Hello , I was a first time visiter to your site today after hearing about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and I made a wallpaper to honor him hope you like it . A friend of mine had a few pin head shows where Ed would show his pin striping tech , He'll truely be missed . Moldy..man what a shock. I went to your webpage today and saw the opening page. I'm so sorry to see this. The man was quite a character and will missed by all of us. Thanks for your email Moldy. Weldon My condolences to the Roth family. I have included a pic of me & Big Daddy about 66/67 at a New York Kar show. My Dad a striper in L.A. "Mad Mike", brought this pic to the R.F. reunion last Dec. & had Ed sign it. Ed made my Dad give him a copy too! My folks gave it to me for X-Mas. One of my most cherished item I have....I am bummed, Rest in Peace my friend. Guy Mazza Do you remember the Purple Fink ice cream bar? It was like a dreamcicle and I think grape flavored. It makes one wonder if Ed was involved with anything associated with the word fink. The Wizard of Id comes to mind. I don't remember fink being used before Ed came along but then again I was born in 1953. I was interested in Big Daddy because of his last name which is the same as mine. Was Ed the first Beatnick? During WW ll there were beatnicks or hippies in Germany but they were suppressed by the people in charge at that time. I loved the Rat Fink but as most mothers did , mine threw out all my and my friends Rat Fink stuff along with my baseball cards. I would be a millionaire if she hadn't done that.. Or maybe I would keep all that stuff until I died a pack rat. I wish I had that stuff and maybe if I see it at a show I might be able to afford some of it I remember his stuff was very popular at the mn. State Fair. What great childhood memories. thanks for this site. Thanks from Bob Roth. Thanks Moldy. The Ratfink lives on and the world lost quite the Legend. Very sad.. Linda ,from Santa Cruz Drive In Nostalgia Night All the way up here too!!... ED ROTH, like Von Dutch,will NEVER pass!Their work, laughter, and all that came out of their well scratched nogins will live forever as a testiment to the creativity and passions of not only these generations but mankind. A heartfelt thank you to Ed and the family he left behind LONG LIVE "BIG DADDY" if ya think about it,I'll bet he's gettin a real good deal on art supplies and fiberglass from Paul "KREEPERS" & "KRAZY 8's" in Canada I'm deeply saddened to hear of Ed Roths passing. I'm 53 in a few days and I remember drawing his creations myself after I had seen them. I thought they were the coooolest! I couldn't believe someone could be that "far out" in thought. I real artist in my opinion. I'm going to miss him and his work. Thanks "RAT FINK"! Peace, Love, & Happiness! Galaxie635 I guess I was about twelve when I first saw the Beatnik Bandit in a rod magazine.... Who was this "Big Daddy" guy. ?? Gawd, he looked so cool and his work was flawless. The nuns at my school usually rewarded left handed brains like his with a crack on the knuckles with a metal edged ruler ! Big Daddy became the hero of every young artistically /automotively inclined child of the 60's. Our moms didn't understand finkdom and dad was sure we were all going to our ruin as we gleefully spent our two dollar allowance on styrene monsters at the local hobbyshop. But we were there by the millions! Flash Forward..... A fifty year old world- weary guy walks into a curiosity shop and sees a re-release of the Beatnik Bandit. SLAM !!!! I'm hooked all over again.!! I discovered a sad truth ..... I left. Ed never did. He was still cranking out monsters and cars that were light years ahead of the crowd. Today I'm a collector of Rothamabilia and everyone thinks I'm off the deep end, just like my folks did almost 40 years ago. I am a woodcarver by trade, so I began carving a huge Rat Fink. Well, somehow Ed Roth saw a construction photo and sent me an e-mail outa the blue...Told me he loved it .... Man, I wanted to go out and get my computer Chromed !!!!! It was with complete shock that I learned of Ed's passing. I had arranged to meet him in July. Thank you, Ed for writing , and caring , and having the passion for your art. You taught me how to make my life fun again!! I will spread that joy in your memory. Chuck Kaparich Hey Chuck, I am sure that Ed will be watching when you unvail the completed Rat Fink. I am 32 years old and a huge fan of Ed Roth memorabilia. My parents own an Antique store and have ever since I was a child. I remember going to the Toy and Advertising Show in Glendale CA and seeing some of Eds models there for sale. I loved em. I was hooked