....as in, Dean Jeffries? What is he doing these days.....is he still in business? Does anyone ever run into him? "Jeffries,The Modern Painter"........ Thanks, Johnny & Kali
Hey Johnny/Kali! Great to see you back on the board! (sorry I can't help your search for Jeffries though) welcome back... Mike
I try to visit Dean every time I am in the LA area. He is still in the shop he moved to way back in the sixties, I believe. He is a great guy and it is amazing the stuff he was, is, involved in. He has some of the coolest stuff still at his shop. Such as the only existing Ford GT40 Roadster ever built! And, Ford dual overhead cammer motors from the Indy car ranks. He has two of these, both new!!! His office walls are covered with photos of famous people and cars and it is just thrilling to look at everything and think about the life he has led. A senior moment has me seriously in its grip, and I can't remember Dean's address at the moment. But, I am going to look it up ASAP and will post it for everyone to see. Dean is the BEST, most approachable icon from the past that it has ever been my pleasure to meet. Do yourself a huge favor if you are ever in the area of the Hollywood Bowl (at least I remember the area where Dean's shop is located), stop by and say "Hello." If you want to really have some fun, bring up George Barris' name and watch the sparks fly! Yowzir!!!
Thanks O&K! Great response....we were hoping that he was well and fine...another legend that should be appreciated while we can. We have some questions that only Jeffries can answer, and any info you can give us is greatly appreciated. Geo. Barris? Well, we know where to find him and what he is thinking about ( Chicks?) Our favorite era has to the one where Roth existed with Barris,with Watson and Jeffries setting painting trends daily, and Newt brought forth artistic genius with every line..... TDC....hey,thanks,man....don't worry...the "clean" plaque is getting cleaner by the minute...you guys will have it soon...thanks for being patient! J&K
He built some cool machines..eveyone remembers him for the Monkeemobile and the Black Beauty from the green hornet tv show( Which Barris always tries to take credit for) but i always liked the Landmaster from Damnation alley...he just restored it..and has it at the shop..its a real beast!
Great car! Got to see it for the first time two years ago in the Petersen Museum. The car was built around the remains of a Maseratti that ran Indy.
Heya Ed, We have always thought so....kinda also had a strong su****ion that he did that line of Wierd-O-Cals for Roth in the late '50's.... His monster shirts were more surreal,in our opinion, than anyone else's....except maybe von Dutch....... The use of the "Martian Antennae" gag on Jeffries shirts really points to the Beaver shirts, but in those days there was alot more cross-traffic and exposure between famous and not-so-famous shirt artists..... Maybe even Kelly, the Baron's grandson.....similar style, and definitely around Ed til '59.... Franco, if you are reading this, what is your 2cents?
One of my greatest memories of the'60s was a sweatshirt hand airbrushed by Dean Jeffries based on a design by one of my cl***mates at Ann Arbor High School named Ruel Kenyon. It featured a drooling, many fanged, feline-type monster comin' at ya' with the words "NNNnnice KKKkkkitty!" above and below. My Mother thought the shirt represented some sort of "evil" and promptly burned it. And you thought "the day the music died" was a tragedy!! When I asked Ray "El Vago" Smith to stripe my Turquoise 1954 Ford Sedan Delivery street rod a few years back, my first request was that it be "Dean Jeffries style". He hit it dead center. I hated to part with that car with those stripes. It's now in Ohio, somewhere. I'll post pics if anyone is interested. DOG
Totally agree. Bikini Beach has alot of the greats (go karts, dragsters, hot rods, ANNETTE, and Little Stevie Wonder), Frankie/Potato Bug was a little uncomfortable though... ------------- Yeah, I'd like to hear more from some of the (unfortunately) lesser known or credited guys from the west coast during the mid 50's to mid 60's. Coffee table book? Someone? I'd buy.
Dean Jefferies produced a line of "dune buggies". I think they were the Coyote. Good looking little units.
It's nice to hear that one of the old customizers is still doing well. Man, there's a couple of the old fellas who are in tough shape. One is living out of a tent and another often has to rely on friends just to eat. Sad.
They LIVE!!!! Jeffries shop is on the Cahuenga P***. between Universal and the Hollywood Bowl, Last time I drove by, bout a year ago now, the big Machine that was used as Paperboy 2000 in that episode of Get a Life was still in the parking lot, it was also in an episode of Battlestar Galactica and some other stuff. Remember seeing some hand painted sign for the Green Hornet in the front window too. I think the Beaver shirts were done by Jeffries. Who knows? The Monkeemobile Model kit that came out a few years back had a Barris Logo all over it, said in small letters designed by "Dan Jeffries" That musta pissed him off, wonder if the misspelled name was intentional...... Johnny and Kali, you guys answerin your phone now????? I gave up tryin.....
