, so she could drive my 57 Chevy to the beach everyday and surf.  I over packed for every occasion and was excited to take my first plane ride back to where it all began.

Exotic and over dressed for every ocassion in Chicago.

Nana encouraged me to take notes so I could document my trip in a long letter to Unk Ile when I got back.  I did, and those notes helped me write part of a book I'd  publish 45 years later, about my American, Dream Family.  When my house burned down in 1993 most of my pictures of the trip were lost.  However, one, the picture of auntie Eva and uncle Ches at their home on Mercer Lake survived.

uncle Ches and auntie Eva at their home on Mercer Lake.  It was here, as well as with Auntie Mabel and uncle Chet, Aunt Verona and Aunt Bunny, that the Maybelline Story, began to unfold.  A world gone by opened up with pictures, letters, and precious memories handed to me for safe keeping.  I began to piece together a family story like no other and though the result would take a lifetime, I finally made my dream come true in September of 2010, when The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It was published by Bettie Youngs Books.

Memories of Mabel and Chet on their Wedding Day,  Tom Lyle Williams, aka Unk Ile to us,  Maybelline eye shadow in the 1930's and an original Maybelline ad from 1925.

After two wonderful months of getting to know my aunts, uncles and cousins, I returned to California, (as you can see I don't look very happy about it.)  I wanted to stay in Chicago and start college, but my parents insisted I come home.  So here I am at the airport, with my mother, Pauline, My dad, Bill, Nana and little Preston and Billee.  I did keep a diary and wrote a 25 page letter to Unk Ile.  He was quite impressed with my writing and said, "Sharrie, you certainly have a way with words, I think you'd make a great copy writer, like Emery, someday." 

Read more about my trip to Chicago, and meet the amazing Williams family yourself in my book, The Maybelline Story.  I guarantee you, you won't be able to put it down, because you'll want to know, "OK,  what happened next!"

Original Maybelline Family in 1916, and 1966.

Maybelline's complete line of eye make-up in 1966, everything a girl needed for extraordinary definition, color and style.


1966, Maybelline Ad.

 

The original Williams Family in 1916 the year
Maybelline was introduced to the public.

My grandfather William Preston lll, Eva Kaye, Tom Lyle, Mabel Anna, Noel James and their parents, Susan Anna (Alvey,) and Thomas Jefferson Williams.

The remaining siblings from the original Williams family, at Tom Lyle's estate in Bel Air 1966.

Mabel Williams Hewes, Tom Lyle Williams and

Eva Williams Haines.  with Tom Lyle's dogs,

 Miss Snoop E. Wiliams and Sparky.

I flew to Chicago in 1966 and spent the summer with my Auntie Mabel, Auntie Eva, my Nana's sister's, Aunt Verona and Aunt Bunny.  Check in tomorrow for pictures and be sure to read The Maybelline Story to get the details about this American Dream Family from 1910 to 2010

Tom Lyle Williams Villa Valentino and his Estate at 900 Airole Way, Bel Air, California

Tom Lyle's family meant the world to him and visited often at the Villa Valentino in the Hollywood Hills, (until it was taken for the Hollywood freeway,)  than at his new modern glass and steel estate in Bel Air, California.

 My Grandmother,  Evelyn, Great uncle,Tom Lyle and my parents, Bill and Pauline Williams at the Villa Valentino, 1942.

Aspiration overlooking the pool in the 1930's.                                                    

Tom Lyle's sister Eva with her husband Ches Haines, and their kids, June, Marilyn and Bob, 1947.

Tom Lyle in the director's chair at the Villa, with his sisters Mabel Williams Hewes and Eva Williams Haines and their husbands Chet Hewes and Ches Haines, 1938.

Noel James and Frances Williams, at Tom Lyle's new home in Bel Air, 1950.

Tom Lyle's brother Noel James Williams and Sparky at Tom Lyle's new estate, 1950.

Here I am at 4 years old holding on for dear life in 1951..

My parents Bill and Pauline with Noel Allen on the lounge chair, at the Bel Air estate, 1954.

Tom Lyle's niece, Annette Williams Corbett, standing with him at the gate of 900 Airole Way in 1961.  At that time the estate was valued at $250,000.  In 2005 it was sold for $19,500,000.  After his death in 1976, the 8,256 sq foot estate was sold to  Polish-French film director, producer, writer and actor Roman Polanski.

Tom Lyle with Sparky getting the mail at the door of the Bel Air estate, 1960.

Jean, Chuck and Nancy Williams with Annette Williams Corbett, her daughter Ann Louise, Tom Lyle and Annette's husband George Corbett, 1961.

My cousin's Ann Louise, Princie, her dog, with Nancy and Chuck Williams at the Bel Air estate, 1961.

Cousin Chuck, Nancy and Ann Louise in Bel Air, with the statue Aspiration moved from the Villa to Bel Air in 1949.

Ann Louise, Chuck and Nancy in Tom Lyle's Ultra Chinese Modern den.


As I head into the 1960's I wanted to recap the years before the Maybelline Company sold in 1967.  Stay tuned for fascinating vintage 60 ads and more family pictures to come this week.