then. Unfortunately I was never able to meet Ed in person, and I feel like I missed out on that, but I will always admire and respect his work. He will be missed. Thanks to Moldy for all his help and if there is ANYTHING that I can do to help out, please do not hesitate to ask. Brian Morris Hey There Chuck, I've got pretty much the same story, I'm 44 have been a Fink and Big Daddy fan since I was a kid in the 60's. When I was about 9 or lO I was building models and collecting fink rings and charms. At one point I was buying and trading them with other kids in the neighborhood and my oldest brother gave me a 100 dollar bill so I could by a bunch more. I didn't realize how cool that was until I got older and thought about how much money that really was in 1966 or 67. I'm like a lot of us in this age group I have gone in and out of different hobbies over the years. But the Fink was always in the back of my mind. I too had hoped to meet Big Daddy in July, I read that he was going to drive with Tex Smith on the Goodguy's All roads lead to Columbus tour. I was planning on joining the tour in Indy and Cruising on to Columbus with them. I probably still will. It would have been a special highlight to have met Ed. I too have a pretty good collection going. and It has made me revert back to my younger days. Your not alone I think my friends and family think I've gone over the edge sometimes too! It has been interesting reading everyones comments, and great to learn that there are a lot of us with the same feelings and experiences. Ed was a Special Person and we are all better people for having experienced the Rat Fink Culture. We will all miss him but, he will always be present in our hearts. Wendell My condolences to the Mrs. and family. Have known Ed since 1950 when I started as the Photo Editor of Hot Rod Magazine. Was privileged to shoot features of almost all of Ed's cars for Hot Rod. He will be greatly missed He is now with Von Dutch one of his idols. E."Rick"man PhotoRick My name is Jennifer and I am e-mailing you to thank you for your web site. The news of Ed Roth passing on is A very sad thing. My dad Mike is a big fan of his and in 1999 I had the honor of meeting him at the Rat Fink Reunion in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Ed Roth really was a cool guy and will always be remembered in hearts and memories forever. Sincerely, Jennifer Harber-Alarcon Man: I saw the news about Big Daddy's passing and my buddy and I just had a toast to him and all of his years as a beat-nick and counter culture icon. We are saddened two old Rat Fink fans. Dave and Jim. My name is Margret. I am the wife of one of the promoters who do a show in Albuquerque, NM. We had the pleasure of meeting Ed and having him in our show a couple of years ago. It was great meeting someone who really enjoyed being in the public and around others who liked his work. We were truly sadden to hear about his passing. A fellow in Salt Lake City sent a message that told me of Ed's death. Attached to it was a group of letters that people told of their experiences with him. This is what I added to the letter. In 1968 when I was at Bonneville a fellow was there with an outrageous sweatshirt with the sleeves torn out. It had been airbrushed with a wild scene on it. I did a foto of the shirt and asked the dude who did it. I was told it was a Roth original. Done at his shop and worn totally for the shock value and it had plenty of that. I saved the picture and in November of that year there was a car show in Seattle with one of the featured celebs being Ed Roth. As the evening wore on I finally had a chance to show Roth the foto. I didn't have to introduce myself to him. His statement, "You must be Doc Freud," and that was my name from then on whenever Roth and I were together. He had never experienced Seattle so when the show closed we went for a 3 hour driving tour of the city. When it was finally time for me to go to the motel for the remainder of the short night I dropped him off at his motel which was several blocks from mine. I told him where I was staying in case he needed me for any reason. I was in bed and the fone rang. The clerk at the desk said there was a bearded fellow at the desk asking for my room number. I told him to give Ed a key and send him up. There was no room at his inn for him so he spent the night with me. Neither of us slept very much. We talked until about 6 AM concerning everything mechanical and art related that we could imagine. During the chat I asked him to draw a monster for my 4 year old daughter. He did.......without lifting the pencil from the paper until the sketch was done. It had her name in it and his