O/T...Who wants to tell me about Ed Roth?

Did you know him?
Did he make you want to go out and build something?
Meet him once and he either impressed you or made you really mad?
WORKED for him?
Got punched by him?
Bought stuff from him in the '60s?
Or just have a nice,respectful story about what he meant to you?
WHY? I'm compiling a book project that I want to focus on the MAN and how he affected people.....

 

I remember when I was about 8 (mid 70`s) I checked out a hard back Roth book from the school library that followed the build of the Mysterion. I thought that car with the slicks,bubble top and cyclops light was the toughest looking car I`d ever seen! Even though I had been around cars all my young life due to my Dad and uncles,that car made a BIG impression on a young gear head!!
The library never got thier book back!

 

Isn't he another famous jean and hat designer like Von Dutch?

 

i was on the way to the nsra street rod nats one year and i see something weird ahead of me on the side of the road. we pull over and the guy gets up from under the trike and low and behold its roth. he is just as happy as can be and is not mad or bent out of shape about being broke down. he is in the globe hopper (i think that was the name) and on his way to the nats too. later i find out nsra would not let him in the show, but i bet not even that got him down.
he was way kool!!!!!!!

 

Thanks A/Dragger for kicking things off....the Mysterion is our favorite as well....I can't get enough of that car...

 

Kirk...you laughing AT me or WITH me?

 

hey johnny ace,
pm happyhoppy . he has a KILLER roth story . about him striping a wagon he had and how nice he was to him .i dont know if he will see this thread so i wanted to let you know......happy is a real cool dude and would be glad to share the story with you ........sounds like a great book .......

 

***dragger: Can you scan the cover of that book? Would love to see what it looks like? Love the Mysterion but don't know squat about it. Still gotta get the new Roth book!

 

Lownslow....thanks man for the tip!
And for the great stories so far....I'm glad when I read these types of things....As far as we are concerned, Ed Roth will never be relegated to JOKE-MATERIAL....it's bad enough to see books come out after his death with "tributes" by people who didn't respect him while he was alive.
Thanks again to all who feel the same way...please keep the stories coming,or pm me if you don't wish to post here?

 

Meet him lots of times,showed him my large RF tattoo on my chest in about 91. I think he was honored but, he said something to the affect that I was crazy and did'nt know why anybody would want to do that to themselves. I told him he had one and realy inspired me to become an artist. Ever since then I always had a good time time talking with the large father. Got to hang with him and Jimmy C in their both at the Oakland roaster show for about 2 hours once,WOW what a good time. One of those guys that was still KOOL after meeting him in person. Damn I miss that kat!

 

Yeah...he was funny about tattoos....of course,HIS RF tattoo had FTW adorning it! He loved my wife's tattoos though, and tried to talk her into getting the infamous shot of Von Dutch picking his nose done....

 

I was just a kid ,I was into HO trains and this friend a mine tells me you gotta see my dads rod&custom magazine theres a guy with a beard custamizing the new HO scale revell model cars. so I get the mag and heres a pic of this cool lookin guy going nuts, hes got all these car parts in his mouth and beard and on his head. a pic from that story can be found on the insaid cover of tony thakers book on ROTH. after that sumthing in my head went tilt, I never got into trains again, I just could not get enough of ROTH after that. I saw the mystearion at the hartford conn. rod&custom show. I spent about 2 hrs. just lookin at every detail I could see. I still have the RATFINK(tm) hat I bought at that show, I think I was 16 then, I,m 57 now and I still want to build a ROTH type car RIP ROTH later horty

 

I had the good fortune of meeting him at the Detroit Autorama. My son and I walked up to his table (no one else around) and I asked if I could have my picture taken with him. He said "sure, step in to my office" (2 lawn chairs).
We discussed a couple of his cars he had there (the Druid Princess and a wild go-cart). It was kinda like talkin' to your uncle.
That was the same year he died.

 

Horty...could ya PLEASE post a foto of that hat?

 

Really glad to hear your taking the project on. Cant wait to check it out.

