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'{{Infobox person | name = Paula Kent Meehan | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Paula Jane Baer | birth_date = August 9, 1931 | birth_place = [[Beverly Hills, California]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2014|6|23|1931|8|9}} | death_place = Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | resting place= Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale | occupation = Businesswoman, philanthropist, model/actress (briefly) | spouse = Donald Arlen Slocum (divorced)<br/> John E. Meehan (m. 1973-2004; his death) | parents = Richard Moorehead Baer<br/>Lois Evelyn Martin }} '''Paula Jane Meehan''' (formerly Kent; née Baer; August 9, 1931 – June 23, 2014) was an American [[businessperson|businesswoman]], [[corporate title|executive]] and philanthropist. She co-founded the [[Redken]] [[hair care]] products company. She briefly worked as an actress and fashion model. ==Biography== ===Early life=== Paula Kent Meehan was born as '''Paula Jane Baer''',<ref>California State Birth Index, 1905-95</ref> on August 9, 1931 in [[Beverly Hills, California]].<ref name="imdb">[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0448825/ imdb]</ref><ref name="profile">John L. Seitz, [http://www.todaysplanet.com/pg/beta/bhcourier1/meehan.htm Profile of: Paula Kent Meehan], ''Beverly Hills Courier'', December 24, 2004</ref> She was the daughter of Richard Moorehead Baer<ref>World War I Draft Registration Cards, June 5, 1917</ref> and his wife, Lois. Her maternal aunt was actress/dancer Paula Langlen (née Ora Pauline Hobbs).<ref>1930 Los Angeles County, California, U.S. Federal Census, April 7, Enumeration Dist. 120, Sheet 10 A, Page 143 A, line 17</ref> Her father was an assistant sound manager for [[20th Century Fox|Fox Studios]], but later became an accountant.<ref name="profile"/> The family moved to [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], where she grew up.<ref name="profile"/> Paula [[dropping out|dropped out]] of high school, married Donald Arlen Slocum at the age of fifteen, became a mother, and was divorced a year and half later.<ref name="profile"/> While attempting to find jobs in [[television program|television]], she worked as a gas station attendant and as a secretary.<ref name="profile"/><ref>Google Books, 1985, ''American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government'', pp. 175-177</ref> ===Career=== ====Acting==== While she acted mostly in [[television advertisement|TV commercials]], she played Mary Lake in a 1955 episode of the series ''[[The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok]]'' titled ''Buckshot Comes Home''.<ref name="imdb"/> She played a waitress in an episode of ''[[State Trooper (TV series)|State Trooper]]'' titled ''The Choker''.<ref name="imdb"/> She played a minor [[bit part]] as Dino's Restaurant hat check girl on ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' at [[Warner Bros. Television|Warner Bros.]].<ref name="imdb"/> ====Business==== On May 17, 1959, she was presented as the Queen of The Congress at the 23rd Annual Congress of Beauty, a [[costume party|costume ball]] in the [[Millennium Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore Hotel]] sponsored by the Hollywood Hair Design Council in conjunction with the California Cosmetologist Association, which had a circus theme and entertainment for thousands of [[cosmetology|beauty operators]]. With her red-gold hair in a new [[hairstyle|style]], she handed out preliminary trophies to a parade of models displaying both new styles and new [[human hair color|colors]] for hair.<ref>''Los Angeles Times'', May 17, 1959, "Hair Stylists Intrigued by Latest Modes", p. 2.</ref><ref>''Los Angeles Times'', May 18, 1959, "Actress Rules as Queen for Beauty Exhibit", p. 5.</ref> Paula Kent worked with Al Lapin and it's important to know that Redken tints were at one time actually Lapinal tints. The Lapin Bros., Al, Itzy, Harold and Sam were genius' in the business of Hair coloring and their salon was on Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood. Lapin Bros., Beauty Schools taught the correct way to color hair using fillers. As a performer, she was constantly having to fuss with her hair, but the shampoos and hair sprays caused her hair to dry out and break, and sometimes triggered [[allergy|allergic]] reactions in her scalp. In 1960, she launched a business career, co-founding with [[Jheri Redding]], husband of her friend, a [[Southern California]] based hair care products company, [[Redken]], with an initial investment of $3,000 she received for a [[Hamm's Brewery|Hamm's]] beer commercial.<ref name="distinguishedwomen">[http://www.northwood.edu/aboutus/honorees/dw/?year=1996&id=685 Distinguished Women: Paula Kent Meehan, Beverly Hills, California], northwood.edu; accessed June 24, 2014.</ref> Within a few years, Redding sold his half of the business to Kent and she had full ownership of Redken Laboratories.<ref name="distinguishedwomen"/><ref>''Los Angeles Times'', April 22, 1979, "Actress' Remake of Shampoo Wins Her Top Role at Redken; Fast Growing Beauty Products Firm Founded by a Dissatisfied Customer", p. G3.