signature. He told me that ALL kids loved monsters and that they never seemed to be frightened by the ones that he drew. She still has the framed sketch. He talked about logos and when he returned to LA, he and Jittney Jake, of Jake's "34 coupe" fame did my logo for my foto work. It is very unique. Ed had my first foto published for me. I did a shot of a settling pond at the penitentiary somewhere between Salem and Eugene, Oregon. The prisoners had made it into a giant peace sign and the only way it could be seen was from the air. He had the foto published in Rolling Stone. After that I did a piece about motorcycles at Bonneville and he published it in his magazine in January of 1970. We stayed in touch for a long time. He took me to the Cars of the Stars Museum and Airplanes in the area near Knotts Berry Farm. The Califirnia Cruiser was on display in there. The 750 Honda motorcycle had just been released and instead of making a chopper from one of those he designed and built the trike, California Cruiser, with an aluminum Olds F85 engine. He asked me if I would be interested in going for a ride on it. I told him that as soon as I could go to the car and get my Bolex movie camera I would be ready. He went for a gas can and poured fuel in the bike, hit the starter and headed for the door. We went for a 100mph ride on the city street that lead to Knott's Berry Farm. I did the movie over his shoulder as he passed cars with 60 mph on them. It showed the car that went up on the sidewalk to keep from hitting us. Hell yes we survived. I'm writing this. When we returned he showed me the knives and gun that Von Dutch had done for him and finally the Japanese Zero fighter plane that was in the adjoining room. Our paths crossd many times after that. The last "meeting by chance" was driving South on I-5 freeway heading from Everett to Seattle. Ed had been up to Canada and was pounding along in a small pickup on his way to a seminar that was being held at the University of Washington relating to generating comic strips on a Macintosh computer. He had to freehand draw them prior to that class but it gave him his first real introduction in the use of computers in art. My first trip to Bonneville was in 1963 and I don't think Ed made it there before maybe 1980. He was rippin' along with his lady on the back of his VW powered trike. After his friend destroyed his leg on a solid rearend trike with an automotive V-8 in it Ed decided to explore the benefits of the independently suspended VW transaxel. A solid rearend trike pushed and wouldn't steer adequately. The VW transaxle worked "just fine." He patented the concept, not to get money from the people that built their own machines but to keep a huge manufacturer like Honda from using the concept. He thought a long way ahead and had ideas that were way earlier than they were finally developed. He did get very upset when we went to Bell Auto Parts. He told me that I could have anything that they had in there as a gift and I didn't take anything. I never knew it would disturb him if I didnt allow him to give me a gift. There could have been a lot worse thing for him to be disturbed over. One day I had a patient come to my office. As I examined him he told me that he grew up near Roths original shop. Since I had Ed's fone number in my hand computer, I called Ed and told him that some dude said he knew him. The dude was correct. Both he and Ed were happy for the reconnection. Right now I wish I could reconnect with him. I'd never be surprised if he reappeared. After all, Easter is only a few days away. Glenn Freudenberger Everett, WA. I hope I'm sending this to the right e-mail address. I wanted to express my sorrow at Ed's passing. I met Big Daddy several times at various shows and he was to say the least, quite a showman. However, I will remember him best from a show we attended in Worster, Mass when he set up a booth next to ours at the New England Summer Nationals. I, as usual was out looking at cars leaving my girlfriend Janet to take care of the booth. When I returned she was sitting next to this "nice old man" having a pleasant conversation, with no idea who he was or his influence on our hobby. When I came back to the booth I couldn't believe it. Ed didn't have a shelter of any kind and asked us where we got our little tent. We told him that we got it at Sears and surenuff next day Big Daddy had one. I got some pictures with him and got to talk to him on a more casual basis than I did at later encounters. He was a great guy and it is a great loss for all of us in the hobby. David K. McGee Huntington, WV 25702 I just wanted to share this with you guys. Today I was in a renewal