LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The man who built the famous Batmobile for the 1960s TV show Batman and many other famous cars died Thursday.
George Barris, considered "kustom car king" and one-man car museum died in his sleep in his Los Angeles home. He was 89, dying just 15 days shy of his 90th birthday.
His son Brett announced his dad's death on Facebook:
"Sorry to have to post that my father, legendary kustom car king George Barris, has moved to the bigger garage in the sky," he wrote. "He passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 a.m."
Probably Barris' most famous creation, the Batmobile was featured on the hit ABC TV show Batman from 1966-1968. But he also created the cars for The Munsters, The Dukes of Hazzard and The Beverly Hillbillies as well as for the classic films North by Northwest and The Time Machine.
His most recent Hollywood success was as the creator for KITT, the car featured on the TV show Knight Rider.
Born in Chicago on Nov. 20, 1925, Barris and his brother Sam loved cars as kids and when they moved to Los Angeles, they opened their first shop in 1945. In the early 1950s, his wife encouraged him to open Barris Kustom Industries. He not only created the custom cars, but also licensed the designs for model car makers. By the late 1950s, Barris was often making cars for studio executives, actors or for shows.
Barris created the Batmobile in about two weeks, using a 1955 sedan he bought for $1. In 2013, it sold for $4 million.
Barris Kustom Industries is still open today.
Adam West, former star of Batman, eulogized Barris in a statement.
"Sad to see that we lost George Barris," West said. "He created the world's most famous car, one that I was assigned to drive for three years. He was a creative and popular gent, a unique character who will be missed by many. Sweetheart of a guy."
