History Custom Car Photographer Marcia Campbell 1932 - 2009

Great thread. Great story. Great journalism is hard work, but it is so worth it to the readers.
...now I'm all stressed out about the Wes Collins story and the whereabouts of his 34.

 

When I last spoke with Marcia, perhaps three months before she died, she was getting ready to go on another photographic expedition to the Arctic, as she was a professional Arctic wildlife photographer. She specialized in polar bears and camped out with them, as it were. She didn't mention her illness; she didn't give it that energy. We were planning to visit her soon in S. California. In October 2009, we called her house to check on how she liked The Rodder's Journal “Dan Post” article. Suzanne, her best life-long friend told us she just died. Guess what? Marcia never even got to see it. She already p***ed. Suzanne said she was experiencing a series of seizures over the past year and ultimately suc***bed to a pulmonary embolism, which is swift and merciful considering the threat of incapacitation. Marcia was 77 years old. David spoke with Jesse Lopez for a couple hours on one of the visits to his farm, showing him photos of both versions of the '49 Chevy and the '42 Ford, and the information provided in the narrative is the most accurate to date, considering that both Marcia and Carl Abajian have recently p***ed. Jesse grew up with Carl and knew him since puberty. Jesse had nothing to offer concerning Anne DeValle. Also Suzanne said she didn't think Marcia knew her either, since the car was sold by Marcia a few years before Anne got it. I also spoke with Suzanne regarding the ‘Jack Campbell’ mystery. She adamantly states that Marcia did NOT use a pseudonym for ANY reason; she LIKED full credit for her work. She said that Marcia would say, "I don't even know who this ‘Jack Campbell’ is!" I remember actually asking Marcia that question a couple years ago and she DID say that. I hear her voice saying, "I don't know who that Jack Campbell is." Marcia had her full faculties with an acute memory. I wanted the article for Marcia's surviving family and friends to enjoy and realize how appreciated Marcia was. Suzanne must have been grateful, because she unexpectedly sent a large padded envelope of original photographs of Marcia's she just discovered going through Marcia's stash of forgotten things. She didn't know they existed, and Marcia herself probably forgot about these. Suzanne said “they” were giving them to me as a gift. They included very early original shots of the so-called Anne De Valle car (Marcia named the car "Baby Bluey"), Marcia working on her roadster from the Hot Rod magazine issue Jan 1951 (with an original issue), pictures of her ’36 Ford Woody that she restored herself, her 1911 Ford Model T, ribbons that she won for Horseless Carriage Club meets in the 50’s, one of the first ’55 Mercedes Gullwing 300 SL Coupe that she owned and raced, as well as other foreign exotics (such as Porsche and Aston Martin that she owned and raced), plus 1st place ribbons, schedules, and trade articles from all these races. I also learned that Marcia raced yachts and she and Suzanne were the first females to cross the Pacific from CA to Hawaii winning a yachting expedition in the late 1960’s. I made the highest quality, un-Photoshopped, scans converting these photos (no negatives of the particularly interesting stuff though, except for the now legendary 4 x 5 color transparency) into jpg's. I sent the best and most intriguing ones to Rik, and requested that he archive these images on his site for posterity (and for him to Photoshop them as he sees fit to improve their quality), so that Marcia’s work is commemorated properly!
Marcia was born Mar. 15, 1932, in Huntington Park, CA, a So Cal gal. An only child, her parents owned a stationery store, “Industrial Stationery & Printing Co.”, with her father p***ing away when she was four and her mother continuing to President the business very successfully. When Marcia was of adult age she became Personnel Director of the family enterprise. Marcia enjoyed her childhood being raised in a serene place and time. She attended St. Matthias and St. Mary’s Catholic Girls High Schools and Compton Junior College.
She began studying photography in her teens, being entirely self-taught. She started taking photos for Barris at 17 or 18. Her first car at 15 was a new Buick sedanette. Her next car was a new powder blue and white ‘49 Chevy convertible she immediately brought to Barris Kustom to begin work on it. Her following car was “Baby Bluey”, a ‘42 Ford heavily but tastefully chopped with a hopped up Mercury flathead.
Her dearest friend of 60+ years, Suzanne Irvin, of Westminster, CA, reminisces about “Baby Bluey” in their teens, “On a car trip to Vegas, we were doing over 100 mph. They were waiting for us, because we did it earlier along the 15, heading us off with a road block on the other side of Cajon P*** in Victorville. The police officer gave us a ticket and then wanted to know all about the car…We were in a hurry to see Nat King Cole at the Flamingo (still known as Bugsy Siegel’s place). On the way home we lost the exhaust pipes, lights, and when we stopped and she turned the engine off, the battery died and we were locked in the car because the doors and deck lid were electric. Her mother had to get us a step ladder and we wiggled out the slotted windows. It was after midnight.”
Marcia hung out at “The Clock” in Huntington Park, the place to go so you sat in your car and everyone walked around and admired or envied each other’s cars. She hung out frequently at Barris’ shop to chat, take pictures, and observe work being done. Marcia was about the only gal around into the cars. She was self-initiated and could talk the language. She was received well because she was mechanically minded and she knew what she was talking about with cars and wasn’t trying to invade or intimidate.
“Sam was a talented sweetheart. He put the cars together and made the pictures come to life,” she told me. The fellows liked the pictures, yet at the time I don’t think they realized the valuable contribution she was making to the hobby. She never sold her pictures, she always gave them away.
Suzanne tells me, “Marsh drove “Baby Bluey” to high school. She volunteered to drive the nuns on all their errands and got out of a lot of cl***es as a result. She also picked up many of her cl***mates to ride to school. She always had a carload.”
Marcia had money from the family business to buy great cars. The ‘49 Chevy was before the ‘42 Ford. She traded the Chevy for the ‘42 Ford. She had it in 1949 when she started at Compton College. She only had it for a year or so. After that it was a couple of Mercs, a ‘50 and a ‘51. Then suddenly she went from Mercs to Lincolns in the mid-50’s.
David met with Jesse Lopez at his rooster farm in Nuevo, CA, and Jesse recalls, “Marcia did indeed have the first ‘49 Chevrolet convertible in the area. I remember it being a real nice powder blue lacquer job. She then traded that car for the ‘42 club coupe that had originally belonged to Danny Abajian in stock form. When his brother Carl got a hold of it, he had Barris do the whole treatment. Of course it wasn’t as nice as mine (the green ‘41 Ford club coupe), but it was pretty slick. So by the time Marcia got Abajian’s car it had already been pretty much customized.” Marcia had Barris do additional work. Jesse also mentioned that the photo of Marcia standing next to her ‘42 coupe in the “Sam Barris” pose was actually taken in front of the Lincoln-Mercury ***embly plant at Eastern and Slauson Avenue. This interview with Jesse Lopez seems to clear up finally the ‘49 Chevy/‘42 Ford ownership-trade chronology. Jesse also very well remembers Marcia hanging out at Barris’ shops in the L.A. area very early on and always having a couple cameras slung around her neck.
Marcia kept up on the dry lakes and Bonneville by reading all the magazines. She and Suzanne went to the drags to watch other cars. She finished her Model A roadster (Hot Rod January 1951) and brought it to Oakland. Later she raced her Mercedes 300SL “gullwing” at Riverside starting in ’56 and continued well into the 60’s at the Los Angeles Mercedes-Benz Club races. Once she accomplished one car she went on to the next. All in all she had 52 cars she collected, restored, or raced, doing quite a bit of mechanical work herself at her house. She liked to take engines apart and put them back together. She was stuck under a car once when an engine slipped a little, but she was alright with some bruises.
Circa 1948-52, Marcia used a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex 2 ¼”2 camera, and a Speed Graphic 4” x 5”. Having her own darkroom in her house, she processed all her own stuff. She used lots of cameras later, Canons, Nikons, and lately a Canon PowerShot A620 digital. She suc***bed in September, 2009, with a loaded memory card of final Alaskan gems.

