View source for Ed Roth

{{Short description|American artist, cartoonist and custom car painter}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Ed Roth
| image         = Big Daddy Ed Roth.jpg
| image_size    =
| caption       = Roth in 1987
| birth_date    = {{birth-date|March 4, 1932}}
| birth_place   = [[Beverly Hills, California]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2001|4|4|1932|3|4}}
| death_place   = [[Manti, Utah]], U.S.
| known_for     = Hot rod art, customizing and pinstriping
| training      = Self-educated
| movement      = [[Kustom Kulture]]
| notable_works = [[Rat Fink]], among others
| patrons       =
| awards        = 
}}
'''Ed "Big Daddy" Roth''' (March 4, 1932&nbsp;&ndash; April 4, 2001) was an American [[artist]], [[cartoonist]], [[illustrator]], [[pinstriper]] and [[custom car|custom car designer]] and builder who created the [[hot rod]] icon [[Rat Fink]] and other characters. Roth was a key figure in [[Southern California]]'s [[Kustom Kulture]] and hot rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s.

==Early life==
Roth was born in [[Beverly Hills, California]]. He was the son of Marie (Bauer) and Henry Roth.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/835630/Obituary-Edward-Roth.html|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120728104416/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/835630/Obituary-Edward-Roth.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 28, 2012|title=Obituary: Edward Roth|date= 2001-04-07|work= Deseret News}}</ref> He grew up in [[Bell, California]], attending [[Bell High School (Bell, California)|Bell High School]], where his classes included auto shop and art.

At age 14, Roth acquired his first car, a 1933 Ford coupe. He studied engineering at a Los Angeles college, then served in the [[United States Air Force]], and by the early '50s, was experimenting with fibreglass modelling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/11/guardianobituaries|title=Obituary: Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=11 May 2001}}</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:1961 Roth's Beatnik Bandit.jpg|thumb|The 1961 [[Beatnik Bandit]] hot rod at the [[National Automobile Museum]] in [[Reno, Nevada]]|alt=A white car with brown stripes, with open wheels and a clear bubble canopy over twin seats, and exposed, chromed engine with a blower. Beatnik Bandit II and a few of Roth's other cars are also on display in this museum.]]
[[File:Stahls Automotive Collection December 2021 120 (1962 Mysterion).jpg|thumb|The 1962 Mysterion at [[Stahls Automotive Collection]]]]
[[File:1964 Ed Roth Orbitron (21680775541).jpg|thumb|''Orbitron'' 1964.]]
[[File:Ed Roth Surfite surfboard hauler - Flickr - wbaiv.jpg|thumb|''Surfite'' 1964.]]
[[File:Big Daddy Ed Roth and me at his house in Anaheim LA.jpg|thumb|''Trike Globe Hopper'' 1987.]]

Roth is best known for his grotesque caricatures—typified by [[Rat Fink]]—depicting imaginary, out-sized monsters driving representations of the hot rods that he and his contemporaries built. Roth began airbrushing and selling "Weirdo" T-shirts at car shows and in the pages of ''[[Car Craft]]'' magazine as early as July 1958. By the August 1959 issue of ''Car Craft'' "Weirdo shirts" had become a full-blown craze with Roth at the forefront of the movement. The article featured Roth along with fellow [[Kustom Kulture]] pioneers [[Dean Jeffries]] and [[Pete Millar (cartoonist)|Pete Millar]]. Inspired by Roth and [[George Barris (auto customizer)|Barris]] Kustoms (whose shirts were airbrushed by Dean Jeffries), [[Detroit]] native [[Stanley Mouse|Stanley Miller]], a.k.a. "Stanley Mouse", began advertising his own shirts in the pages of ''Car Craft'' in January 1961. The lesser-known Rendina Studios of Detroit and Mad Mac of Cleveland also joined in on the monster "Weirdo" shirt craze, but Roth was certainly the person who widely popularized the "monsters in hot rods" art form.

In 1959 Roth created the Outlaw. This fiberglass Kustom hot rod was featured in the January 1960 issue of ''Car Craft''. The car was covered in ''Car Craft'' and ''Rod and Custom'', and appeared at custom car and hot rod shows. Other hot rods include the [[Beatnik Bandit]] (1961), the twin Ford engined Mysterion (1963), the [[Orbitron]] (1964), and the Road Agent (1965), among others.<ref name=Ganahl>Ganahl, ''Ed "Big Daddy" Roth''.</ref>  In 1965, Roth's surf buggy, the Surfite, was featured in the film ''[[Beach Blanket Bingo]]'' starring [[Frankie Avalon]] and [[Annette Funicello]], and also in ''[[Village of the Giants]]'', featuring [[Beau Bridges]] and [[Tommy Kirk]]. One of Roth's personal drivers was a tangerine orange 1955 Chevy 2-door post with a [[Ford FE engine#406|Ford 406 cu. in. engine]] under the hood; he drove this car to his shop every day for years.

