Joe Louis Dudley Sr. (May 9, 1937 – February 8, 2024) was an American businessman and hair-care entrepreneur. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Dudley Products Inc., a company specializing in the manufacture and distribution of hair and skin care products for the African American community.
Joe Louis Dudley Sr. was born in Aurora, North Carolina, as the fifth of 11 children. In his early education, he faced challenges due to a speech impediment, which led to him being mistakenly labeled as mentally retarded and held back twice by the eleventh grade. Despite these setbacks, Dudley persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In 1957, while living in Brooklyn, New York, Dudley started his career in hair care by investing $10 in a sales kit from Fuller Products and began selling door-to-door in African American neighborhoods. He met Eunice Mosley in 1960, who was also selling Fuller products door-to-door; they married a year later.