© by Michelle M. Yiatras
Timechanic ™

 

Rik,just want to say that your article on Marcia is great and I think it is the best story I have ever read in TRJ.Thanks to you and all involved in all the hardwork and research that went into it.I want to personally thank you for giving me some credit on your post when talking about the Quesnel part of the article,it is nice to get a mention after doing a lot of research on that subject.I did supply that info but my name just didnt make it in print,I understand though,I know space is tight.

 

I will second that Jeffsled. I really loved that article and the info on this thread only helps to round it out. Great stuff..........Rik!

 

After the material for article in TRJ#51 was send away I came across this very nice photo of Marcia's 1942 Ford. The - a bit wrinkled - photo comes from the Larry Watson Collection, and was taken at the same day and location as the opening shot of the TRJ article. Only now Marcia is behind the camera and not standing next to here 1942 Ford.
Personally I feel this 1942 Ford is one of the best - if not THE best - 1942-48 Ford Customs ever made. Everything about this car is about as perfect as it could get...
Anyway... this photo could not be added to the article, but it sure can be shown here for everybody to enjoy.

 

And I didn't notice that it wasn't a Merc. Roger

 

I have to clarify this...
Roger had send me the Larry Watson Collection, and in one folder ***led "Bill DeCarr" I found this photo of Marcia's 1942 Ford. Roger apparently thought this car was Bill's 1941 Ford... with full fade away fenders.
We don't want to know what Roger had been drinking the night before!

 

Rik this thread and the article in TRJ are fantastic!!! Thank you for your research and for keeping the community informed.

 

Rik
you should colorize this one.

 

As a tribute,
Rik Hoving is a magnificently talented and per****acious photojournalist.
He diligently labors and sacrifices extended hours
making every event "picture superb".
He is easy and fun to work with.
He's historically tuned in to the details and the atmosphere.
He gives so much more than he asks for in return.
Sometimes I think people take advantage of his generous and magnanimous nature.
Because he is devoted to his vocation and is amicable with everyone,
he's blessed to be an authentically happy soul.
This car culture hobby has a charter destination since Rik is at the helm wheel.
We anticipate his next tour de force.​

 

Yes you should......... because I want to buy one....