Someone was working on a book about Dean Jefferies, I think it was mentioned in Autoart Magazine around the time they started.
I forgot to mention that the last time we visited Dean he off-handedly remarked that he was still getting his sea legs back. When we inquired what he was referring to, he told us of his "incident" on the ladder. It turns out he was cleaning the flourescent fixtures in his shop and got zapped. The jolt threw him off the ladder and directly onto his head! He was in and out of a coma for a period, as best we can determine, of about six months!!! He blames a lot of the problems he suffered from while in the hospital on poor medical help that he received from the doctors while he was there. So, when he was halfway able, he had his wife come get him and he got the hell out of there. He is okay, or so it seems, but he really lambasts the fools at the hospital who, he says, tried their best to kill him. We asked why he didn't talk to an attorney about some monetary relief and that set him off on another sore spot-attorneys. Yikes-'cause his wife is one. But, she seems to feel the same way, so it's okay we guessed. Last, if you do stop in for a visit, ask him where Poprivet is. That's one of his rottweilers. The damned biggest rotty I have eer seen. When we were there for our first visit, Poprivet greated us at the gate and he didn't look too happy to see us. Dean came out and told Poprivet to get his raggedy *** back in the shop-which he did! He kept a rather evil eye on us the whole time we were there. And we kept our eyes on him. He was HUGE. Dean said he was, at that time, 185 lbs. He had another 5 rottys at home guarding the house. Since he got the dogs the incidents of robbery became a thing of the past. On our last visit, I asked where Poprivet was and he cussed and swore that he was at home with his wife getting spoiled rotten. He was ev en sleeping on the bed, which caused Dean no end of consternation. And, he added that Pop was over 200 lbs. Ohmigod, how would you like to see that coming down a dark alley at you! Anyway, just anoither memory of a great GREAT guy. Visit him while you still can. And tell him that the New York boys say "Hello!"
Man! What a story,O&K! We really would like to have the chance to talk to Jeffries and get his record about some stuff..... While we are thinking about it, it would be great to find **** "Asheye/Roteye" Ash and ask him about working for both Roth AND Mouse....and about the time Roth kicked him off the tour back east, and he and Mouse wound up in airbrushed monster suits coolin' it with Dizzie Gillespie! These types of stories need to be do***ented,we believe.....
MOUSE! how come nobody ever seems to mention Mouse??? Im glad you brought him up too, Johnny Ace! A few years back I was a designer at a hoity-toity paper goods manufaturer (fancy paper plates, napkins and **** like that) They used to license work of alot of different artists and somebody had the idea to do some Stanley Mouse plates. mind you, most of the stuff they did was pretty flowery stuff or stuff you would see at an 8 year olds birthday. I can only imagine some of the peoples reactions there at going through a Mouse portfolio... makes me laugh to this day... lol ended up using an image of a skeleton holding a champagne gl***. tried to market it as a "new years eve" ensemble. needless to say, it didnt do too well last i heard
Any luck with that address or phone #? I'm finding out REAL FAST that big-time book publishers take deadlines very seriously.....
Japanese film crew showed up some years ago and did a program on Dean,Shelby,and me.....It's really cool to be on the same planet with those guys much less in the same T.V. Show. Geo. Barris isn't a pimple on Dean's **** for talent!
Tell ya what- MOUSE! is an originator who never gets the proper respect or recognition for being one of THE main monster shirt kings ( the other being Newt).....I just spent the last couple of hours on the phone with Mouse, and got to hear even more great stories about Roth, Asheye, and much more.....he gets our deepest respect and admiration for his monster years... Johnny & Kali
Found this on one of the Striping boards BOB BURNS PINSTRIPING MOVIE Thu May 5, 2005 20:38 4.240.42.95 SPECTRUM FILM PRODUCTIONS is in the process of putting together a do***entary film focusing on PINSTRIPING and it's origins as pertains to custom cars, Von Dutch, Tommy the Greek, the Barris Bros, Dean Jeffries, etc. I'll keep you informed of progress
Johnny, here is a site that has Dean's phone number and address (at least the last one I knew). This is a great site showing a lot of Dean's stuff. Let me know if it works for you. http://www.geocities.com/danielmacmillan/phototour/phototour.htm
What a great thread! At Dean Milano's Model car Museum in Elmhurst, Il. he has the original canvas artwork for the "Cop Rod" model car kit box art.( I hope I got the name right ). Done by Stanley Mouse. It's gorgeous, and he owns this. Saved it from when the kit was released. I oggled that painting for awhile and I asked Mr. Milano what he thought it is worth? He responded that it might bring 20 or 30 grand. I thought it was priceless. The histrorical value alone made it that. Oh and by the way, Dean Jeffries is a Ruler! I loved the articles in 1001 Rods and Customs magazine of the building of the "Monkeemobile". Keep it comin', Joel
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