Trade Secrets Your experience and technical skills may allow you to branch out into other areas of auto repair and service. You might even create a whole new industry, like George Barris did. ntil recently the only thing I My reason for visiting Gatlinburg was not, knew about Gatlinburg, TN, as has been alleged, the bright red heart- was that it was the town shaped bathtub in the mountain cabin I rent- where a boy named Sue met ed. I went to see the work of a talented man his estranged father, the man named George Barris. Born in Chicago in the Bob who gave him that name. I’ve mid-’20s, he and his older brother Sam Cerullo heard Johnny Cash sing that song for years moved to Roseville, CA, in 1928 to live with Ubut never gave much thought to the actual relatives after their parents died. [email protected] city of Gatlinburg. I just assumed it was a lit- The family gave the brothers a battered tle backwater town. 1925 Buick as a gift for the work the two Far from it. Gatlinburg is a swinging town boys did on the family restaurant. The old that hosts over five million visitors a year. Buick became their custom car. The boys’ They come for the skiing at Ober Gatlinburg, fertile imaginations took over and the old the honeymoon cabins high in the mountains, Buick was repainted orange with blue the eight miles of shops, the Dollywood stripes, but not before the Barrises set theme park just down the road and Dixie about straightening the body panels and Stampede. bolting on all sorts of accessories. The boys sold that car and bought a 1929 Model A. Their interest in cars was growing, and they spent their teenage years hanging out af- ter school at local body shops. The brothers were regu- lars at Browns’s and Bertolucci’s in Sacra- mento. George creat- ed his first full cus- tom car from a used 1936 Ford convert- ible before he gradu- ated from high school. That car be- came George’s first car sold to a commer- Photo courtesy Hollywood Star Cars Museum courtesy Photo cial customer. He This 1922 Oldsmobile Touring Sedan, a featured “player” on the soon formed the Kus- 1960s hit TV comedy The Beverly Hillbillies, is one of the many ex- hibits in the Hollywood Star Cars Museum. Other exhibits that ex- toms Car Club. cite visitors are the Back to the Future Time Machine, the Days of (George Barris claims Thunder Mello Yello race car, the “General Lee” from TV’s The Dukes to have invented the of Hazzard and, a more recent acquisition, “Bumblebee,” a 1977 word “Kustoms.”) Chevy Camaro featured in the 2007 film Transformers. After World War continued on page 10 8 February 2009 Lanair - Motor Mag 1-3 Vert Oct 2008.pdf Process CyanProcess MagentaProcess YellowPr WASTE OIL IS Trade Secrets II, the brothers got heavily into the Ghostbusters “Ectomobile,” The Mun- FREE HEAT custom car business and soon gained sters’ “Drag-u-la” and the Flintsone- the attention of Hot Rod magazine. mobile, plus my favorite, The Beverly They opened a new shop, known as Hillbillies’ touring sedan. Some of the LET LANAIR’S WWASTE OIL the “Barris Brothers’ Custom Shop,” most popular exhibits are the cars from in Los Angeles. The two brothers blockbuster movies like Gone in 60 FIRED HEATERS ANDANA BOILERS complemented each other; Sam was Seconds, Charlie’s Angels and The Fast SAVESASAVVEE YOUY OUO U THOUSANDS THOUSANDTHOUSANDSUSANDS ONO N an expert metal crafter while and the Furious. The Museum is now George’s strong suits were design, showcasing “Bumblebee,” the 1977 HIGH HEATINGHEATIN NGG CCOCOSTS COSOSTSOSTS painting, manage- Chevrolet Camaro ment and promotion. from the 2007 film George also began Transformers. photographing autos The Barris boys I found the per- professionally and sonal cars of famous writing for automo- struck custom stars particularly in- tive magazines. He teresting. Cars that was able to promote car gold in once belonged to his businesses by California. Bob Hope, Burt demonstrating the Reynolds, Frank Barris Brothers tech- Sinatra, Elvis Pres- niques in how-to arti- ley, Anna Nicole cles. Smith and Dolly Parton are all show- The movie studios began to no- cased. tice Barris’ custom cars. One of the The Gatlinburg area is really a fun first films for which Barris made place. Just down the road in Pigeon cars was High School Confidential. Forge is Dollywood, an outstanding It was a huge success for Barris and wonderful place for the rest of Kustoms and led the brothers to the family to visit while you tour the seek out more movie work. George Star Cars Museum. Barris traveled all over promoting The Trade Secret is that your ex- his cars. He appeared on TV talk perience and technical automotive shows and at fairs and car shows. In skills can make it possible for you to the late-’50s, Revell began produc- branch out into other areas related ing model kits of George Barris to automotive repair and car cus- cars. AMT soon joined with the “Al tomizing. George Barris was able to Kar” plastic model kits, which be- parlay his hobby into a lucrative came one of the biggest selling toys business to become world-renowned at that time. as the King of Kustoms. Original customs sprang from the What more can anyone really want drawing desk of George Barris to the than to be able to earn a living doing shops of some of the most famous what he loves to do. In the case of IF YOUU WOULDW LIKE MORE INFORMATIONINFORMATIOINFORMATI TION fabricators and craftsmen in the cus- George Barris, his brother Sam and ONONTHN THETHE BENEFITSBEENEFITSNEFITSNEFITS O OFF OWNINGOW WNINGWNINNING A LANAIRL ANAAIRIR tom car business. The orphaned now Sam’s son John, they’ve taken WASTE OIL HEATER OR BOILER, CALL boys from Chicago struck custom car car customizing to a higher level. TOLL FREE OR VISIT OUR WEB SITE! gold in California. The next time you ogle a custom car Eventually, George Barris’ compa- or thrill to one on the big screen, re- ny, Barris Kustom Industries, be- member the story of George and CALL NOW! came famous throughout the enter- Sam Barris. George’s newest designs tainment industry for its original de- can be seen at www.barris.com. 1.800.753.1601 signs of vehicles used in movies and WWW.LANAIR.COM TV shows. Barris has created more famous movie and TV cars than just If you have a question or comment ENVIRONMENTALLY about anyone in the business. for Bob Cerullo, e-mail him at FRIENDLY RECYCLING In 1996, the Hollywood Star Cars [email protected], or write to Circle #9 Museum was opened in Gatlinburg, him c/o MOTOR Magazine, 50 Charles where many of George Barris’ cre- Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 100, Uniondale, ations are beautifully displayed—the NY 11553. 10 February 2009.