You know you are an icon when your likeness has been cast in wax. Radio One founder and CEO Cathy Hughes was honored by the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum this year, with unveilings of a wax figure of her in February at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and on Sept. 20 at the Baltimore County African American Cultural Festival.
The first African-American female to chair a publicly-traded company, Hughes founded the largest African American owned and operated broadcast-company in the nation. Radio One is the parent corporation of TV One, Reach Media and Interactive One; a multimedia enterprise reaching the African-American audience through radio, television and digital platforms. It is also the parent company of NewsOne.
Radio One founder Cathy Hughes among wax figurines. (Recreation Wishlist)
PHOTOS: Scenes From The Cathy Hughes Wax Unveiling On Sept. 20 in Baltimore
Before the unveilings, Hughes remarked (PDF) “It’s a little eerie. If done correctly, the figures look just like the person. I’m not sure I’m ready to look into my own eyes.”
The process of casting a person in wax, according to an article released by the museum, “is a tedious and delicate one.
“Once the time frame of for the model has been determined, the research begins. Photos of facial features, hair, body size, hands, fingers and elbows must be carefully examined from every angle. Articles, books and interviews are examined to get a feel for the model’s personality and style. Extensive measurements must be taken from the size of the waist to the length of a finger.”
The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum in Baltimore, Md. is committed solely to the study and preservation of African American history, through the presentation of life-size, life-like wax figures highlighting historical and contemporary personalities of African ancestry.
