Glen H. Taylor - Later Life

Later Life

Taylor served as president of Coryell Construction Company from 1950 to 1952, but was forced to resign after being labeled a "security risk," jeopardizing a government contract. Afterwards he was often forced to work manual labor construction jobs. He ran again for the Senate in 1954 but was decisively beaten by Republican incumbent Henry Dworshak, winning only 37.2 percent of the vote. His sixth and final Senate attempt came in 1956; he narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Frank Church and then got 5.1 percent of the vote in the general election as a write-in candidate.

In 1958 Taylor and his wife, Dora, moved to Millbrae, California, and began making hairpieces by hand based on a hairpiece Taylor made for himself in the early 1940s. By 1960 Taylor Topper Inc. had become the major manufacturer of hair replacements in the United States. Taylor told the Washington Post in 1978 that it was something he was very familiar with. "I was 18, a juvenile leading man in a traveling show, and my hair had begun to fall out. There isn't much demand for bald juvenile leading men, and I tried everything - sheep dip, what have you - and that just made it fall out faster."

Taylor explained that he had run for public office without the hairpiece and found that voters "didn't have much use for bald politicians", but "I ran the fourth time with it and won." His original toupée was made from a tin pie plate, which he lined with pink felt and swatches of human hair. Glen and Dora Taylor were successful manufacturing hair pieces, and Taylor Toppers became famous. The company, now known as Taylormade Hair Replacement, is still active in Millbrae.

Glen and Dora Taylor had three sons between 1935 and 1942. His oldest son was named Arod - Dora spelled backward.

Taylor died in April 1984 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. He is interred at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo, California. Dora Taylor remained in the San Mateo County area until her death in 1997.