Nail Techs Share Their Star-Studded Stories

 

The Nail Tech: Joy Lowe, “Joy”ful Nails, Westcliffe, Colo.

The Celebrities: Charlton Heston and Bob Hope

How They Met: “In the late’70s and early ’80s, I was in the Air Force. While I was part of the motor pool at the U.S. Air Force Academy, I had the opportunity to drive for some special people, including Charlton Heston and his wife. I also drove Bob Hope and his wife Dolores on three separate occasions. The first two times were for the Bob Hope Classic golf tournaments and the last time was for a U.S.O. show he produced at the Academy for the cadets. I still have a wonderful picture of Mr. Hope and myself that he autographed saying, ‘Joy, Thanks for the lift!’”

 

The Nail Tech: Diana Bonn, Indentity Salon, Muncie, Ind.

The Celebrities: Champion wrestler Trish Stratus and LaToya Jackson

How They Met: In 2006, "CBS was in Muncie shooting the reality series ‘Armed and Famous.’ I packed up all my supplies and showed up on a Sunday at the hotel room they were using as a makeup room. I had to move furniture around for a makeshift manicure table. Trish came in with sweat pants, T-shirt, her pink fluffy house slippers, and no makeup. I had heard that she was a champion wrestler, but she was not what I expected. “As I worked on her tips with overlays, she would jump up and go do an interview, hiding her hands. The producers kept coming in and saying things like, ‘You have 24 minutes for this, you have 13 minutes for that.’“ When I was finished with Trish, another makeup artist ran in and said, ‘Grab your stuff, you have only a couple of minutes to do La Toya.’ I followed her to this gigantic room where they were filming, but by the time we got there, they were done and no longer needed me. My manicure with La Toya lasted about five seconds!

 

The Tech: Margie Omstead, Manicures Plus by Margie, Eureka, Calif.

The Celebrities: Tom Wopat, “The Majestic’s” Laurie Holden and Susan Willis

How They Met: “I have worked on two productions. In the Jim Carrey movie ‘The Majestic,’ I did the nails of the leading lady, Laurie Holden, and the piano teacher, Susan Willis. I was asked to remove the acrylic nails from the piano teacher, so I laugh when I tell people to watch for my ‘no nails’ on her. I did an acrylic fill on Laurie Holden, then they put gloves on her, so no nails to see again. “The other was ‘Blue Skies’ with Tom Wopat. They were looking for a pretty horse and selected my horse, Big Yellow Bars. It was scary but fun. The first day, as I was unloading my horse, a man came up to me and asked if he could ride my horse. I told him no, please just let me unload my horse. It was Tom Wopat, but I didn’t recognize him. I worked on the shoot for four days and he wouldn’t even look at me after I told him no.”

The Tech: Marsee Essington, NAILS by Marsee, Mount Pleasant, Pa.

The Celebrities: Walter Payton, Eddie Payton

How They Met: “I twirled baton for the NFL for eight years. I started in1976 for the Detroit Lions and then moved to Los Angeles in 1981 and twirled for the L.A. Rams until1984. I twirled during time-outs on the field — at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., for the Lions and at the Anaheim Stadium for the Rams. I met many football players, including my favorite, Walter Payton. I was a good friend of his brother Eddie, who played for the Lions. I was known as the girl who kicked her baton off her foot, high up in the air, and then caught it. Once my baton slipped the wrong way and it actually flew into the Lions’ huddle during their time out. Eddie Payton teased me about that. He once told an audience at an auto show that it was one of the most memorable moments of his career.”