Albert Starr, long-time Duke barber, dies

Albert Starr, in the Duke barbershop in 1992. Photo courtesy The Chronicle

Albert Starr, who for four decades at the Duke Barber Shop cut the hair of customers ranging from students to President Terry Sanford, died last Thursday after a lengthy illness. He was 88.

The Duke Barber Shop hired Starr, a black hair stylist, in 1969, not long after the university integrated. This was done to meet the needs of black students, and to ensure Duke was “truly welcoming of our black students on campus,” President Richard H. Brodhead wrote in a tribute following Starr’s death.

“Albert quickly became an important part of Duke in ways that reached the wider community,” Brodhead continued. “Along with getting a haircut, clients would hear some news, receive some advice, and share some laughs – and that was true whether you were a homesick freshman or the university president.”

David Fowler, who has run the Duke Barber Shop since 1972, said Starr was upbeat and fun, but also caring, often giving free haircuts to those low on money.

“He always had some kind of story to tell,” Fowler added. “The freshmen really enjoyed it, even if those stories may have been exaggerated at times.”

Fowler said he often told Starr that he should have been a teacher instead of a barber. “Children would come in, get antsy, run around the shop, and [Albert] would get a piece of paper, crayons, a scissor, and start showing them how to cut something out or draw something and have them color it. Children were always returning those pictures” to the shop.

“He was great with children,” Fowler said.

A homecoming celebration for Starr will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, 1625 S. Alston Ave., Durham, beginning at 1 p.m. The family will greet friends 30 minutes prior to the start of the service.

Online condolences may be expressed at Scarboroughandhargettfh.com.