History Main / BaldOfAuthority

* ''[[VideoGame/ElevatorAction Elevator Action EX]]'': Guy is the main player character's bald boss who directs the spies, as well as a playable character himself.

Most likely this is just [[TruthInTelevision art imitating reality]], given that older people tend to occupy positions of authority in society (due to having more experience) and older people (men in particular) are more likely to be bald than younger people. It also seems likely to have come from, in part, the practice of pharoahs to shave their head bald when they ascended the throne. Even still, there are quite a few fictional leaders across genders and ages that are bald because of this trope.

* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, SPECTRE leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld is portrayed as chrome-domed in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', and ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' overlapping with BaldOfEvil. In all other films where this character shows up, this trope is averted.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in Sword Art Online and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.

* ''LightNovel/MaiHimeDestiny'': Rei Kanzaki, Reito's older brother, is the principal of Fuuka Academy and his baldness is his [[FlatCharacter most defining characteristic]].

* ''LightNovel/RecordOfGrancrestWar'': [[TheCaptain Captain Gluck]] is completely bald. This overlaps with BaldHeadOfToughness as he has the ability to turn his [[ChromeChampion entire body into metal]], which gives him SuperToughness.

Most likely this is just [[TruthInTelevision art imitating reality]], given that older people tend to occupy positions of authority in society (due to having more experience) and older people (men in particular) are more likely to be bald than younger people. Even still, there are quite a few fictional leaders across genders and ages that are bald because of this trope.

[[caption-width-right:350: Nothing says "GodKing" quite like a smooth head.]]

* ''Manga/{{Crows}}'': Hana is [[DelinquentHair bald]] and TheLeader of his faction the Hana Gumi [[spoiler:and later, the Whole SUZURAN as its first Boss]]. He is the [[TheAce best fighter]] in the group, cementing his position through AuthorityGrantsAsskicking.

* ''Film/TheLastSamurai'': Katsumoto is the bald leader of the Samurai and also [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking their strongest warrior]], who personally leads them into every battle.

[[caption-width-right:350: Nothing says "[[GodEmperor God King]]" quite like a smooth head.]]

Across works, bald people, in the rare times they even appear in a work, will often occupy a leadership position. Perhaps it's because [[BaldMystic bald people seem wiser]] than their full-head-of-hair-having counterparts, making them naturally come off as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure. Or, and this would especially be the case when AsskickingEqualsAuthority, maybe it's due to [[BaldHeadOfToughness baldness being perceived as inherently tough]], with bald people naturally embodying the kind of resilience and fortitude desired from an effective leader.

** Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto is the [[spoiler:late]] Captain of the First Squad and Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the uncontested most powerful person in Soul Society, having gotten his position centuries ago by simply [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking destroying all rival factions]]. His baldness is in part justified by his old age, as in his younger days, he did have hair. But even then, it was styled such that the top of his head was completely bald with the hair only growing on the sides.

* ''Manga/{{Crows}}'': Hana is [[DelinquentHair bald]] and TheLeader of his faction the Hana Gumi [[spoiler:and later, the Whole SUZURAN as its first Boss]]. He is the [[TheAce best fighter]] in the group, cementing his position through AuthorityEqualsAsskicking.

* ''Film/TheLastSamurai'': Katsumoto is the bald leader of the Samurai and also [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking their strongest warrior]], who personally leads them into every battle.

* ''Series/{{Oz}}'': Simon Adebisi is a bald thug who initially is just another member of the Homeboys. However, after the two previous leaders are killed, Adebisi takes over via AsskickingEqualsAuthority and quickly becomes TheDreaded thanks to [[AxCrazy being a brutal psychopath]]. He eventually manages to take over Em City through sheer cunning, in exchange for preventing any deaths from happening within the cell block.

[[folder:Light Novels]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheGuildOfSpecialists'': Master Aa is the LargeAndInCharge bald leader of the Sujing Quantou, a Chinese military order.
* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': Ajihad, who has a beard but no hair, is the leader of [[LaResistance the Vardan]].
* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'': Admiral Boris Yobo is head of Space Command, which puts him in charge of Space Academy, where SpaceCadet Jeff Wells is in training. Initially it appeared that Fargo had left the service, but the first book reveals that he'd actually become a secret agent working with Yobo to discover the secret identity of the first book's villain. So aside from being the highest-ranked person that we meet in the Solar Federation, he takes a personal interest in the Wells family and is directly responsible for Jeff having [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture enough credits to purchase Norby]] in the first place. The novels tend to describe him as the descendant of African kings, emphasizing his skin-tone and leadership skills at the same time. His baldness is emphasized in ''Literature/NorbyAndTheCourtJester'' because the planet Izz insists on everyone wearing braids, and since his natural baldness prevents him from having any other hair, he has to grow a mustache and braid that instead.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** We have Lord of the Westerlands and Hand of the King to Aerys [[AbusiveParent Tywin Lannister]] who use to have long curly locks like his children and grandchildren. When at the first sign of hairloss Tywin ordered his barber to shave his head.
** Janos Slynt Commander of the City Watch has a shiny scalp.
** Ser Jeor Mormont who was the head of his house and is now Lord Commander of the Nights Watch lost most of his hair except for his impressive beard.
** Lord of Horn Hill Randyll Tarly who doubles as BaldofEvil due to being an AbusiveParent.
** Lord of Dragonstone Stannis Baratheon who has no hair on top of his head.
[[/folder]]

* Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.
* Lordgenome from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', although he leans a little closer to AmbiguouslyBrown and started out white and blond.

