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Beard Of The Day – May 18th – Stan Rizzo

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Mad Men had no shortage of handsome men with perfectly sculpted haircuts plastered down with enough pomade to stop a horse in its tracks. However, in the final season as the timeline in the show approached the 70’s, we finally got to see the characters let loose a little bit, especially in the facial hair department. The second half of this final season was probably won by Roger Sterling’s amazing (and at the same time disturbing) mustache but there has been one character paving the way for facial hair for quite a while – Stan Rizzo. Played by Jay R. Ferguson, Rizzo was a bit of comic relief for large parts of the series before taking on a more important role in the final season. Of all the endings, his was one I enjoyed the most though I’ll save going into detail for those who weren’t able to watch last night. Rizzo embraced a beard long before others even though about not shaving and was able to grow an impressive full wild beard at the end of the show’s run.

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Beard Of The Day – May 15th – Solemn Oath Brewery Folk

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Once again – Chicago Craft Beer Week is upon us. The first events started yesterday which of course means that I am nursing a pretty gnarly hangover today and it’s unlikely to end until next weekend. Wonderful.

There’s no shortages of beards in the craft beer world (except for Penrose.. those guys are blowing it) so rather than pick a single person, we’ll just work with a brewery that features more than their fair share of bearded men. Solemn Oath (Matt Offerman pictured) got their first start in 2012 during Craft Beer Week and has quickly grown into one of my favorite breweries in the Chicago area. Their focus is mainly on Belgian inspired or hop forward ales but it doesn’t mean they can’t play around with other styles. The Dry Irish Stout I had the other night at Bangers & Lace is actually one of my favorite of theirs. Solemn Oath mainly focuses on draft beers but over the past year has begun to release bombers of certain styles with a canning line soon to be operational. Keep your eyes out for these beers, they’ll be everywhere soon.

And if anyone wants to ask one of their owners, Joe, how the Kings’ golf games are these days, his twitter handle is @solemnjoe.

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Beard Of The Day – May 13th – Jon Daly

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No, not that one. Or that one. This one is a chameleon-like sketch comic most notably featured in the phenomenal Kroll Show (sky point) as any number of dimly lit, arrogant, terrible people with varying facial hair configurations. But the one that is of concern today is his beard, worn most frequently away from the screen. Though the chinstrap below is quite impressive as well.

 

 

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Beard Of The Day – May 12th – John Mahoney

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Though born in England to Irish parents, actor John Mahoney has made Illinois  (specifically Chicago) his home for over 50 years since he first came stateside to live with his sister in the late 1950s. Mahoney has been a fixture in the Chicago theater scene through the world famous Steppenwolf, which he parlayed into his most famous gig, as the gruff father of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce in the critically acclaimed (and often annoying) Frasier. Ironically, while playing the supposedly uncultured Martin Crane, it was Mahoney who first introduced Pierce to high art like the opera.

But with his gravelly voice, paternal demeanor, and occasional beard, it led Mahoney to being repeatedly cast as authority figures such as Lieutenant Vince Hardy in the Bruce Willis garbage fest Striking Distance, or as state’s attorney Shaughnessy in the Chicago-set and massively underrated Primal Fear. But bearded or not, Mahoney always brings his A-game to any production he’s in either on stage or screen, and can often be seen around town.

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Beard Of The Day – May 11th – Sean Bonnette

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As the lead singer of the folk group Andrew Jackson Jihad, the bearded Sean Bonnette minces absolutely no words. His biting, caustic lyrics juxtaposed against the traditional sounds of an acoustic (and sometimes electric) guitar are laced with dark, uncomfortable humor while making very specific social commentary. By touring relentlessly over the last decade, he and the rest of the band have slowly built a following that’s brought them out of basement shows and into larger rock clubs, all while never once compromising the message he wants to convey.

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Beard Of The Day – May 9th – Troy McClure

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OK – So Troy McClure only may have only had a beard for one role in his illustrious career but when he was tagged for the brand-new multi-million dollar musical based on Planet Of The Apes as the human lead, he knew it was the role he was born to play. And when you’re going to be surrounded by damn dirty apes.. you’ve got to make your facial hair game strong. Troy didn’t let us down.. and he even learned how to play the piano!