We visited Glory Be salon Tuesday in search of one story and stumbled onto another. Last month someone from the movie "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which filmed at Smith's Olde Bar a few doors down, gave salon owner Gloria Garner a call. "They wanted to rent the salon for Jennifer Lopez' green room," she said. "I said, 'you're joking!' Then I said, 'what is a green room?' "
Letting her place to the movie star didn't hinder Garner's schedule, since she cuts hair during the day and the movie filmed at night. But while her shop was in use, its windows covered with black cloth, she had to scram and hand over the keys. Garner wanted her famous guest to feel welcome, though, so she left a photo of herself and her husband, Claude Garner, and one of Garner's CDs. (He's a blues and jazz musician who goes by Jean Claude Garner professionally.) Garner also wrote "Jennifer, welcome to our salon!" on the salon's chalkboard. She avoided writing "J-Lo," lest she tip off the paparazzi. "Everyone knows that's her nickname," she said.
An Atlanta native who has been at her Piedmont Avenue location for 12 years and in Virginia Highland for 12 before that, Garner shared the scoop with all her friends, many of whom seem cut out for work in surveillance. "I had so many people tell me, ‘you should have put a hidden camera somewhere!' I couldn't do that to Jennifer Lopez. I think she's done a real good job on ‘American Idol.' She's the best female they've ever had and I've watched it just about every year." Garner's not exactly new to the entertainment world; she worked in cruise ship salons years ago, and the first floating shop was aboard the Pacific Princess, where "The Love Boat" was filmed. For now she is hoping for a signed photo, maybe even a mention in the movie credits' fine print. She may also update her sign, now that it's safe to use nicknames, to say "J-Lo was here!"
Like we said, we came to hear Garner's story and then heard another. She was tending to a shining blond mane when we arrived, so we asked to photograph her in action.
"She's a TV personality," Garner said, prompting her client, "Tell her what you do." And so we met Dr. Rebecca Beaton, director of the Anxiety and Stress Management Institute and a recurring guest on the TLC show "Hoarding: Buried Alive." She's the firm-but-compassionate psychologist who works with people held hostage by mountains of junk. "It's much more common than I realized," Beaton said. "A lot of times it's totally secret. We get friends and family involved."
We chitchatted a while, the three of us. Then Garner finished Beaton's hair and Beaton was off to the airport, bound for the teeming home of another troubled soul. She's been appearing on the show for two years, and it affected her from the beginning. "After the first episode," she said, "I cleaned out my entire basement."
Before we left we noticed how neat the salon was. No clutter, not a strand of hair on the floor. Magazines were displayed in racks, lined up like soldiers, and in a small pile on the table near the chair where Beaton had been sitting. On the cover of the one on top was a familiar face: Jennifer Lopez.
Celebrity birthdays
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter is 84. Actor Martin Mull is 68. Comedian Elayne Boosler is 59. Actor Denis Leary is 54. Actress Madeleine Stowe is 53. Actor Christian Slater is 42. Actor Edward Norton is 42. Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner is 41.
Contributing: news services
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