class for my first aid and cpr class and in one of the films they had a biker with a RATFINK t-shirt on it was cool to see that since the class is boring as it is is was real nice to see that. Sean Marv, This was a blow to us up here in Washington. I think ED will never know the impact he had on all us kid's from the 60's & 70's. When I told my co-chair, he got so upset he exited the room. This guy has met ED, and has RF stuff he has collected all over his house. I've seem cats pee on his coupe, he got a rock chip in his coupe one day, but never have I've seem Rick this upset. We here in Washington are wrapping our antenna's with black tape, in the shape of a rat's tail, and will remain that way until the last day of summer. We are really bummed. I can not share the sadness you all feel, I never met the man. I never the less feel like I've lost an uncle. Please let Mrs. Roth know how we feel. Mr.ED Western Washington Rat Finks Being a baby boomer of 51 years, and growing up in the San Fernando valley CA, Ed is and was the coolest. Forget Mickey Mouse, Rat Fink was a kid's real friend if he was into hot rods. I still build model cars and Ed's cars models were the ignition point for my love of hot roding. Ed, rest eternal knowing you are an inspiration to gear heads all over the world. Sincerely, Steve Garcia Camarillo, CA I am one of many who mourn the loss of one of the icons of the Kustom Kar Kulture. I grew up in Downey and idolized some of the leaders in customizing. Larry Watson, Gene Winfield, Jo Balion, and of course Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. They have each in their unique way driven the ideas and creativity we now see in today's Kustoms and rods. We are enjoying an enhanced revival of our young culture thanks to these artist, as well as others not named here. The loss of Big daddy will be mourned by all involved in our hobby (way of life). One thing for sure: "Big Daddy" lives in all our hearts and in our Kustom Kreations. Thanks Ed for your enthusiasm, leadership, creativity, and longstanding involvement in this great American love of cars that has grown world wide. With great sorrow and thanks, Doug Leach Monrovia I was fortunate enough to meet him personally a few years back in Denver at one of the car shows.. After autographing my t-shirt, I told him how my daughter then 14 yrs old had just built a model of "Mothers Worry", he sighed and said ,, "well I guess that's another generation I have corrupted".. We laughed and I moved on.. I don't think corrupted was the correct word.. however, "influenced" would be better, she cherishes that model to this day, because her and I built it together, one of those "father,daughter projects". Had it not been for Ed, and his creations, maybe we would have never had that "project"... He will be missed..... Chris Johnson Thornton, Colorado.. Hey Moldy, Great site, great tribute to The Man. A lot of us have Big Daddy and/or Rat Fink memories and I imagine that for a lot of us middle aged juvenile delinquents the last few days have been ones of reflection on things past, the foolish things we did (and still do), and some of the people who influenced us one way or another. As a native SoCal baby boomer, I grew up around hot rods and custom cars. Neither of my parents were into that kinda weird stuff, but my mother's older brother was a post war lakes and street racer, and built or at least owned several rods and customs. He also managed to exert a lot of influence on me. I don't think my poor "Ozzie and Harriet" straight-laced parents ever quite figured out what to do with their older son. They did humor me, took me to car shows (like the old Winternationals shows at the Great Western Exhibit Center), drags, etc. And somewhere along the way, probably 1961 or '62, I managed to con my mother into taking me to Roth's place over on Slauson in Maywood or Commerce to get a monster shirt. When we got there, and she saw this beatnik/biker character sitting in that old garage airbrushing shirts, I think she was scared half to death. But, she'd promised me a shirt... Big Daddy was gracious as could be, charmed the hell out of my mom and, best of all, custom painted a monster sweatshirt for me, with my name (graced with a couple of bleeding and dripping eyeballs) on the front. What a character. I saw him a few more times over the years, most recently at a Route 66 Rendezvous a few years ago, but never had a chance to tell him how much I'd enjoyed his creations over the years. Incidentally, I still have that sweatshirt, and it's still in great condition (better condition than I'm in at 52). The last time it, the Roth shirt, was out was for that Ed