Crease
Barons So Tex

 

Big Daddy spent a couple weeks at The Sheriff Jack Harris's
body shop while his last project the Steath was getting painted and he and Gary Mizer overlooked the painting and
Ed Himself did the graphics. Here is a page we did for him
on the Sheriff's web site.
I think you'll like it.
http://nitrosheriff.com/roth.shtml

 

there's this artist out of santa cruz ca. DENNIS RENEIRO, i met him through his sisters, that's another story, he's one of the o.g. AIR BRUSH WIERDO SHIRT GUYS, VON FRANCO as a young man even worked with him, anywho, met B.D. through him in my younger days. he always seemed larger than life... then seeing B.D. years later at various shows we always had those early meetings as a touchstone for conversation. all i can say is that he was the most gracious,funny, sometimes grumpy,talented ARTIST in the cl***ic sense of the word that has touched all that ever met HIM in ways maybe we're not so sure of yet.
nic

 

thanks lownslow.

long story but Big Daddy was a big infuluence on me.
too many years went by and I kept missing him at shows.
dec. show at mooneyes, 1999, I was not going to miss him again.
I took my swapmeet wagon to the show to have the Big One stripe it. EVERONE wanted him to sign ANYTHING. I asked if he would do the wagon, and he said one of his stripers could do it since he was so busy and his hand was not as steady as it used to be. I said only he could do. Big Daddy seemed to take note, and asked why, I told him I wanted his original work he said he would do it if I donated $50 to his charity. I almost broke my arm grabing my wallet. Big Daddy said he would do a huge rat fink in the wagon, and asked if that was cool. was that cool ? he could stripe my head if he wanted to. we talked the whole time, cars, wifes, cars, monsters, cars.
it can't be said enough, he was a truly nice guy.

 

close up,

 

[ QUOTE ]
Bought stuff from him in the '60s?


[/ QUOTE ]



Yep, and I also sold him this drawing in the 60's.

Here is the story that will be of interest to the other Industrial Designers on the HAMB.

In the late 60's Remington (or maybe Royal, can't remember that far back) had approached Roth and wanted him to design the "special edition Roth typewriter". Yes, typewriter, circa late 60's, before word processors. He told me he was sorry he couldn't do the job. He didn't have knowledge of high volume production techniques and materials that Industrial Designers are familiar with.
Roth suggested I look into Industrial Design as a profession. I ended up taking his advice and it's worked out for me.

 

Johnny, neither. I'm lauging at jack***es paying $50 for a $5 hat at Nordstroms.

I hung out with Ed at the 50th Bonneville. He also painted an eyeball on a cueball for me in 1995 at Paso. One of my prized posessions.

 

...I've told this story before.......I was running a model car show at a Good Guys show at Carlisle, PA in 1991. Someone told me BDR was there as a vendor. I got someone to watch the tables and took off running. Found him set up next to a huge magazine vendor tent. I'm drooling and stuttering and he hears something, grabs a camera and shouts, "WATCH MY TABLE!" and runs off! I stand there in shock for 10-15 minutes and then he comes ambling back and says, "Thanks." He said that he had seen an Amish buggy made into a street rod and thought it was cool. He had static shots of it, but heard it driving by and wanted to get shots of it moving. While I was "guarding the fort,' I noticed a cigar box full of bills and a U-Haul full of t-shirts and Rat Finks.
Before I left, I asked him why in the world he had moved to Manti, UT? I had p***ed through there a couple of years earlier. He replied that it reminded him of SoCal "in the day...." Cruise well Large Father.

 

Great stuff,guys....I was hoping Mr. Moriarty would see this thread....
Mikes51.....more on the chopper art story,please....did Newt add to it in any way? Or Robt? Or did he use it as you sent it?
Hoppy....great story,man....I know it's been said before, but Ed was one of the most,practical/cheap but generous/charitable human beings I've ever known...gave away things to one guy,and charged an arm and a leg to the next one in line! Such was the way his impulses worked....
Please keep 'em coming,guys....this is very bittersweet, as they say, but I can never tire of hearing about his encounters with people....

