Long overdue but greatly appreciated by "Rat Finks" everywhere, Ed Roth was honored as Builder of the Year at this year's 54th edition of the Detroit Autorama. The unprecedented assemblage of Roth vehicles-gathered from far and wide for the occasion, including a couple of clones and tributes-took up two full aisles of Cobo Hall real estate (a most impressive sight indeed).
Your ol' editor, Brian Brave ... er, Brennan (sorry, I slipped back a few decades whilst waxing my "nostalgic"), pawned off the assignment of compiling a brief history on each and every one of the "Large Father's" fantastic fiberglass creations to yours truly (Editor's note: Surfite coverage not included). But what could I say? Not only was Big Daddy a friend of mine (kinda sounds like the title of a country song, doesn't it?), but Mr. B had also just won highest bid for one of my pieces at the Pinstripers' Jamboree charity auction-tag, I was it!
When going down this list of inspired rolling 'glass sculpture, I referenced several books, three of which are completely devoted to the subject at hand. The first by Tony Thacker, called "Hot Rods by Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth" (Motorbooks International, 1995), being a collaborative effort between Tony and Ed Roth. Next, Pat Ganahl's definitive tome, "Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, His Life, Times, Cars, and Art" (CarTech, 2003), which was started during his larger-than-life friend's lifetime, with lots of early-on input from the man himself. And thirdly there's "Rat Fink, The Art of Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth," by Douglas Nason and Greg Escalante (Last Gasp Publishing, 2003), which, as the title indicates, focuses more on Ed's art, and art created exclusively for him. Example: the motorcycle paintings of the late Dave Mann and, of course, collectables and Revell models.
Before going any further, I feel that a reader alert warning is in order, and it goes as follows: Although compiled as accurately as possible using the texts mentioned, along with other sources including personal recollections, and those of others as well, some irregularities in memories are pretty much inevitable. First off, we all remember things the way we want to, and secondly, even the "big guy" himself (that, of course, would be Ed "Big Daddy" Roth) recounted the same things differently at different times as the spirit moved him, making a 100-percent accurate interview, even by the best of Kustom Kulture historians, a crapshoot at best.
The thing you're immediately aware of when viewing a Roth vehicle for the first time is its diminutive scale. They're very compact, thus I'd wager more easily transported to car shows across the country, while leaving more space in both the trailer and booth for T-shirts. For, you see, these weren't merely just wild flights of fancy from the creative mind of Big Daddy (most with a bit of "wet nursing" by professional designers like Joe Henning, Ed Newton, and Tom Daniel. And I'm sure Robert Williams possibly had a bit more input than coming up with names as well), but clever sales tools, too. "Sales tools! What?" Yep, you heard me right! Ed Roth was not only an amazing artist but a marketing genius, too. These 'glass masterpieces were built to pull you over to his T-shirt booth where you'd stand in awe, then hopefully lay your allowance down to have Big Daddy airbrush a personal monster shirt of your very own. There, see how Ed's marketing genius worked? A win-win situation for all concerned (with the possible exception of shocked parents and outraged school authorities), with publicity pretty much insured by the enthusiast publications of the day via their show coverage and features on Roth's latest creations. With such exposure, Ed's mail-order business for silk-screened shirts-both T and sweat-not to mention related items such as "Rat Fink" and car name decals, plus everything from nerf bars to 'striping brushes and paint, to name just a few, skyrocketed exponentially. And we haven't even touched on royalties from Revell, whose model kits of many of Roth's cars were flying off hobby shop and drugstore shelves as fast as hot styrene could be injected into molds.