Moonisup wrote on May 19
th, 2011 at 11:48am:
why did he grow one in the first place? Never knew why
I heard it was cause he wanted to go sort of "incognito" during the divorce proceedings with Bianca...Cause he grew it in the summer of '79 and had it until the spring or so of 1980.
Jimmy Fallon interview by Mick Jagger: The comic who gave Saturday night live new life opens up to rock's most famous mouth - Interview
Interview, May, 2002 by Mick Jagger
MJ: Yup. Now, I didn't know that you were in Almost Famous [2000]. hat part did you play?
JF: Oh, man! I play the band's second manager. Actually, I had a line where I said, "You think Mick Jagger's going to be out there trying to be a rock star--"
MJ: "--when he's 50?" [both laugh] I've got it now!
JF: Yeah, I had a full-on beard, too. It was my first beard ever. Have you ever grown one?
MJ: I used to have a long, sort of Russian-type beard. I don't remember what year it was. I think it was the end of the '70s, or the beginning of the '80s. It was quite distinguished, but it was really hard to keep clean.
JF: It's the worst thing ever! When I first started growing it, it was patchy and weird looking. People with real beards would look at me and say, "Nice try." And then you have to trim around your lips and everything. It was just silly, you know? It was hard to even drink--whatever you drink gets soaked up in your mustache.
MJ: And whatever you eat. You have to clean it all the time--what a pain in the neck. But some people like it. Did you find that girls liked it?
JF: You know, I think they did. Maybe I'll grow that thing back. [laughs] I'm from upstate New York, and this one guy I know grows a beard every winter. His wife says, "Oh, John's growing his beard--it's winter." [laughs] It's like, come on, can't he just wear a sweater? I mean, this isn't the mountain times, where you need it to be warm. Wear a scarf!
MJ: The hibernation look.
JF: Exactly. You're a human, you're not a bear! [both laugh]