TO ALL MY FRIENDS HERE AT THE H.A.M.B... In 2006, I created the Hall Of Fame Legends Series to preserve, document, and, record the oral histories of the pioneers/legends/hall of fame members, so that current R&C followers, as well as future generations, could learn from these iconic, historic R&C builders & creators of some of the most unique & special works of "rolling sculpture" ever produced. Like all of you reading this thread, I had seen the fantastic cars of Gene Winfield, Darryl Starbird, Joe Bailon, Posie, John D'Agostino, Chuck Miller, Bo Huff, Gary Howard, Dick "Magoo" Megugorac, Elden Titus, Lee Pratt, et al, for years. The photos that have been in R& C mags, and, now on the Internet (like here on the H.A.M.B.) are just beautiful ! The work that all of the great photographers do is just awe-inspiring !! BUT, I wanted to hear the builders/creators stories personal stories as to what went into these cars. I wanted to hear their own stories, in their own voices, preserve them all in one place...and make these oral histories available for all to hear World Wide. So, when I began to start recording the histories of these legends in 2006, one of the first I talked to about it was GEORGE BARRIS. I told George that these would all be done one-on-one, in-person, those were my parameters. George looked at me and said "What are we waiting for ! I'd love to do that ! Let's start right now !" And, we did. FROM 2006 to 2014, George, our friend, kustom car designer/creator, John D'Agostino, and, myself, had a locked-in, "Sunday Morning In Salina Session" every year at the KKOA Lead Sled in Salina, Kansas. Our sessions lasted sometimes 2 to 3 hours...three guys talking cars, having fun, and, recording the histories of BOTH John, and, George. John & I were amazed at the "inner circle" stories & history that George had in his memory banks ! He talked about so much that we would have never known without these wonderful, personal, sessions we shared & recorded during those eight years. As a kid, George Barris was one of my Heroes; as an adult, he became one of my friends. Accordingly, since his death, I've been preparing a Special Tribute Page to honor George, it's now finished and I wanted to share it with all of you here...you WILL learn from it, and enjoy it. (George had a great sense of humor...as you'll hear.) THE LINK BELOW will take you to George's Tribute Page...and, the page not only contains the Tribute, BUT, I've picked a DOZEN stories of some of George (and, Sam's) most-memorable kustoms. The TWELVE are: "The Batmobile", "The Munsters Cars", "The Ala Kart", "The Golden Sahara", The "Hirohata Merc", "The Aztec", "The Larry Ernst Chopped '51 BelAir" &"The Shop Fire", "The Burgarin Merc", "The Little Deuce Coupe", "The XPAK 400 Hovercar", "TV & Movie Cars" & "Early Years Of Street Racing"..each has a great story, and more, behind it, and each of these stories can be accessed & heard directly from the Tribute Page. http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage146.html My humble thanks for taking the time to read this. It was a true honor to know George Barris...he WAS truly "The King Of The Kustomizers". Jonnie King www.legends.thewwbc.net
Wow - fabulous - so many stories, so much information - I hope that people take the time to see what you have presented here - and come to back fully take in what you have done - so much that normally would be lost is preserved in a way that no one else has come close to doing. Thanks for all of your hard work, and dedication
Jalopy Joker... Many sincere thanks for your kind words. The history of both George & Sam is so ingrained into our R&C culture that a part of everything we do today is based on what they, and all the other pioneers, did in the past. It's an integral part of our present, and to hear "how they did it" is what I wanted to record and preserve...not just for today, but for those who want to study about them in the future. George never failed to, not just answer a question, but to "give life" to his responses...and add facts & info that were just so personal and informative that we'd never know about it if I hadn't had my recorder running. If you're reading this and had the pleasure of meeting George at an event or an appearance, you know how gracious he was to all he met, and you'll hear that same feeling he conveys in all of his stories on his Tribute Page. http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage146.html Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
There was a nice article in today's (November 29) LA Times regarding George's burial and the turnout of many kustoms and hotrods. Here's the link.... http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-tribute-to-george-barris-20151128-story.html
Thanks for this. Many papers around the country covered the death notice...but didn't follow-up with this info. Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
Jalopy Joker, Thanks again. My Cousin called me last night and said that after he logged onto the Tribute Page, he listened to the "Munsters At The Dragstrip" Interview, and then found out that "Munster, Go Home", which features the Munster Koach, was on TV. He was excited to watch it, and said that the syndicated show that featured it ran a couple of slides of George & mentioned that he had passed-away, and was the builder of the Koach. A very nice gesture. BTW: He called me back this morn. to let me know he'd passed George's Tribute link to some of his car buddies. Feel free to do that if you'd like. As George used to say "We're all like family us car people. We're all in this together." http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage146.html Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
George passed-away a year ago this month so, again, I thought that some of you may be new to the H.A.M.B. , and, some may have missed it last year. So, I have revised some of the info and added a couple of pix this week to the Tribute Page that I created for him after he passed away. THE LINK BELOW will take you to George's Tribute Page...and, the page not only contains the Tribute, BUT, I've picked a DOZEN stories of some of George (and, Sam's) most-memorable kustoms. The TWELVE are: "The Batmobile", "The Munsters Cars", "The Ala Kart", "The Golden Sahara", The "Hirohata Merc", "The Aztec", "The Larry Ernst Chopped '51 BelAir" &"The Shop Fire", "The Burgarin Merc", "The Little Deuce Coupe", "The XPAK 400 Hovercar", "TV & Movie Cars" & "Early Years Of Street Racing"..EACH has a great story, and more, behind it, and each of these stories can be accessed & heard directly from the TRIBUTE PAGE. http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage146.html I know some of you have met George through the years...so please share any of your "Barris Stories"...we'd love to hear 'em ! My best to all... Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
The Jalopy Journal
