Why couldn't he shave himself?
His arms and hands were fine--why did he need to have someone else shave his face? Very odd... (Saw this in first season's "To Kill A Cop")
Episode URL: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0612500/
schlubby has taste: If you are able to watch the pilot NBC made-for-television motion picture you'll discover that initially the chief did shave himself--until one morning when Mark walked in on him endeavoring to accomplish the task with the aid of a hand mirror while sitting in that barber's chair he had at some time in the past managed to salvage from the old San Francisco ferry building. Mark immediately offered to take on the chore, so with some initial hesitancy Ironside handed him the old vintage style straight edge he had been using. Mark pushed the chair back into its most reclined position and began very carefully scraping away with the razor as the chief closed his eyes, but almost immediately Mark could tell that his "customer" was still a bit tense and told him to relax. Just at that moment Eve walked in on the scene, took one look at what was going on and quipped, " What's your blood type Chief?" In an episode of the series produced several seasons later Ironside is observed to have graduated to the self administered use of an electric razor.
shareTrue about the pilot but I think Mark offered his help because the Chief couldn't use his right hand. Being right-handed, it's pretty tough to do a good (and safe) job left-handed. There is no reason why he can't shave himself in the episode To Kill A Cop...
As for the electric razor, in which episode do you find that ?
lemonpig73: You're right about the chief being unable to use his right hand in the pilot movie--I'd forgotten about that fact, but if you pay close attention to the unique attributes observable in Burr's early portrayal of Ironside you realize the character was a man who did not hesitate to make the fullest use of the panoply of skills and talents extent of all those who worked for him whenever the need arose--and that would also encompass what the speculative viewer might reasonably conclude was Mark's exceptional mastery of the razor! As to that scene a few seasons down the pike showing the chief using the electric razor--I don't recall the specific episode--just that Ed is shown entering the office via the rear entrance vestibule located on the other side of the wall the headboard of the Chief's big brass bed is up against. As the camera tracks Galloway around to the other side Burr is seen on the far side of the foot of the bed near the door to the bathroom and adjacent dresser shaving with the electric razor which serves as an intro for the scene's ensuing dialog.
shareI'm surprised no one's mentioned that once-upon-a-time it was common for men to have a barber or other person shave them. Guys would go to the barber for a haircut and shave. That was before safety razors of course.
“Honey, there’s a spider in your bathroom the size of a Buick!”--Alvy (Annie Hall/1977)
once-upon-a-time it was common for men to have a barber or other person shave them
Absolutely - a gentleman would have a shave and then a shoe shine and off to work at the office. At the time of this series, which I watched when it first came out, the shaving was a reminiscence of times gone by and a device to show the trust the Chief had in Mark. Building on the O'Henry story. Beautiful. share
A long time ago, some barber shops had shelves where you could store your own shaving mug and brush.
Just like before we had open bars here, you could join a private club for a dollar and get a card. The bartender nominated you, You could keep a bottle of whiskey there with your name on it if you wanted. Restaurants would let you bring in your bottle in a paper sack and charged for "set ups", glasses and ice, etc.
I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else
Hi Terry, 5 years on and I still don't know in which episode we can see the Chief using an electric razor. Have you watched the latest seasons recently? Do you happen to remember the title? I watch Ironside quite often but absolutely do not remember that scene.
shareTerry: I have all the Ironside DVDs and keep watching them. To this day I still have not found the allusion to an electric razor. Do you remember the episode title? If not, can you tell me whether it was during Eve's time or Fran's?
sharelemonpig73: No, I still don't remember the episode or it's title, but I do remember I've seen it more than once, and still vividly recall the sound of that electric razor while Ray is using it as his character is in conversation with Galloway's, then at a latter point in the scene shutting it off, pulling out an adjacent draw in the bureau next to him, dropping it in, and closing the draw back up. I think the episode was during the last year or two if Barbara's tenure on the series. Hope that helps a bit!
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