In 1962 the [[Revell]] model company began selling plastic models of Roth's cars and from 1963 to 1965 Revell also manufactured plastic models of many of Roth's monsters, including Rat Fink, Brother Rat Fink, Drag Nut, Mother's Worry, Mr. Gasser and other weird creatures created by Roth. Revell continues to re-issue Roth's Monsters and Kustom Car kits.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Remembering Revell Model Kits by Thomas Graham-2nd Edition-Shiffer Books |isbn=0764320297|last1=Graham|first1=Thomas|date=14 May 2004|publisher=Schiffer Publishing, Limited }}</ref>

In 1963 The [[Hawk Model Company]] issued its line of "Weird-Oh's" plastic models and [[Marx Toys]] issued [[Nutty Mads]], both clearly inspired by Roth's work. Both items were quite popular in the mid-60s and remain sought after collector's items to this day. Hawk Models continues to re-issue its "Weird-Oh's" periodically.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Hawk Models |url= http://hawkmodels.com/ |access-date= 2011-05-04 |archive-date= 2014-02-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140207123113/http://www.hawkmodels.com/ |url-status= dead }} {{specify|date=April 2015}}</ref>

A “corporate publicist” gave the {{height|ft=6|in=4}} tall Roth the nickname "Big Daddy".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/may/11/guardianobituaries|title=Obituary: Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth|website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=11 May 2001}}</ref>

Numerous artists were associated with Roth including artist [[David Mann (artist)|David Mann]], ''Rat Fink Comix'' artist R.K. Sloane, [[Steve Fiorilla]] who illustrated some of Roth's catalogs, and most notably, Ed Newton, who worked for Roth and designed several of his cars and T-shirt designs beginning in 1964, and Kustom Kulture icon [[Robert Williams (artist)|Robert Williams]] who began working for Roth in late 1965.

In the mid 1960s Roth began customizing motorcycles. Mainstream motorcycle magazines refused to run his articles and ads, so he started his own publication called ''Choppers'', which featured articles on extending forks, custom sissy bars, etc. It was a small, black and white publication that ran from 1967 to 1970, and was the first magazine ever to exclusively feature custom motorcycles, or [[Chopper (motorcycle)|choppers]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Chopper Magazine |date=12 May 2009|url=http://edroth.blogspot.com/2009/05/ed-big-daddy-roths-chopper-magazine.html|access-date=2011-05-04 }}</ref> Roth also built the first known VW powered trike.<ref name=Ganahl /> Roth built many trikes for himself and others, including Candy Wagon, California Cruiser, Secret Weapon, Rubber Ducky and The Great Speckled Bird.<ref name=Ganahl />

In 1967 Roth built the Mega Cycle, Originally named by Robert Williams, "Captain Pepi's Motorcycle & Zeppelin Repair" was later changed to the "Mega Cycle" after a strong suggestion from car show promoters. Powered by a Buick V6 engine, Mega Cycle was designed to carry Ed's Harley XLCH. Later Ed felt that the XLCH just did not work and, through a series of trades, ended up with Bob Aquistapase's award-winning Triumph. The Mega Cycle is currently on display at Motorcyclepedia Museum in Newburgh, NY.

In 1968 [[Mattel]] introduced [[Hot Wheels]] and Roth’s Beatnik Bandit was one of the first 16 die-cast toy cars produced by the company.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.toycarcollector.com/1968_blister_pack_redine_hot_wheels.htm|title=Toy Collector.com -1968 Hot Wheels, First 16|access-date=2011-04-19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217015837/http://www.toycarcollector.com/1968_blister_pack_redine_hot_wheels.htm|archive-date=2010-12-17}}</ref>

From 1970 to 1975, Roth worked for Brucker's Movie World and their "Cars of the Stars" display. Brucker said that Roth was very loyal and a very hard worker, even though he was not making much money. Brucker said that when building something, Roth had a natural knack for seeing how things fit together — he would build something in a few days which would take others a couple of weeks. Although Roth was laid-back and amiable, Brucker also remembers that Roth was a fighter and if anyone came through the museum causing trouble, Roth would put them in line. He was fearless.<ref name= Ganahl136 >Ganahl, p. 136.</ref> Roth's Druid Princess was one of the many cars displayed there. Also during the 1970s, Roth worked for [[Knott's Berry Farm]] as a sign painter and artist. He worked there for 10 years until about 1980, and among other things, did the lettering on many of the descriptive labels for objects in the Western Trails Museum at Knott's.<ref name= Ganahl144 >Ganahl, p. 144.</ref>

In December 1977, Robert and Suzanne Williams, along with Skip Barrett, organized the first Rat Fink Reunion to celebrate the legacy of Roth. Rat Fink Reunions are still held to this day at the site of Roth's final residence in Manti, Utah and near Los Angeles.