 

Well my dad took me to the new York city ISCA auto show way back in 1971 ( that would make me 7 years old gang!) . Saw the boot hill exspress, Bat mobile (in fur), phone booth "T". (just to put a sceen on things) and met Ed, dad got me some T-shirts and one of them plastic german helmets, I have been a fan ever since. As I got older I always wanted to be one of those "custom car guys". fast forword 20 years later and Im at a show on long island NY. with my junk and there is Ed!!! Wow, now I got to meet him as an adult. That time and once more in 1993. had a nice chat with him. The kind that pointed me in a new direction, not just in my shop but life in generel. as a result of meeting ed at differant times in my adult life. I see things in a new light, made great friends. if not for this board and Ed "big Daddy" Roth I would not have Met Mark Morioraty (what a swell guy) or many others. so now at the tender age of (gasp) 39 im building my Ed Roth inspired dream the "Roswell Rod" what else can I say. kind of a condensed story but i could talk about Ed, fibergl*** & rat fink all day!
Johny Ace love your stuff! Another Book about Big Daddy would go nicely between my ed videos and other books!
"Think Fun Think Big Daddy!"
FRITZ

<img src=http://members.aol.com/fritzfink/roswell>

 

A show aired on TV about the California car culture sometime in the middle to late sixties. Lolyd Bridges drove and sat in the manta-ray to introduce the show. They interviewed Ed and he was jumping around and convorting while talking into the camera. His face would get as close as he could to the camera while just going off about how he chopped stuff up and making these outragous creations.
His interview got me buying R&amp;C with my paperroute money and hooked me for Life. Thanks,ED!

 

What I remember was a big ol' guy that liked little kids. He airbrushed a T-Shirt for me when I was a little kid.

He used to come by the OL' Man's Shop when he was on his way to somewhere or the other, he was always good for a ride in whatever he was showing.

Last time I saw him was at the World of Wheels in KC (I guess about 4 years ago) he hadn't changed from when I was little just got older. We traded autographs and laughed.

If you really want good scoop on him, get ahold of Moldy Marvin at the Ratfink Webring. He spent lots of time with him, probably knows him better than anyone.

http://www.kultureshoq.com/ratfink/main.html

luck on your book, save me a copy.

if it don't make ya dirty it aint yours

 

Nor Cal Nic....thanks for your post..Man,I would really like to know more about Reneiro! Franco,if you are reading this post, lay the details on us?
I also need to find out more about L.Rendina of Detroit....anyone able to give me any show sightings or whereabouts of him? His catalogs said: 14408 Plymouth Rd. Detroit,Mich.
He was there early on as well......

 

What a great idea for a thread Johnny!

I've got a copy of the book that was mentioned earlier in the thread "Here is your Hobby. Car Customizing." It also has pictures of Ed '55 Chevy with the Ford motor.

I met ed breifly a few times. At a couple of the Mooneyes gigs and at Moldy Marvins Kustom Kulture Extravaganza. Always very polite and considerate of those he came in contact with.

Just after he p***ed, I was working at the Long Beach Grand Prix. I volunteer as a Flagger so I'm right there in the middle of the action. Anyway, on Saturday, I wore a RF T-Shirt just as my little way of remembering Ed. I was amazed at the response I got from the spectators. So many recognized his work and realized he was no longer with us.

 

Johnny,
It was the early eighties, and I was a pre-teen model car builder. Thursday night (entry time), I brought in models for the Revell-sponsored contest at the local R.G. Canning Custom Car Show here in Ventura.

Ed's booth was just across from the model show tables, and he was judging the model car contest as well. The Druid Princess and Cap'n Pepe's (sp?) had recently been restored, and were on display.

He stopped what he was doing to check out my work as I put it on the contest table, and then gave my brother and I a tour of both of his show rods. He talked about how what cost thousands to chrome used to only run a couple hundred bucks, and showed me some of the areas that were the biggest headaches during construction.

Both cars from the movie "The Great Race" were on display also, and he seemed to be familiar with these cars as well, as he climbed under Professor Fate's buggy with me to show me how they made it do some of the stuff it did in the movie.

I still have the judging cards with his comments from that contest, and I've been a showrod nut ever since.

GJ