Hollywood Reporter:http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-barris-dead-batmobile-creator-837553
George Barris, the car designer who created the iconic 1966 Batmobile for the Batman television series, has died, according to a Facebook post posted by his son, Brett Barris. He was 89 years old.
"Sorry to have to post that my father, legendary kustom car king George Barris, has moved to the bigger garage in the sky," Brett Barris wrote. "He passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 am. He was surrounded by his family in the comfort of his home. He lived his life they way he wanted til the end. He would want everyone to celebrate the passion he had for life and for what he created for all to enjoy."
Barris began building model cars and customizing at an early age and made a name for himself when he moved to Los Angeles after World War II, launching Barris Kustom Industries.
The popularity of his cars caught the eye of Hollywood, and his first film assignments included work on cars for Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, High School Confidential and 1960’s The Time Machine.
His biggest impact occurred when ABC asked him to create a signature vehicle for Batman. Barris rolled out a Lincoln concept car called the Lincoln Futura that he had kept in storage for about decade and used that as his base, constructing the car in just 15 days.
It was built for $15,000 although Barris purchased the Futura for $1. Barris kept the car in his personal collection and in 2013 sold the car at auction for $4.6 million.
The success of Batman and the Batmobile led to more work, including Mannix, The Beverly Hillbillies, Knight Rider and designing the Munster Koach for The Munsters, among others.
He also designed novelty cars or performed customizations for celebrities ranging from Bob Hope to John Wayne to Elton John.
Tempus fugit
He lived his life pursuing his dreams. Sad to hear he has passed on. I had my own little Batmobile like many other boys of that generation which had it's own little versions of Batman and Robin and I was never small enough to get in it! Sigh.
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