Ah, the buzz cut: that sometimes-risky, sometimes-successful ‘do usually sported by male celebrities when it's required for a role in a military/secret agent/futuristic film or because they need a quick way to change their public image. But no matter what their reasons are for taking the razor to the scalp, the look has roughly a 50/50 chance of working. Two of the most recent stars to shave it all off are Jennifer Aniston arm candy John Mayer and new member of the Movie Press-Generating Lawbreakers’ Club Josh Brolin, and while Mayer irritatingly manages to pull the look off despite his big head ego, Brolin’s close cut reveals a bit too much skin. Which immediately made us reminisce on buzz cuts of the past, both the bad (Hey, Jude), the good (pre-Scientology Tommy C.), and the very ugly (Attack Of The Killer Umbrella-Bearers):

Tina Brown's new talk show, "Topic A with Tina Brown" debuts tonight at 9PM EST on CNBC. Tonight's guests: Barry Diller, Sony Corporation of America chief Howard Stringer, Hollinger Inc. chairman Conrad Black and Queen Noor of Jordan, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and historian Simon Schama. Tina on her absence from the magazine world: "I miss being a journalist as such, being a journalist in the mix of the news. I keep thinking every day of articles that I would assign. And I keep thinking, why isn't anybody assigning Anthony Swofford, the author of 'Jarhead,' to go to Iraq? It seems to me mad. I would have done that instantly."
Tina Brown: I've always put myself in the hot seat [IWantMedia]
Dialogue with Tina Brown [Hollywood Reporter]
Press release: Topic A with Tina Brown [CNBC]