Lyle Menendez hair loss: Reason Erik’s brother wore a toupee and the age he started balding
IN one shocking scene in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters, Lyle Menendez has his toupee ripped off by his mother Kitty which is a moment based on Lyle’s testimony in court.
Lyle’s hair became a constant reference point for the media when the brothers stood trial for the murder of their parents, which they committed on August 20, 1989.
In the show, Kitty’s revelation is the moment that causes Lyle’s brother Erik to open up about the abuse perpetrated by their father, and the chain of events leading to their parents’ murder begins.
Here’s everything you need to know about Lyle’s hair.
The real-life Lyle
Lyle began to lose his hair at a young age and experts claim that this could be a result of anxiety.
The two brothers had a difficult relationship with their father and Lyle’s younger brother, Erik, claimed that their father had been sexually abusive.
Although José was alleged to be the person causing Lyle’s anxiety, he was said to be critical of his son’s early hair loss and ordered him to wear a wig.
Lyle reportedly bought his toupee from the Hair Replacement Center in Los Angeles for $1450 in 1988.
In their court testimonies, the brothers said that during a family dinner, five days before the murder of José and Kitty, Lyle announced his intention to marry Jamie Lee Pisarcik.
When his parents disapproved, he argued that his parents got married young which allegedly made his mother stand up and rip off his toupee.
In his court testimony, Lyle said that Erik “didn’t know I had a hairpiece. I was completely embarrassed in front of my brother”.
Erik said that this was the moment that made him open up to his brother about his alleged abuse by José.
Ryan Murphy’s Monsters
The moment that Kitty rips off Lyle’s toupee is dramatized in Ryan Murphy’s controversial Netflix series Monsters.
The actor who plays Lyle, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, told Deadline that he saw Lyle’s “wig as a mask of sorts”.
He continued: “It’s not one that he imposes on himself.
“It’s imposed by his father and the perfectionist standard that Lyle has to live up to.
“It’s a mask that hides a deeply, deeply wounded inner child who surfaces in episode four.”
The production and costume team used Nicholas’ real hair for most scenes during the show.
He said: “They used my real hair for almost the entire production, but styled it to look like it was a toupée by teasing it.
“The only time where it’s not my real hair is if there’s a gag.
“So if the wig comes off, like the scene at the dinner table, or the scene where it gets snatched off while I’m in the prison showers, they would put the bald cap on.”
The Mendendez brothers and their families have been critical of the series.
However, a renewed interest in the brothers’ case has seen a swell of support for the brothers from the public and from celebrities including Kim Kardashian.