It’s been five years since George Barris died and I still find it hard to accept. It’s not that Barris was so important to me. It’s just that, during my time living in SoCal, I was always encountering him or his cars. It just seems like he must still be there in his shop on Riverside in North Hollywood.

Barris was dubbed the King of the customizers, and rightly so. His shop churned out some of the most iconic rides in cinema history, from the original TV Batmobile to the gothic hot rod driven by Herman Munster. As a kid growing up in the 70s, I even built some of the model kits of his cars.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I stumbled across his shop one day. My girlfriend and I had stopped at the Baja Fresh across the street and had decided to go for a walk after eating. I was shocked to glance in the window of the boring strip mall building and see the famous Batmobile sitting there, crammed into the showroom with a few other recognizable cars. I went back during business hours and was greeted with warm smiles by everyone there.

I also made it a point to attend the annual Culver City car show, where that clean-shaven pic above was taken in 2004. My understanding was that George produced the show until his death in 2015, and he made sure his most famous builds were on display whenever possible.

LA is a car town. It lives on the freeways and breathes exhaust fumes. Jay Leno’s garage isn’t far from Barris’ shop and I’d often see Jay on the freeway in one of his unusual cars back when I was commuting to the Disney lot at the same time of day that he was headed to the NBC studio in Burbank. The car culture in that area is strong and it’s one of the few things I miss now that I no longer live there.

When Barris was buried, it was in style. His casket was customized to look a lot like his famous Dragula dragster. I daresay, his is the only casket ever outfitted with fins. RIP, George. You are missed.