{{Short description|American entrepreneur}} '''Comer Joseph Cottrell Jr.''' (December 7, 1931 – October 3, 2014) was an American entrepreneur most notable for founding Pro-Line Corp., a business that created the Curly Kit, which brought the Jheri curl hairstyle to the masses and made it easy to achieve at home.
==Biography== He was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised Catholic. He briefly attended the University of Detroit and served in the Air Force during the Korean War.
===Ventures=== He founded Pro-Line Corp. in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-comer-cottrell-20141009-story.html|title=Comer Cottrell dies at 82; made Jheri curl available to the masses|author=Los Angeles Times|date=8 October 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> It was originally based in Los Angeles. In 1979, he created the Curly Kit and in 1980, he moved the company to Dallas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/10/comer-cottrell-obituary-pro-line-curly-kit/17010729/|title=Pro-Line, "Curly Kit" creator Cottrell dies at 82|author=Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY|date=10 October 2014|work=USA TODAY|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> Forbes Magazine called the Curly Kit "the biggest single product ever to hit the black cosmetics market." In 2000, he sold the company to Alberto-Culver for $75 million to $80 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/10/11/354931324/comer-cottrell-creator-of-the-peoples-jheri-curl-dies-at-82|title=Comer Cottrell, Creator Of The People's Jheri Curl, Dies At 82|date=11 October 2014|work=NPR.org|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> With his brother, James, he turned Pro-Line into one of the most successful black-owned companies in the United States.
In 1990, he purchased the campus of Bishop College and moved Paul Quinn College from Waco, Texas, to its campus.
Along with George W. Bush and others, Cottrell was part of the team that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball club. He was the first black person to be an owner or part-owner of a major league team.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/business/comer-cottrell-pioneer-of-hair-products-for-blacks-dies-at-82.html Comer Cottrell, Who Got Rich on Hair Curling, Dies at 82], The New York Times, October 11, 2014</ref>
He wrote an autobiography: ''Comer Cottrell: A Story That Will Inspire Future Entrepreneurs''. He was the first African American member of Dallas’ Citizens Council, and was on the board of many influential banks and companies in Dallas. He helped Ron Kirk get elected as the first African American mayor of Dallas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/10/14/comer-cottrell-the-juice-behind-the-jheri-curl/|title=Comer Cottrell: The juice behind the Jheri curl|newspaper=Washington Post|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref>
=== Death === He died in Plano, Texas, at age 82.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottrell, Comer}} Category:1931 births Category:2014 deaths Category:American businesspeople Category:People from Mobile, Alabama Category:Texas Rangers owners Category:African-American Catholics