Charles Revson knew the nail-polish business as a salesman before he helped create Revlon. In 1932, he, his brother Joseph and chemist Charles Lachman founded a New York company offering opaque, pigment-based nail enamel, a contrast with the largely transparent polishes then common.
Revlon went on to pair lip and nail colors, use fashion-led advertising and gain national visibility through television. That reach brought striking commercial results, but it also placed the company inside a major quiz-show scandal.
Revson’s career was built on partnerships that did not always last. Family and corporate disputes accompanied Revlon’s expansion, while a foundation he established during his lifetime became another part of his legacy.
A Quick Look at the Life of Charles Revson
Biography Summary
Charles Haskell Revson (1906–1975) was an American cosmetics entrepreneur and co-founder of Revlon. He helped grow the company from a nail-enamel venture into an international cosmetics business through coordinated products, distribution and advertising. His leadership also involved family conflict, scrutiny over television sponsorship, and the founding of a philanthropic institution.
Profile
Full Name: Charles Haskell Revson
Born: October 11, 1906, in Massachusetts
Died: August 24, 1975
Grew Up In: Manchester, New Hampshire
Known For: Co-founding Revlon and helping expand its cosmetics and advertising business
Co-founders: Joseph Revson and Charles Lachman
Major Roles: Revlon president (1932–1962); chairman (1962–1975)
Philanthropy: Founded the Charles H. Revson Foundation in 1956
From Manchester to the Cosmetics Trade
Revson was born in Massachusetts on October 11, 1906, and grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire. His father was a Russian immigrant who worked in the cigar trade. A biographical reference describes the family’s means as modest and reports that Charles completed high school in Manchester in 1923.
He subsequently worked in New York, first in apparel sales and buying, then in cosmetics. At the Elka company, he sold nail polish alongside his brother Joseph. One published biographical account says a disagreement over sales territory preceded the brothers’ departure to establish their own venture.
Revlon Starts with Opaque Nail Enamel
In 1932, Charles and Joseph Revson joined with chemist and business associate Charles Lachman to found Revlon. Its name drew on the brothers’ surname, with an L honoring Lachman. The company was a joint venture, not the creation of one inventor working alone.
Its early product was opaque cream nail enamel made with pigments. The fashion-oriented colors differed from the mostly transparent, dye-based polishes familiar at the time. Charles helped bring that product to market through sales, branding and distribution; the evidence does not establish him as the sole inventor of its chemical formula.
Revlon first sold to salons, then expanded into department stores and drugstores. By 1938, its company history records 21 shades of cream enamel. The wider range gave customers more colors to choose from as styles changed.
Lipstick Makes Color a Complete Look
Revlon’s introduction of lipstick around 1939–1940 broadened its business beyond nails. Coordinating lipstick and nail-enamel shades let the company promote an overall look rather than separate products. Its “Lips and Fingertips” promotions gave that idea a memorable name.
Revson placed particular weight on seasonal colors, suggestive shade names and advertising themes. A 1959 TIME profile credited him with popularizing coordinated lips and nails and presenting cosmetics through mood as well as color. Speaking about that approach, he said: “Theme … is my religion.”
The Fire and Ice advertising became a notable example. A Revlon advertisement under that name appeared in a 1952 issue of Life preserved by the Smithsonian. Sources disagree on the campaign’s original launch year, so the surviving advertisement establishes only that it was running by 1952. Revlon’s retrospective associates photographer Richard Avedon and model Dorian Leigh with the campaign.
These advertisements reflected a broader shift in the company’s presentation: Revlon sold a sense of fashion and identity along with cosmetics. The work also depended on creative collaborators, not solely on Revson.
Television Brings Growth and a Quiz-Show Scandal
In 1955, Revlon sponsored CBS’s The $64,000 Question and later its related program The $64,000 Challenge. The sponsorship gave Revlon a powerful new form of exposure. PBS reports that company sales rose 54 percent during the first six months of the original show’s run and tripled the following year. Those were Revlon’s sales figures, not measures of Charles Revson’s personal wealth.
But the quiz shows became embroiled in revelations that results and contestants were manipulated. PBS describes sponsor influence over which contestants advanced or were removed. Its account identifies Revson’s brother Martin as leading regular sponsor meetings, some attended by Charles.
In a firsthand recollection preserved in the PBS documentary transcript, producer Mark Goodson described a telephone demand attributed to Charles Revson to remove a contestant. That account is a participant’s recollection, not a judicial finding that Revson personally arranged a particular result. As TIME reported in November 1959, Revson denied involvement in rigging when he testified before a congressional committee.
The scandal complicated a sponsorship strategy that had coincided with rapid sales growth. Revlon’s place in the controversy is documented; the extent of Charles Revson’s personal influence over individual quiz-show outcomes remains unresolved.
Disputes Within the Family Business
Revlon’s expansion also strained relationships inside the company. Joseph Revson left in 1955 amid disagreements over management and direction, according to biographical reporting.
A later dispute involved their younger brother Martin. In a lawsuit covered by TIME, Martin alleged mistreatment of executives and challenged stock-related arrangements. These were claims in a complaint, not proven judicial findings. A biographical reference reports that the dispute ended in an out-of-court settlement.
