King of Kustom: George Barris

"He passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 AM (on November 5, 2015). He was surrounded by his family in the comfort of his home. He lived his life the way he wanted tilt the end. He would want everyone to celebrate the passion he had for life and what he created for all to enjoy."

There are few people whose life and work represents the best of Americana, that blend of chrome, metal, flames and blondes that is such an integral part of the American Dream. George Barris, much like Kenny Howard "von Dutch", is one of those people.
Born in 1925 in Chicago, Barris would come to be called the "King of Kustom" for the outrageously American custom cars he built, which oozed with Hollywood chic and glamour. He grew up in sun-kissed California, and an early start at customising would seal his fate. Barris and his brother (and eventual business partn er) Sam built their first custom car out of 1925 Buick before they even hit high school. Barris' first full custom would be based on a 1936 Ford convertible, and when he eventually moved to Los Angeles and opened his first custom car shop after World War II, the stars aligned to make sure the man and his work would reach sky high.

Fact: Barris used to create small scale models of cars out of balsa wood as early as the age of 7. His attention to detail and his ability to mould any material into any shape was an early indicator of the incredible craftsman he would later become famous for being.

Close proximity to Hollywood and a rising popularity of Barris Kustom built cars after the runaway success of the American economy after WWII made sure that George Barris quickly gained mainstream exposure. Featured prominently in Alfred Hitchcock's movies such as North by Northwest and High School Confidential, Barris' fame would skyrocket when he was brought in to build a suitable ride for a TV adaptation of Gotham's caped crusader. The Batmobile that George Barris built was based on a Lincoln concept car, the Futura, which he had stored in his garage for over a decade, having bought it for a dollar. That one dollar car, when transformed into the Batmobile, would eventually fetch a whopping price of 4.6 million dollars when sold at an auction in 2013.

Fact: Barris was responsible for designing K.I.T.T. from The Knight Rider, and created the iconic "striped tomato" look of the Ford Torino used in Starsky and Hutch, the Torino regarded as one of the most iconic TV cars of all time. He was also responsible for the "General Lee" Dodge Charger which Bo and Luke drove in The Dukes of Hazard.

The basic element of all of the Barris designs were extremely loud, garish colours and rocket-ship influences from America's jet-set age. Double bubble roofs, canopies, fintails and turbines, rakish fronts and voluptuous profiles were the mainstay. When applied to the traditional American hot-rod, the results were incredible and helped nurture the creative spirits of those who got into the custom car business after being inspired by the work of George Barris.

Fact: Barris and his brother Sam were a good friends of Robert E. Petersen, who would go on to found Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines, two of the most popular automotive publications in the United States today.

Although his main rise to popularity was through his work with Hollywood and the silver screen, George Barris was the leader of a custom car culture on the West Coast that would eventually evolve into a billion dollar industry that exists to this day. From the glory days of post-world war American boom to the Californian speed shops of the 60's and the emergence of import tuner culture in the mid-90's, what George Barris started would transform California into a mecca for anyone interested in custom cars and automotive sub-culture. For that, we salute this great man, and mourn his passing. Wrench on in heaven, Kustom King.