Roth/Von Dutch/Robert Williams show down in Laguna Beach a few years ago. I went with a few old friends (back to high school days) and somehow managed to squeeze myself into the sweatshirt. It was definitely cool to wander around the galleries, checking out the works on display, and be wearing a piece that really shoulda been in the show. Enough rambling. Again, my compliments. I'm gonna write some sort of tribute to Roth and run it in the next issue of the magazine I edit. Bob Wallace Editor, VETTE Magazine Hats off to "Big Daddy" for being a true original. I hope his following will continue to grow. My respects. Mike Zelenko Chicago, IL I met Ed Roth a few years ago on the road into Manti when, seeing the car and top hat I nearly comitted suicide leaping into the road when I recognised him. Clear back in '62 at Toll Jr High in Glendale, Ca. I spent my entire drafting class drawing Rat Fink out of Surfer magazine. Models, slot cars, shirts signed by Ed and John Severson, and even a rat fink dummy that rode in my crazy 8 speedway car that my girlfriend made influenced my life. I tried to tell him that without sounding more like a stalker than a BYU prof. He was very nice and tolerant of my puppyishness and told me he was a mormon now and was living here. The last 3 years my life has been happier just knowing he was around and seeing him in a parade or two. I will miss him. My daughter works for Letterman and I am going to send her the deseret news obituary so Dave will know since he has an old rat fink model in his office with purple metalflake paint that he assembled as a kid and he owns the Bobby Rahall racing team who, I'm sure, would also like to know. Tom Black.........Orem Hi Moldy I am Sorry to here about ED. My Brother in Salt Lake City told me about it. He said Ed lived in Manti Utah and had moved there some time ago is that true? He told me that there was quite a nice write up in the Deseret News. I thought you guys were still in the valley or LA area..Well if you are going to carry on with the "Ed Roth jondra" or even if not you are still very welcome to come up to the Hey Dey Rally in Sept. Yosemite.. Dave Stephens I am truly sorry to hear of Ed's passing. Because of my last name my parents have purchase many Rat Fink T-shirts and Artworks over the years. My condolences and prayers go out to his family. Sincerely, Robert (Rat) Fink Hey Moldy, I don't know if you remember me, but I met you and your buddy James at the ArrowHead show (Johnny Carson Park) last year. Its George, I'm the guy with the '63 (black) Dodge Polara. I came to one of your openings, and we talked about me contributing photos to your gallery. (I never moved on this because I haven't had access to a dark room for some time, and haven't been aggressively shooting lately). Anyway, I sent you some photos of one of James' cars (that was in the ArrowHead Show), ahh, he said to send them to you, you would send them to him, and hopefully that happened. I never did hear back. But the whole point of all of the preceding is to hopefully jar your memory, so now your thinking, "oh yeah, that guy..." But this isn't about me, this is about Roth...Along with the Barris Brothers, Richard Petty, and a few others, Roth was a major childhood (and life long) hero of mine. When I was a kid, I didn't give a darn about rock 'n roll, I cared about cars, and Roth was a god. My condolences for the loss and transformation of your buddy. I don't know what the hell it would be, but if there is anything I can do, please call. I had a friend who died, and at the service a buddy of his got up and said, "he would be pissed if he knew we are upset...he would want us to be happy for him...". I feel that Roth would want the same. All of that might be a bit simply put, but just know that our thoughts are with you. Lastly, I'd like to volunteer my services for your next event. Sincerely, George Barker hello! i am from CROATIA i just find out that big daddy is dead and unlimited sadness just came in my heart all of my life i try to go to america to see something from BIG DADDY but i cant, and now it´s too late if you recieve my e-mail answer me thanks a lot! Igor N.B. Sorry about bad english Glad we got to have him here , he will never be forgotten by us old hotrodders that have been getting a real kick out of his wild stuff .im glad i got to meet him in boston and worcester massachusettes .i have a picture he autographed for me of the rat-fink over my desk ,also his book he signed for me on the shelf . i only wish i could have seen him again . thanks big guy ,thanks for the great stuff may you rest in peace . jim grillo hudson mass. AS A KID I WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO DRAW LIKE ROTH. EVERY TIME WE WENT TO LIONS DRAG STRIP I WOULD CHECK TO SEE IF HE WAS AIRBRUSHING HIS FAMOUS ''T'' SHIRTS. I WOULD STAND THERE AND BE AMAZED AT HOW COOL HE WAS AT DRAWING ANYTHING ....ANY YEAR ANY MODEL CAR. I BUILT MANY OF HIS MODELS....AND STILL HAVE THEM. THE RAT FINK IS IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH A SPOT LIGHT ON IT. MY INITIALS ARE R.F. SO ALL MY BUDDIES CALLED ME RAT FINK.I HAVE THE BOOK ON HIS LIFE .....HE NEVER RAN OUT OF IDEAS ON NEW STYLES. I WENT TO ALL THE CAR SHOWS IN THE SIXTIES IN L.A. AND GOT TO SEE HIS COOL CREATIONS. I'M SO SORRY TO KNOW HE HAS LEFT US, BUT WITH ALL HIS CREATIONS AND DRAWINGS ETC. WE KNOW HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. SINCERELY....RON FRANZEN We are so very sorry to hear about Big Daddy's passing. We met him afew years back when he was at a Starbirds Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it was one of the biggest highlights of our life. We were honored to be mentioned in an article of "Impressions" and other imprinted sportswear magazines with him. He took the time to visit with us for quite awhile and autographed one of his books for us with his usual "Rat Fink" logo and it remains one of our most special mementos. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family andfriends. Thank you "Big Daddy" for being you. You were a great influence on our airbrushing artwork. Danny and Dee Dee De Lucca So sorry to hear of ed's death i am 44 years of age and only really became a fan of ed's in the last 10 years it was a bit difficult in australia to know much about hot rodding in the states during the 60's and 70's my condolances to his many fan's around the world he was truly a wonderful artist that will be missed even here in australia. I will be in los angelas late may would like to make your aqantance if that is okay Thomas Weyrich Moldy, First let me say that I'm in disbelief that Big Daddy has gone to the big junkyard in the sky; then again, that WOULD explain all the noisy thunderstorms we've been having lately! :) I'm one of those rare female fans of the fink, so you can guess my sadness runs especially deep. In fact I got finky and 2 little finks guarding my computer..they seem to scare off any computer viruses that show up :) My heart goes out to Ed's family. To have him taken so suddenly like that had to have been such a shock. This millenium isn't going too well. First we lose Charlie Schulz, then Dale Ernhardt (tho' I'm sure he had a smile on his face as he died doin' what he loved to do), and nowBig Daddy...guess Ernhardt needed someone to make him a car. Anyway, just some thoughts from a fan of the Fink, and his Big Daddy. Best Wishes, Wendy Robinson Some of you might know that I volunteer as a flag marshal for road races. Well last weekend I worked the Long Beach Grand Prix. I was at a very visible location on Shoreline just past the Start/Finish line. (You can't believe what a rush it is to have 25 Indy Cars coming at ya head on at 180 mph at the start and pass within 25 ft of you, but that's a story for another day!) As a tribute to Ed, I wore a Rat Fink t-shirt on Sunday. I was very surprised at the reaction I got from the fans. Ya gotta admit that you wouldn't think of a CART race as a hang out for finksters! Anyway, a lot of people came up to me and remarked about the shirt and at least 3/4s of them knew that Ed had passed a few days before. It's amazing the reach that this man and his creations had. "Rick Meredith" Hello, I've never written or been on this website before, but I was sad to hear 'bout "BiG Daddy" passin' on. When I was a kid, (hell, I still am, but that's another...) I used t' build Mr. Gasser, SurFink, of course Rat Fink, I even had a little kid type garage band when I was maybe 9 or 10 and one of our names was "The Four Finks!" I even got my Mom, God rest her soul, t' buy 4 white sweatshirts which I then took different color magic markers 'n drew Rat Finks on 'em n' each guy's name across the back. What a walk down memory lane. Wish I'dve checked this stuff out sooner, as I'm a rookie to the net & computers. 2 years. I never had or built a real hot rod, but I sure did enjoy Ed's creations! May Ed "BiG Daddy" Roth rest in peace. Thanks for the memories, n' my heart & prayers go out to his family. Sincerely, Jim Ream Leo-Cedarville, In p, s. I bet my alltime favorite singer Tom Waits dug Big Daddy's stuff. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the band's name was "Birthday Party," n' th' album's name is Junkyard. I've not heard it, but I'm a fan of their leader, Nick Cave and his band "The Bad Seeds" G'night! Jim