Sassoon disinherits son, Multi-millionaire hairstylist Vidal Sassoon cut his adopted son David out of his will entirely, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Sassoon, who rose from humble roots in London’s East End and whose distinctive cuts came to symbolise the Swinging Sixties on both sides of the Atlantic, apparently never healed a rift with his ‘mischievous’ American son before dying of leukaemia last May, aged 84.
Sassoon was worth an estimated £100 million. His will, drawn up two months before his death, was released in the UK, and covers the £5.2 million share of estate in this country. His wealth in the United States has not yet been divided.
However, the stylist, who lived in Los Angeles with his fourth wife Rhonda, left no doubt as to his wishes regarding David, 41, who was adopted in 1975 aged three.
The document states: ‘My son David Sassoon and his issue are hereby disinherited and shall take nothing under this will, and for the purposes of the will, shall be deemed to have predeceased me, leaving no surviving issue.’
The will also specifically disinherits his former wives Elaine Nations, Beverly Sassoon and Jeanette Sassoon, saying they shall ‘take nothing’.
In his 2010 autobiography, Sassoon reflected on his life with David, and while it was clear he still held him in affection, it had not been an easy relationship.
He described David as an ‘African-American / Asian boy’, which suggests he may have been one of the thousands of babies fathered by US servicemen during the Vietnam War.
‘He was a robust, bright little boy with twinkling eyes and an irresistible smile, and I’ll never forget him looking up at us and saying, “Are you going to be my new mom and dad?” ’
But from the start, things didn’t go smoothly, he recalled. ‘He was also quite mischievous. At a fashion party David stood by a window on the second floor and peed out, just missing [chat show host legend] Johnny Carson’s head.
‘Another time he set the bed alight while he was still in it. His brother Elan was very frightened that he could do something so dangerous and I overheard him giving his little brother some good advice:
“Next time, make sure you get out of it first!” ’
As David entered adolescence, Sassoon received a call from a police officer friend who told him the 13-year-old had been jump-starting cars, driving them a short distance and then abandoning them.
Sassoon said: ‘David spent a couple of years at a reform school near Sundance, Utah. He came back to Los Angeles but he still didn’t seem to fit in.’
In the book, Sassoon admitted he had not seen his son for 18 months following a rift and later he said: ‘There’s a certain point in my character where if I feel a situation is hopeless – walk away. Don’t torment yourself constantly. I walked away.’
Sassoon, who kept a house in Notting Hill, West London, had two other surviving children – Elan and Eden.
A third child, Catya, died of a drug overdose in 2002.
The Mail on Sunday tried to contact David but an address he shared with his ex-wife Audrey in Los Angeles was deserted.
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