About
"If you said you were bringing a Batmobile for a car show, the show would just absolutely be mobbed with people who wanted to see the car. It was a major contribution to the popularity of a film that you had the people taking a picture next to the car. That was a thrill. We made that car be a star on film as well as in real life."
In his three-hour interview, George Barris (1925-2015) talks about his early years customizing his own cars as a teenager and describes his participation in the street racing youth culture of the late 1940s in Los Angeles. He discusses the craze in low budget Hollywood films to depict this culture thus leading to his work in film and television. Barris describes, in great detail, the custom cars from various television series for which he is best known, including the "Batmobile" from Batman, the "Munster Koach" and "Drag-u-la" from The Munsters, the family car from The Beverly Hillbillies, the red with white-stripe Ford Torino from Starsky and Hutch, the "General Lee" from The Dukes of Hazzard, and "K.I.T.T." from Knight Rider. He also talks about his contributions to such feature films as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and The Flintstones. Additionally, Barris discusses his role as a pioneer of custom designing cars and talks about his extensive celebrity clientele that included Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Redd Foxx, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Karen Herman conducted the interview on April 21, 2004 in North Hollywood, CA.
Highlights
George Barris on making the "Batmobile" for Batman
George Barris on making cars for The Beverly Hillbillies
George Barris on designing the "Munster Coach" and the "Dragula" for The Munsters starring Fred Gwynne as "Herman Munster" and Al Lewis as "Grandpa Munster"
George Barris on growing his custom cars business in the 1960s
George Barris on designing cars for the feature film "Back to the Future"
George Barris on his work on the feature film "Ghostbusters"
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early life and influences; on his early interest in cars; on his involvement with cars during his high school years
On moving to Los Angeles to start his custom cars business and getting involved in the "street racing" culture there; on celebrities' early interest in his custom cars, and on the pitfalls of making custom cars; on making custom cars for various celebrities, and various feature films
Chapter 2
On his work designing a car for a Dragnet episode; on making cars for Route 66; on designing cars for 77 Sunset Strip, and on touring the car from the show
On growing his custom cars business in the 1960s; on knowing how his custom cars would look once they were on camera; on designing a car for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis starring Dwayne Hickman
On losing many of his cars in a fire in the 1960s and on opening his North Hollywood shop; on designing the "Munster Coach" and the "Dragula" for The Munsters starring Fred Gwynne as "Herman Munster" and Al Lewis as "Grandpa Munster"
Chapter 3
On licensing cars like the "Munster Coach" for toys; on making cars for The Beverly Hillbillies; on knowing what colors to use for his cars on television and in feature films
On making the car for My Mother the Car; on making the Batmobile for Batman
On the choice of Bronson Cave for the location of the Batcave on Batman; on working with Batman creator Bob Kane on the design of the Batmobile for Batman
On the number of Batmobiles he made for Batman; on designing the Bat Boat, the Batcopter, and the Batcycle for Batman; on work he did for Batman projects subsequent to Batman
Chapter 4
On his work for The Green Hornet; on his work for The Monkees; on his work for Mannix
On working on Sid and Marty Krofft shows including The Bugaloos and H.R. Pufnstuf; on the challenges his custom car business faced in the 1970s; on his work for The Partridge Family
On making cars for M*A*S*H; on his work for Bearcats; on his work for Starsky and Hutch
On making cars for Fantasy Island; on working on CHiPs; on his work for Knight Rider
Chapter 5
On his work on Knight Rider; on working on The Dukes of Hazzard
On some of his film work including "Back to the Future" and "Ghostbusters"; on customizing private cars for Redd Foxx, Bob Hope, and Elvis Presley; on the craft of car design and customization
Chapter 6
On making a car for Zsa Zsa Gabor; on the car that best expresses him; on communicating with his staff when creating cars, and on running his custom car business
On his career highlights; on customizing a car for an episode of Extreme Makeover
On advice to aspiring custom car designers; on how he would like to be remembered