issue4_Layout 1 2/23/2012 5:45 PM Page 5
In memory of Sam (Sion) Benlolo Right after our Valentine’s Day issue went to press, I received awful news. My hair stylist of 37 years, Sam Benlolo, owner of Le Profile Sam on Queen Mary Rd. in Snowdon, had suffered a massive heart attack in late January and died the next morning. In the last issue of this paper, my editorial made mention of Sam being on vacation – hence my going to a new place in NDG for a cut. Little did I know… little did I know… I was extremely fond of Sam. I was 17 when he started cutting my hair on the other side of the road, at Queen Mary’s Hair People, an establishment he owned. He was five years older than me and over the years he heard about all my highs and lows, the way a bartender listens to his or her clients. He’d laugh with me and, when the situation warranted, give me hell the way a good friend would. He actually yelled at me the last time he cut my hair about two months ago, taking me to task for my attitude regarding something that he disagreed with. Yeah, he could be blunt and irritating and, at those times, you wanted to punch him right in the kisser. He was quite short, however, so I probably would have missed. Sam came from a huge family and I got to know a few of his siblings over the years. One of the brothers I liked most is Danny Benlolo, the Cantor (Chazzan… the singer at Jewish services) at a synagogue in Ottawa. I contacted Danny for some words about Sam and he graciously supplied them:
But his life as a hairdresser didn’t stop on Queen Mary. Even after a long week of backbreaking work on his feet, he would volunteer and cut hair for seniors and the housebound. Money was no issue and neither was the distance. We often hear "he gave the shirt of his back," easier said than done. Not for Sam… he actually did, not once but countless of times in his short-but-fruitful 59-year stay in this world. He loved solitude, his house up north, his partner Fatia, his family and his friends. He loved peace and tranquility. And when he accumulated enough of it he would burst into a frenzy, see his family and friends and be the life of the party. I miss what he stood for, I miss his perfume, I miss his laughter, I miss his “F*** it and don’t worry” attitude. I miss the man, I miss the legend, I miss him. Well put, Danny and seconded by one who knew him and can concur. We will all miss you, Sammy. Rest well. Bram Eisenthal Publisher and Editor The Local Herald
THE LOCAL HERALD,
FEB 24 (pg. 5)
Photo: Bram Eisenthal
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Sam was no ordinary kind of guy. He was his own man, marching to the sound of his own drum. He lived life as he saw fit. I appreciate that in a person. He talked the talk and he certainly walked the walk. I looked up to him, as did the thousands of souls who crossed his path. The fifth of 12 children, he was a born leader, a leader in his own, unassuming way. He seldom followed the "trend," but rather he did his own thing. When everyone gathered, he would agree to be there one minute and then he’d decide to stay home with his glass of Chivas Regal, spinning Pink Floyd classics on a 33 RPM LP record. That was Sam… don’t ever tell him what to do and when to do it. Family, young and old, brothers and sisters, kids and grandkids, loved him and looked up to him and it was definitely not his height they would look up at. You heard of the old TV show "King of Kensington"? The guy (played by late actor Al Waxman) knew everyone on the streets and everyone knew him. Well that was Sam on Queen Mary. Queen Mary will NEVER be the same.
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