Hotrod Road Show

OK, we’ve gone on about the 1928 Porter, and now it’s time to say … April Fools! If you haven’t remembered the car by now, it’s my duty to tell you that it actually never existed–not until 1965, that is. This car was the star of TV’s My Mother The Car, which was only on for one year (1965-66). Barris Kustom Industries built it exactly as described above, but with a 283-cubic-inch V-8 and Powerglide (two-speed) automatic transmission. Yes, there are replica(r)s, and a 1928 Porter Touring Car is at the Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg.

via Car Lust: 1928 Porter Touring Car.

Rev up to this ginchy 1976 article from DYNAMITE MAGAZINE! Super car-customizer George Barris talks about his life creating one-of-a-kind show rods, TV vehicles, and groovy rods! George is the creator responsible for the great 1966 Batmobile, from the ABC TV series, among many others! Click to enlarge!

via Big Glee! The Albert Bryan Bigley Archives!.

But the car that ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons came in and stared at for an hour and a half is this radical 1941 Ford: chopped seven inches, channeled six inches over the frame, sectioned out of the body another four inches, with a genuine Carson removable top from the 1960s; paint-shot in satin black with flames hand-done in white ice pearl. It was first customized by George Barris, who designed the Batmobile.

Read the rest of the story by Doug Elfman over at the Las Vegas review Journal

Yvonne DeCarlo became famous from her roll as Lilly Munster in the TV series, The Munsters. The series only ran for two years and spawned two movies, but the role of the sweet, yet sensible vampiress Lily introduced Yvonne to a new, younger audience and reignited her career.

Not entirely unrecognizable from her full-tilt glam studio days, Yvonne wore green makeup and a long, black fright wig with a silver streak as the wife of Frankenstein’s monster-esque Herman Munster. In a way, (along with Carolyn Jones as Morticia on “The Addams Family,” which also ran from 1964-66) Yvonne De Carlo’s Lily may have helped to spawn early goth chic, introducing long black hair, flowing empire-waisted gowns, and bat necklaces to the mainstream public.

De Carlo’s Killer Ride
De Carlo relished the role, going so far as to have her black 1966 Jaguar sedan tricked out by Hollywood customizer George Barris with spiderweb hubcaps, gold coffin rails in place of a luggage rack, and coffin-shaped door handles. The pièce de résistance? The traditional Jaguar hood ornament was replaced with a brass wolf’s head with gleaming ruby eyes.
During the later years of her career, Yvonne used her Scream Queen status granted by “The Munsters” to propel her career towards a second wind in B-horror movies to help pay the bills. Quite often, she was cast in the role of a seemingly innocuous housewife. Lurking beneath the surface of her famous, sparkling gray eyes, Yvonne’s characters harbored a startlingly evil nature, capable of killing someone in cold blood.

Read the rest over at the Ghouls on Film blog.