George Barris

George Barris was best known as the 'original' King of Kustomizers. Born on November 20, 1925 (Scorpio) inIllinois, Chicago, Barris moved to Roseville, California with his relatives after his parents died in 1928, Georgefollowed a passion for building aircraft models which further led to model cars. His curiosity in cars intensified during histeen years as he discovered the skill of body work at a local car shop.

Barris, along with his brother Sam, founded the Kustom craze by altering old station wagons during their teen years which became a business plan many years later. His creations were renowned in the show business, especially his work in the original television series Batmobile and KITT from Nightrider.

Barris entered into the show business with a car for High School Confidential, which quickly mounted into famous creations like the Batmobile, and the iconic car of the film, The Car. He customized many cars for Hollywood stars and other celebrities. Some examples include a Cadillac XTS for Elvis Presley Elvis Presley (Elvis Aaron Presley) was a pioneer >> Read More... , Pontiac Bonneville Safari for John Wayne, a Cadillac Eldorado which was upgraded into a wagon for Dean Martin and a pair of Ford Mustangs for Sonny and Cher.

After making his mark in Hollywood he started working with FordMotorcompany in the early 1960s for the Cavalcade of Customs, a collection of custom models that spiced up the more composed factory offerings. Dodge and American Motors followed Ford and hired Barris to create cars for their show in the early 1970s.

Barris was a savvy marketer which was also the reason for his enormous success in the field that was too niche at that point of time. From early on hechooses totravel the country showing off his work, always being certain to display his companies’ name prominently.

In the early 1960s, he worked closely with toy model company Revell to produce merchandise for some of his custom cars. His personal Star Collection includes the Starsky, Monkee Mobile, Torino Green Hornet, Hutch and General Lee. On November 5, 2015, GeorgeBarris, the King of the Kustoms, and Hollywood customizing legend died at his home in Encino, California, after losing a long battle with cancer.