In 1993, a major exhibition was held at the Julie Rico Gallery in Santa Monica shortly after the Laguna Museum show "Kustom Kulture". It was at this time that the [[lowbrow art]] movement began to take on steam. Featured in the exhibition titled, "Rat Fink Meets Fred Flypogger Meets Cootchy Cooty" were Roth, Willams, and Mouse and their creations. The L.A. Times placed Roth's [[Rat Fink]] on the cover of the Culture section December 20, 1993, with a full article about the entire exhibition. Artist Jean Jacques Bastarache collaborated with Ed Big Daddy Roth for this exhibition creating paintings called Master Finks. Images were used from historical watershed paintings by well-known artists like Duchamp, Whistler and Miro among others. Roth drew an image of his Rat Fink character acting out in a funny way on each painting while Jean Jacques Bastarache created the Master Fink underlying painting. The paintings in all can be seen in the book titled Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth published by Last Gasp in 1993.<ref name="MasterFinks">Roth, p. 191-194</ref>

The [[Orbitron]], a Roth custom car that was the subject of a number of articles in automotive enthusiast magazines (most notably, in ''Car Craft'' magazine in 1965)<ref name="Ganahl2011">Ganahl, pp. 123–125.</ref> which was feared lost in subsequent decades, was discovered in Mexico in the summer of 2008. The Orbitron was built in 1964. The car, in dilapidated, inoperative condition, had been parked for some time in front of an adult bookstore in [[Ciudad Juárez]]. The owners of the shop were also the owners of the car. It was purchased and taken back to the United States by Michael Lightbourn, an American [[auto restorer]] who did business in Mexico. The Orbitron has been restored to its original condition by [[Beau Boeckmann]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Beau Boeckmann, Kustom Kar Kulture Kid For The New Century  |url= https://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/02/beau-boeckmann/ |magazine= [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date= February 9, 2009 |first= Tony |last= Borroz  |access-date= 2010-03-01 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/0903rc_ed_big_daddy_roths_orbitron/beau_boeckmann_restores_orbitron.html |title=Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Orbitron - The Lost One |magazine=Rod & Custom |access-date=2010-03-01 |archive-date=2011-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715195931/http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/0903rc_ed_big_daddy_roths_orbitron/beau_boeckmann_restores_orbitron.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Roth was active in counterculture art and hot-rodding his entire adult life. At the time of his death in 2001, he was working on a hot-rod project involving a compact car planned as a departure from the dominant tuner performance modification style.{{citation needed|date=May 2011}}

The year after his death, he was named as one of the "50 Who Made a Difference" at the 50th annual Meguiar's Autorama in Detroit.<ref>Larivee, ''Hot Rod Detroit'', p. 278.</ref> He was also inducted into the show's "Circle of Champions" in 2000,<ref>Larivee, ''Hot Rod Detroit'', p. 279.</ref> and was showcased as its "Builder of the Year" in 2006.<ref>Larivee, p. 281.</ref>

==Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos==
Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos was a 1960s novelty music group led by Roth, who was known as Mr. Gasser. Formed in the early 1960s, they released a few bizarre [[surf rock]] albums, most notably 1963's ''Hot Rod Hootenanny''. One Way Records released a two-CD set (S22-18319) containing the three LPs and the original artwork.<ref>Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth - Page 37 0867195452 Ed Roth - 2003 -"It was called Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos, featuring Ed Roth. The albums had titles like Hof Rod Hootenanny, Rods n' RatFinks and Surfink! Car Craft editor Dick Day teamed with Roth to write lyrics to songs with names like, "Eefen it don't go ."</ref>

==Roth and bikers==
Roth had his shop, that he started in early 1959, at 4616 Slauson Avenue in [[Maywood, California|Maywood]], California (about 8 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles). He ran an ad in ''Car Craft'' magazine that year announcing the new address of his shop.

During the mid 1960s, Roth associated with various [[outlaw motorcycle club]]s who congregated at his shop as a lot of bikers were then living in [[Lynwood, California|Lynwood]] and Maywood. Musicians, police officers, [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents and various people involved in Hollywood would visit as well, providing an environment for one of Ed Roth's most creative periods, and an important time in Kustom Kulture.

