Stylish Ottawa stylist a ‘magical man’
Hairdresser to celebrities, known to all simply as Rinaldo, dies at 82
Rinaldo Canonico, former hairdresser to Ottawa’s rich and famous, and a man so celebrated in social circles himself that he was known solely by his first name, died on Wednesday afternoon of complications from pneumonia. He was 82. “It’s a loss to the Ottawa community,” said longtime friend and concert promoter Dennis Ruffo.
“He was one of those colourful personalities that always stand out above the rest. He always had a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye and great spirit, and was always happy to see you. He was just a great guy. Very caring. He always made you feel good.”
Rinaldo immigrated to Canada in 1956 from Lago, Italy, choosing the nation’s capital because a sister of his lived here. Even then, in his 20s, he was an accomplished hairstylist, and was taken aback when it was suggested that he look for work in a barber shop instead — men rarely styled women’s hair, he was told.
He persisted, however, and in 1968 opened his own salon, Rinaldo’s, in Place de Ville, where his skills with both styling and gregarious self-promotion vaulted his name in the community. Among his noted customers over the years were Laureen Harper, Maureen McTeer, Queen Noor of Jordan, Sophia Loren, Sarah, Duchess of York, Brian and Mila Mulroney and Margaret Thatcher.
“Even after he moved to Montreal, Pierre Trudeau used to come back to Ottawa to have his hair cut by Rinaldo,” Ruffo said.
Rinaldo’s nephew, Tony Canonico, described his uncle as a “magical man.”
“That’s the best way to put it. He was very magical when he entered a room. You knew his presence was there, that’s for sure. He wasn’t big in stature but big in personality. He just had the smile and the talk, and he was definitely an icon.”
One of Rinaldo’s closest friends, Peter Clark, said, “I don’t think that anybody who ever spent even a little bit of time with Rinaldo would forget him. He was always going full speed, over the top. He had very high standards, and you could see it in everything he did, and he was generous to a fault — people took advantage of him. But he never did anything at half-measure, including his friendships. He was genuine, a real person.”
Five years after opening his first salon, Rinaldo met his second wife, Pat, while styling her hair. He offered her a job and they were soon married. It’s no small testament to Rinaldo’s celebrity that, although she took his surname and became Pat Canonico, she eventually legally changed it to Pat Rinaldo after discovering that most people called her Mrs. Rinaldo anyway.
In 1991, he was appointed by Mulroney’s cabinet to the board of the Federal Development Bank. Two years later, in 1993, he moved his business to the main floor of the World Exchange Plaza, and six years later added a European spa to the salon — Pat’s idea — with Mila Mulroney in attendance. The former prime minister’s wife, with whom Rinaldo and Pat developed a friendship, regularly brought attention to the salon.
“Mila is a bright, elegant woman and she looks good all the time,” Pat noted in 2006. “What better publicity could you have?”
Rinaldo closed the World Exchange location in 2008 and moved to George Street. He later franchised the salon. There are currently four Ottawa locations: Carlingwood Shopping Centre, Manotick, and Lansdowne Park along with George Street. And despite giving up styling about a decade ago due to repetitive-strain injury, Rinaldo regularly visited each location to greet customers and make sure the salons maintained the high standards he expected. “Customers liked that,” Tony said.
An avid golfer, chef, Pittsburgh Steelers fan and animal lover, Rinaldo and publicity were rarely strangers, whether he was giving his time, energy and money to such causes as CHEO, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Humane Society, attending community events at Sala San Marco on Preston Street, or hosting swanky parties at his and Pat’s luxury condo in the ByWard Market.
“He drew people together,” added Tony. “He was the life of the party and a very generous man. He could speak with the prime minister one day, a banker one day, a judge one day and a homeless person the next. I think that’s what made him so genuine and so big; he knew how to relate to people, and he treated everyone the same.”
“He was born in Italy,” said Clark, “and came over here as a young adult. And you talk about the American dream — well, Rinaldo had the Canadian dream, and he made it.”
He wasn’t big in stature but big in personality. He just had the smile and the talk, and he was definitely an icon.