Phil Spector, Cue BallA final revelation about Lana Clarkson's killer.

Phil Spector's mugshot Call me naive, but I always thought that was Phil Spector's real hair. It seemed inconceivable to me that anybody would manufacture and sell a wig that looked like this or this or even this. But when time came for Spector to be photographed last week prior to beginning his 19-year sentence for the second-degree murder of Lana Clarkson, the truth was revealed at last. No wonder Spector spent six years trying to beat the rap!

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In contemporary pop culture, baldness is as often as not considered sexy. Andre Agassi, Bruce Willis, and Michael Jordan are all bald. But baby boomer culture celebrates hair—shinin', gleamin', streamin', flaxin', waxen', etc.—and apparently Spector doesn't have as much as we thought. "They took my husband's freedom and dignity," observed Spector's wife, Rachelle. "So why not his hair? This is a personal matter. But in case you don't know, they don't allow for much accessorizing while in prison." We are only beginning to take the full measure of this tragedy.

E-mail Timothy Noah at .

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Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate.

Photograph of Phil Spector by CDCR via Getty Images.

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