Rick Cook, long known as “the psychic barber,” has died. A reader tipped us that this announcement was first made via the voicemail announcement for his shop at 4845 California SW; while the announcement says Mr. Cook has passed away, the note on the door says only this:
According to this brief online mention, Mr. Cook died September 25, at age 68. We’ve reported on him multiple times over the years because of his shop and its distinctive sign, as well as because of his repeated displacement by development. He had moved to this location just south of The Junction in 2019, when his previous location, 6016 California SW, was planned for redevelopment; 
he had been there six years, after leaving a longtime location just south of Rite Aid on California. (Ironically, while that building was demolished, the site has to date not been redeveloped; at the time its then-owner planned on a mixed-use building, and now it’s slated for townhomes.) A WSB contributor first interviewed him at that location in 2009 (photo at right), and got the story behind “Psychic Barber.” (No, he wasn’t a psychic, but a neighboring business was, and he eventually ended up with their sign.) Mr. Cook was a Chief Sealth graduate and had been cutting hair in West Seattle for more than 45 years.
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