 

Can you tell me hat type & name of hubcaps the are , they are 16",no?
Thanks Rick for all your great information.
wouwww

 

Well said!!!

 

I also agree, well said! I think alot of us kustom nuts feel this way about Rik!!

 

I think everyone feels that way about Rik...he's our Amb***ador to early Kustoms!!

 

Great article, thank you very much for your research...

 

Well looks like I am going to have to up my search efforts for a copy now for sure.

Definitley agree with michelley about Rik. A really good guy that is also a encyclopedia of all things custom.

 

They are Lyon hubcaps.
Some more photos on my site here

And some more info on the KustomRama website here.

 

Thank you very much for all the complements on the TRJ article... I'm very happy everybody enjoys to read it as much as I enjoyed to create the article.
It was a pleasure to do, and to work with some very dedicated people like David, Michelle, Cleatus (scanning the Sam Barris photos) his wife Sue for editing my poorly written English text and the Rodder's Journal.
And thank you Michelle for the very nice words...


Here is a bit fuzzy photo of the January 1951 Hot Rod article where the photo of Marcia and here Model A Roadster Pick Up was used for...




And the TRJ article shows Marcia's 1936 Ford woody she restored in here home garage as a finished car. Here are two polaroid photo of the car in progress at here garage.

 

Rik, thanks so much for this window into the past. It takes a master automotive archaeologist to bring this renaissance woman to our attention. I'm relatively new to the HAMB, and was not aware of Marcia until I received my TRJ yesterday. Wow, thanks again.

 

I like these types of stories, especially when they take place in areas I am familiar with. I grew up in the L.A. area in the 40,s and 50,s and once lived in Huntington Park [around 1951]. In fact I lived in a house right next to St. Mathias church. The school Marcia attended was right across the alley behind us, and us neighborhood kids used to play basketball there after school. She was a few years older than me but it points out that she was probably driving her cool cars around the area and was some of the influences I got seeing rods and customs bak n the day.

 

I really hope my copy will turn up in the mail soon...the wait is killing me

 

I agree!

 

Wow, this is such an amazing thread. It just keeps getting better.

Rik, Michelle and David, thanks so much for helping bring Marcia's incredible story to light.

I'm so glad that these stories are being told.

I agree with the others that this is one of my absolute favorite Rodder's Journal stories ever, and I hope that it continues to evolve.

On somewhat of a side note, I wonder what the story is on those two girls from Texas, photographed outside Barris's shop? Obviously, they were bitten hard by the bug, too. Wonder where they, and that roadster, are today.

 

Only just read the article last night and came on here and did a search on Marcia this morning and found this article, what a cool 24 hours!

What a woman and what taste in cars, her '49 Chevy was stunning and then the '42 Ford, wow!! And I have to agree with Rik is one of the most beautiful '41-'48 Fords ever, that front end is inspirational!

I also want to thank Rik, Michelle & David for this story but I also think Rik deserves additional special thanks. Without his efforts in coordinating his custom car archive over the years people like me simply would have anywhere to learn so much about this beautiful p***ion of ours, so thanks and keep it up mate!

This photo is pure history, I love it

 

Without getting too preachy, I know it can occasionally be rough being a gal in the hot rod biz, even in this more, uh, "liberated" day and age, I know that, 'cause every once in a while I run into knuckle draggers who don't like having a lady 'round... For Marcia to make her way in the hot rodding world back in the old days, she must have had real tenacity, and real TALENT to make it... I too do hot rod photography (as a sideline job for Drag Racing Underground)... So I have a lot of respect and admiration for what Marcia Campell accomplished in her long career... And props to Rikster for do***enting Marcia's story so eloquently... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...

an example of my hot rod photography, thanks to Marcia Campell for helping to blaze a trail for women in the hot rodding world...

 

I just added an Motor Trend article from 1952 in another thread that contained some photos by rickman and campbell. Some of them I hadn't seen before, check em out if you're insterested:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=597113

 

Interesting article. But the photos by Campbell in that article is Jack Campbell, not Marcia Campbell!

Check your copy of Restyle Your Car Trend book 105 from 1952 to see some of these photos credited to Jack.

 

I was just noticing that in the Rodders Journal No. 45 , that the article on Post's publications, in particular the book,"ABC of Custom How", there are some illustrations on how to chop a 50 Merc. Take a look at these illustrations by Bob Gurr, and notice how similar they are to Marcia's photos of the chop Sam did of the Merc. I wonder if Marcia's relationship with Post publications had anything to do with it. Like , did Bob Gurr have those photos and copied them becauce a illustration may have been easier to understand or see in the old books. Something to think about.

 

Interesting thought... I have a copy of that book, and it sure looks like you could be right about that.