Roth incorporated the [[biker cross|Iron Cross]] into his artwork (surfers had previously been using the iron cross as a symbol of youthful, carefree rebellion).<ref name="Ganahl2011"/>  Roth did not own a bike at the time, so he bought a brand-new [[Harley-Davidson Sportster]] and then proceeded to paint its gas tank a flat black color.  Roth painted white lettering on one side of the tank that said: "Love is Hate"; and on the reverse side: "Hate is Love".<ref name="Ganah113">Ganahl, p. 113.</ref>

Roth had taken black and white photos of different bikers. He made posters, with titles like "Beautiful Buzzard", or "Gray Cat" out of these photos, and sold them at car shows. Roth would periodically give these bikers small amounts of money, but soon some of the bikers started to feel that Roth was "getting rich" off of them and they wanted a larger cut. Despite Roth's agreement, rumors began to circulate that a certain club intended to attack Roth's shop. The gang arrived at the shop with guns drawn, but Roth's crew defended themselves. Roth challenged the head biker to a one-on-one fist fight to settle matters in the middle of the shop. Eventually Roth gained the upper hand and "just started to beat the living crap out of the guy".<ref name= Ganahl2011 />

After this incident, Roth burned his biker posters, leaving the lifestyle behind.  Things started winding down at the shop in the late 1960s, and in 1970 the shop closed.<ref name="Ganah130" >Ganahl, p. 130.</ref>

==Personal life==
Roth was married four times.  His fourth wife, Ilene, lives in [[Manti, Utah]], where Roth spent the final years of his life.  Roth joined [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in 1974. He shaved off his goatee and was heavily involved in social work through the church. His brother Gordon also became a Latter-day Saint.<ref name= Ganahlp9 >Ganahl, p. 9.</ref>

At a 1999 lecture given at [[Brigham Young University]]'s [[Brigham Young University Museum of Art|Museum of Art]], Roth shared some lessons he had learned in life: "accept criticism; if you can't do it get help; you don't need fancy tools or a fancy garage; and if you fulfill your duty Heavenly Father will bless you in what you do."<ref>"[http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/4120 Hot rod king gives lecture at Museum of Art]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," ''[[The Universe (BYU)|The Daily Universe]]'': 5 Apr 1999. Accessed 25 Nov 2012.</ref>

Roth died of a heart attack on April 4, 2001, at the age of 69.

Since his death, the official Rat Fink Reunion has been held in Manti the first weekend in June. The museum that Ilene Roth created to honor her late husband includes displays of Roth's art work and other memorabilia.  Roth's son Darryl has been working on collecting and displaying his father's work.<ref>{{Cite journal
  | last = Jackson
  | first = Nate
  | title = Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, creator of Rat Fink: A son remembers
  | journal = [[Los Angeles Times]]
  | date = December 27, 2011
  | url = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-big-daddy-20111227,0,4747407.story
  | access-date = January 19, 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby]]''
* [[Kenny Howard|Von Dutch]]

==References==
=== Sources consulted ===
* {{Cite book|title=Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Times, Cars, and Art|last=Ganahl|first=Pat|publisher=Car Tech Books |isbn=978-1934709672|year=2011}}
* {{Cite book|title=Hot Rod Detroit|last=Larivee|first=Bob|publisher=GP Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-0-692-30899-8|location=Oxford, Michigan}}

=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/RatFink_Trailer Trailer at archive.org - Tales of The Rat Fink]
* [http://www.ratfink.org/ RatFink.org was established by "Moldy Marvin" along with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth in the late 90s]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491698/ ''Tales of the Rat Fink''] (2006) [[Ron Mann]] documentary about Roth
* [http://totalcarmagazine.com/features/2013/04/26/ed_roth/ Like a psychedelic trip]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/07/us/edward-roth-big-daddy-who-was-the-hot-rod-idol-of-1960-s-teenagers-dies-at-69.html Obituary at NY Times]
* [http://www.mormonstoday.com/010406/P2ERoth01.shtml Obituary at MormonsToday]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110804235452/http://amarillo.com/stories/040701/usn_cardesigner.shtml Obituary at amarillo.com]

{{Kustom kulture}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Ed}}
[[Category:Ed Roth| ]]
[[Category:American automobile designers]]
[[Category:American cartoonists]]
[[Category:Car restorers]]
[[Category:Kustom Kulture]]
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from Bell, California]]
[[Category:People from Beverly Hills, California]]
[[Category:People from Maywood, California]]
[[Category:People from Manti, Utah]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:Converts to Mormonism]]
[[Category:Bell High School (California) alumni]]