* Seen in ''Film/TheFifthElement'', where the President of the Federated Territories is both bald and black (played by former wrestler Tom 'Tiny' Lister).

* Supervising Marshal John Ringer, played by [=LaMont=] Garrett, is the black bald leader of an elite USMarshal team, escorting an extremely high-risk prisoner back to the U.S. in ''Film/{{Primal}}''. He has a 'take no shit' attitude and immediately clashes with GreatWhiteHunter Frank Walsh; a civilian who refuses to respect his authority.

* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', "Big Mike" Tucker is the bald, black manager of the Buy More—though he's really more of a figurehead as he's about as interested in doing any work as the rest of the staff (i.e. not very) and so it's Chuck who ends up doing most of the actual leading, in between saving the world, or the series of evil assistant managers.
* The President in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is black and bald. He is played by Creator/MichaelDorn.

* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': [[DaChief Martin Ehrenthal]], both bald and black, is the head of the local division of the CPB. He's an incredibly competent administrator, not afraid to stand up to any [[MegaCorp Consortium]] representative or someone from the [[JurisdictionFriction Assessor's Office]] trying to browbeat him or his agents to back away from their investigations.
* Sergeant Major Jonas Blaine, field commander of ''Series/TheUnit'', is forced to go bald in a few episodes.

* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has Abdul Johnson, Chairman of the Grand Council, and Rashid King, head of Internal Security and the power behind the throne. Both are Black Muslims, although their hairstyle is never quite made explicit.

* Teferi, from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. His baldness only becomes clear during Time Spiral; previously, his hairstyle was unknown due to his NiceHat.

* ''Literature/ASongofIceAndFire'':

* ''Literature/ASongofIceandFire'':

* From ''Literature/ASongofIceandFire'' We have Lord of the Westerlands and Hand of the King to Aerys [[AbusiveParent Tywin Lannister]] who use to have long curly locks like his children and grandchildren. When at the first sign of hairloss Tywin ordered his barber to shave his head.

** Lord of Dragonstone Stannis Baratheon who has no hair on top of his head, but still looks kingly.

* From ''Literature/ASongofIceandFire'' We have Lord of the Westerlands and Hand of the King to Aerys Tywin Lannister who use to have long curly locks like his children and grandchildren. When at the first sign of hairloss Tywin ordered his barber to shave his head.

** Lord of Horn Hill Randyll Tarly who doubles as BaldheadofToughness do to his martial prowess.

* Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.

* ''Film/AustinPowers'': Dr. Evil is a parody of ''Film/JamesBond'' villains and is an {{Expy}} in terms of appearance of the often depicted as [[BaldOfEvil bald]], frequent Bond antagonist, Blofeld.

* In the 1970s and 80s, the bald, black "EvilGenius" Lightning Hernandez was the unofficial leader of all the {{rudo}}s on the Dominican Republic television program "International Wrestling". For the record, the unofficial leader of the {{tecnico}}s, Jack Veneno, was also black but not bald, making this overlap with BaldOfEvil.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BattleTech'': The bald Aleksandr Kerensky was the greatest general of the Star League Defense Forces and remains one of the most [[BigGood beloved figures]] in the entire universe, whose UndyingLoyalty to the Star League led him to buck the rules if it meant doing what he believed was just and right.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Numbuh One is a completely bald child and the leader of the Sector V branch of the eponymous Kids Next Door, an international organization of kids that combats adult tyranny and villainy. He is the most level-headed of the group (apart from his ProperlyParanoid and ConspiracyTheorist ways) and [[{{Determinator}} has a will of titanium]] when it comes to taking on the grown-ups. His baldness was [[JustifiedTrope actually caused]] by the group's arch rivals, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane, in a NoodleIncident.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': Save for a few strands of hair, Tommy Pickles is completely bald and the de facto leader when he and the rest of the babies go on adventures in the show, often deciding what the plan is for each episode. He's also shown to be the [[FearlessInfant bravest of the group]], being the first to charge into the unknown or stand up against Angelica, who often bullies them. His baldness is [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as he's a literal baby who has yet to fully grow hair, but it remains noteworthy since he's the only one (until [[spoiler:his younger brother Dill is born]]) of the kids to be bald.

!!Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease, as this is a characterization trope.

SuperTrope to BaldBlackLeaderGuy and all examples of bald, black leaders should go there. For bald characters who don't necessarily lead a group, but use their wisdom and enlightenment to provide guidance and advice in a more MentorArchetype way, see BaldMystic. For headwear that serves a similar purpose, see HatOfAuthority.

* ''Series/BlackSails'': Played with. Gates is the most senior member of the crew and serves as the ''Walrus's'' Quartermaster, i.e. the elected representative of the crew's interests for practicality, understanding of the crew's needs; he'd arguably be the better choice for TheCaptain. However, he is not and he remains deeply loyal to Captain Flint, while still acting as a check on Flint's authority.
** Flint himself becomes this after he shaves his head between the second and the third seasons.