</ref> In November 1972, John E. Meehan (born c. 1928 – died 2004), who had been with Redken since 1969 as executive vice-president, was elected president of the company, succeeding Kent, who became [[Chair (official)|chairwoman]] and [[chief executive officer|CEO]].<ref>''Los Angeles Times'', November 26, 1972, "People & Business", p. D17.</ref> In 1993, Redken was sold to Cosmair, Inc., the U.S. licensee of [[L'Oréal]].<ref name="profile"/> As a successful businesswoman, she received countless awards. In 1977, she was honored as one of [[Business Week|''Business Week'''s]] "100 Top Corporate Women". In 1992, she was named one of the "Eight Most Powerful Woman Business Owners" by ''Entrepreneurial Woman'' magazine. She was selected as one of the “Top Fifty Women Business Owners” by ''Working Woman'' magazine.<ref name="distinguishedwomen"/> She served on the Board of Directors of [[Union Bank of California]] and was chairwoman of the regulatory committee of the [[Economic Development Commission of California]].<ref name="distinguishedwomen"/> She was President of her own [[investment company]], handles her extensive real estate holdings, and later named chairwoman and president of [[Kenquest, Inc.]] and [[Timequest, Inc.]].<ref name="distinguishedwomen"/> In April 2014, she acquired ''[[The Beverly Hills Courier]]'', a weekly newspaper that covers local news in Beverly Hills, California.<ref>Martha Groves, [http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0419-beverly-hills-courier-20140419,0,1139387.story "Philanthropist Paula Kent Meehan buys the Beverly Hills Courier"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', April 18, 2014.</ref> ===Philanthropy=== Paula Kent Meehan served on the Board of Regents of [[Loyola Marymount University]] in Los Angeles. In July 2013, she donated US$5 million to the [[Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts]] in Beverly Hills.<ref>Laura Coleman, [http://bhcourier.com/meehan-donates-5m-annenberg-center/2013/07/11 Meehan Donates $5M To Annenberg Center], bhcourier.com, July 11, 2013; accessed June 24, 2014.</ref> She was one of the largest donors to the [[Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden]].<ref>[http://beverlyhills911memorial.com/supporters.php Official website: Donors]</ref> She was also a donor to [[Childhelp]], a non-profit organization aimed at preventing child abuse, from which she received the "Angel Award" in 2003,<ref name="profile"/> and donated to the [[Saint John's Health Center]] in [[Santa Monica, California]].<ref name="profile"/> She also served on the Board of Governors of [[The Thalians]], a mental health charity.<ref>[http://thalians.org/board-officers.html The Thalians: Executive Board]</ref> ===Personal life=== On April 20, 1973, she married John Meehan in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]].<ref>California State Marriage Index, 1970-79, Registrar County No. 15260, State File No. 36707</ref> They resided in Beverly Hills, California.<ref name="profile"/> She was widowed in 2004.<ref name="profile"/> ===Death=== She died on June 23, 2014 at her private residence in Beverly Hills.<ref>Matt Lopez, [http://bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-courier-chairman-noted-philanthropist-paula-kent-meehan-dead-82/2014/06/23 Beverly Hills Courier Chairman, Noted Philanthropist Paula Kent Meehan Dead At 82], ''The Beverly Hills Courier'', June 23, 2014</ref><ref>Andrew Edwards, [http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/jun/23/redken-founder-courier-owner-paula-kent-meehan-die/ Redken Founder, Courier Owner Paula Kent Meehan Dies at 82], ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', June 23, 2014.</ref> Her funeral took place at the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in [[Glendale, California]], where she was buried on Saturday July 5, 2014.<ref name="bhcourierfuneral">Victoria Talbot, 'Funeral Services Held For Paula Kent Meehan', ''The Beverly Hills Courier'', Volume XXXXVIIII, Number 28, July 11, 2014, pp. 1;7 [http://bhcourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/071114Fissue.pdf PDF]</ref> During the ceremony, City Council member [[Nancy Krasne]], who served as the Mayor of Beverly Hills from 2009 to 2010, said a few words, and [[Ruta Lee]], a lifelong friend of Meehan's, sang some of her favorite songs.<ref name="bhcourierfuneral"/> ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Kent Meehan, Paula | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Baer, Paula Jean | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American actor | DATE OF BIRTH = August 9, 1931 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = June 23, 2014 | PLACE OF DEATH = Beverly Hills, California, U.S.}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Paula}} [[Category:1931 births]] [[Category:2014 deaths]] [[Category:People from Beverly Hills, California]] [[Category:Actresses from the Greater Los Angeles Area]] [[Category:American businesspeople]] [[Category:Businesspeople from California]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:American philanthropists]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles, California]] [[Category:Disease-related deaths in California]] [[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]'