While the battle against coronavirus continues to rage in hospitals, the Hollywood industry has lost another beloved and well-known figure this week. Charles Gregory Ross, the Emmy-nominated hairstylist for 2005's Lackawanna Blues and who was more famous for movies like Remember The Titans, Drumline and for frequent collaborations with prolific director Tyler Perry, has died following a fight against Covid-19 over the past several weeks.
Following the celebrity hairstylist’s death, Tyler Perry put together a lengthy and emotional post that pays tribute to Charles Gregory Ross, who worked with the director most recently on Netflix's A Fall From Grace (which came out earlier in 2020), but also worked on other Perry projects, including Madea Goes To Jail and The Family That Preys.
In the lengthy post, Tyler Perry also took the opportunity to speak to the community about staying home and staying safe, given the novel coronavirus is not messing around and reports have indicated black people are at a higher risk of dying from Covid-19. He noted:
Viola Davis has also frequently worked with Charles Gregory Ross, including when he did her hair for the Academy Awards as well as several movies. She called the hairdresser a “jewel,” noting,
Like Viola Davis and Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels had similar fond memories of working with Charles Gregory Ross, sharing a memorably behind-the-scenes story about working with the longtime hair stylist. Their project The United States vs. Billie Holiday is currently in post-production.
Charles Gregory Ross’ work will still live on. The hair stylist was recently able to work with Rosario Dawson on her upcoming project DMZ, which is scheduled to air on HBO Max when the service launches with new content in the coming months. She wrote on Instagram after learning of the news:
Heartbroken. The tears keep coming. Your love, light, talents, joy, and grace were boundless. I will forever adore you.
Charles Gregory had kept his fanbase and those who knew him abreast of what was happening with his novel coronavirus diagnosis, sharing images and other posts on Instagram about the status of the diagnosis.
As Jimmy Fallon touched on after Hal Willner passed away after his own battle with Covid-19, the spread of coronavirus means more and more people’s lives are being touched by the disease both directly and peripherally in ways we couldn't have imagined only a few short weeks ago. There may be nothing tougher than being unable to mourn together, but our thoughts go out to Ross’ family and friends during this tough time.
