had a child at 15. >> reporter: markham enrolled in barber school and in 1967 opened a small shop inuquerque, new mexico, that also sold hair products like those created by his friend the celebrity stylist jay sebring. >> he got paul newman, steve mcqueen, frank sinatra. >> reporter: august 1969 brought devastating news. >> i heard on the radio jay sebring and sharon tate killed. >> los angeles and the country were shocked to learn of a grisly trail of murders which included the death of the actress sharon tate. >> reporter: tate and sebring murdered by followers of charles manson. the brutal killings that haunted the nation accelerated markham's career. >> when he was killed, i was the only one that could take over. >> reporter: he helped run s sebring's company for several years. he concentrated on women's hair care. they worked together, as they still do. >> i don't love it. >> reporter: avva, their first feminine hair care line, hit the market in 1989 thanks in part to a loan from cheryl's father. >> her father loaned us $150,000. we took it down to zero. then the company started