Contemporary reporting portrayed Charles as a forceful, divisive leader. That description reflects the views recorded by journalists and people around the business; it should not be mistaken for a complete account of his private character. The disputes remained part of the Revlon story alongside its advertising successes.
From Cosmetics to a Broader International Business
Revson served as Revlon’s president from its founding until 1962, when he became chairman. The company had expanded beyond nail enamel and lipstick into other cosmetics and fragrances. A published biographical account also reports that Revlon acquired United States Vitamin and Pharmaceutical Corporation in 1966, extending its activities into healthcare.
In 1973, Revlon introduced the fragrance Charlie, advertised with an image of an independent woman. Like the company’s earlier color campaigns, the fragrance promotion joined a consumer product to a recognizable public image.
Revlon’s reach was international by the final years of Revson’s life. One biographical account places its annual sales above $600 million around 1974 and says its products were sold in 85 countries. These are approximate figures from that biographical account.
The same account describes a 1974 leadership transition to Michael G. Bergerac as Revson’s health declined. Revson remained chairman until his death on August 24, 1975.
Philanthropy That Outlived Revson
Revson had established the Charles H. Revson Foundation in 1956, well before his final years at Revlon. His lifetime giving included Jewish communal organizations and causes in health, education and New York institutions.
After his death, money from his estate endowed the foundation. The organization dates its grantmaking as an endowed foundation to 1978. Its later work in biomedical research, education, Jewish life and urban affairs belongs to the foundation’s continuing history, rather than to decisions Revson personally made after 1975.
Charles Revson’s Legacy
Revson helped transform a nail-enamel venture into an international cosmetics company, using product differences, coordinated colors and advertising to build Revlon’s identity. That achievement rested on co-founders, executives, sales networks and creative collaborators as well as his leadership.
The same life includes painful family disputes and unresolved questions about his personal role in television’s quiz-show scandal. Alongside that more difficult history stands the foundation he created, which continued to give after his death. Both the company and the foundation make his influence visible beyond his lifetime.
Timeline
Key dates in Revson’s life, Revlon’s development and the foundation’s history:
1906
Charles Haskell Revson is born October 11 in Massachusetts.
1923
A biographical reference reports that he completes high school in Manchester, New Hampshire.
1932
Charles and Joseph Revson and Charles Lachman co-found Revlon in New York.
1938
Revlon reports an assortment of 21 cream nail-enamel shades.
Around 1939–1940
Revlon introduces lipstick and promotes coordinating lip and nail colors.
By 1952
A Fire and Ice advertisement appears in a surviving 1952 issue of Life.
1955
Revlon sponsors The $64,000 Question; Joseph Revson leaves the company.
1956
Revson establishes the Charles H. Revson Foundation.
1958–1959
Family-business litigation and public scrutiny of manipulated television quiz shows complicate Revlon’s expansion.
1962
Revson becomes Revlon chairman after serving as president from 1932.
1966
A biographical source reports Revlon’s acquisition of United States Vitamin and Pharmaceutical Corporation.
1973
Revlon introduces its Charlie fragrance.
1974
A biographical account describes a leadership transition to Michael G. Bergerac.
1975
Charles Revson dies on August 24.
1978
The Charles H. Revson Foundation begins grantmaking as an endowed foundation funded through his estate.
FAQs
Did Charles Revson found Revlon alone?
No. He co-founded Revlon in 1932 with his brother Joseph Revson and chemist Charles Lachman. The L in Revlon’s name honors Lachman.
Did Charles Revson invent modern nail polish?
Revlon brought pigment-based opaque cream nail enamel to market, but that does not establish Charles Revson as the sole inventor of its formulation. His documented contribution included helping build and sell the product.
Was Charles Revson responsible for rigging television quiz shows?
Revlon sponsored The $64,000 Question and its spin-off, and accounts describe sponsor pressure over contestants. Producer Mark Goodson recalled a request attributed to Charles Revson, but Revson denied involvement in rigging before Congress. The sources do not establish a judicial finding that he personally fixed a particular result.
When did Revlon’s Fire and Ice campaign start?
The precise launch year remains disputed. A Revlon Fire and Ice advertisement survives in a 1952 issue of Life, confirming that the advertising was in circulation by then.
Was the Charles H. Revson Foundation established after his death?
No. Revson established it in 1956. His estate later funded its endowment, and the organization began making grants as an endowed foundation in 1978.
Interviews
Firsthand Accounts in The Quiz Show Scandal
The PBS American Experience documentary and transcript bring together participant accounts of television quiz-show manipulation. Among them is producer Mark Goodson’s recollection of a request he attributed to Charles Revson. The interviews shed light on sponsor pressure without settling Charles’s personal role in any particular result.
View the documentary and transcript
Further Reading
- Andrew Tobias, Fire and Ice: The Story of Charles Revson, the Man Who Built the Revlon Empire (1976), a full-length biography identified in published reference accounts.
Sources
- Revlon Consumer Products: Our Founders: Charles Revson, Our History
- Charles H. Revson Foundation: Our History, 2019 Audited Financial Statements
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History: Revlon Advertising Collection, 1952 Life Magazine Fire and Ice Advertisement
- Business Leader Profiles for Students: Revson, Charles
- PBS American Experience: Charles Revson and the Quiz Show Scandal, The $64,000 Question, The Quiz Show Scandal documentary and transcript
- TIME: The Unflabbergasted Genius, A Family Affair