A Rat Fink comes home...............
Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:50 pm
As you may or may not know ,my profession is that of a pinstriper/sigh artist albeit semi-retired(allegedly).One of the pioneers in my trade was a man named Ed,"Big Daddy" Roth who in addition to being a great pinstriper,was a creator of many outrageous show cars;several of which sported clear plastic bubble tops.He also is credited with being one of the creators of so-called,"Weirdo" shirts where a cartoon of a car or creature is airbrushed onto the surface.His most memorable creation was a furry green rodent known simply as,"Rat Fink".Many stories abound as to why Ed created this character but the most accepted theory is it was the antithesis of Mickey Mouse which was very popular at that time(early 1960's).
Anyway Ed built a huge business selling all manner of merchandise with the Rat Fink theme.From T shirts to plastic models to key rings.
Sadly Ed passed away in 2001 but his legacy still lives on thanks to his widow Ilene and a huge following of fellow painters.
In 2005 a young man proposed to honor Ed's life by creating a resin copy of the Rat Fink character and distributing them to selected artists to create their version of the rodent.These would then be displayed in various museums around the country beginning with the premiere of a movie about Ed's life starring John Goodman as the voice of Ed.At the end of the tour the pieces were to be auctioned off with the proceeds being donated to charity.
I was one of the artists who was asked to submit a version and happily did so. The movie was released along with a book showing all 83 of the artists' interpretations. All seemed well.
However as all well intentioned ideas something went wrong and a legal battle ensued with the result that the person was forced to stop selling these items.I found out about it when a friend of mine who had also done a Fink called and told me that he was getting his back and if I wanted mine to get in touch with this person pronto.
After a few phone calls I was able to get mine back the other day.When it came back it had some damage but nothing that could not be readily fixed.I repaired him and he is now residing in my shop where he will stay until my grandson inherits him along with a story I'm writing about it.Here is a pic of Rad Fink;hope you enjoy it
Anyway Ed built a huge business selling all manner of merchandise with the Rat Fink theme.From T shirts to plastic models to key rings.
Sadly Ed passed away in 2001 but his legacy still lives on thanks to his widow Ilene and a huge following of fellow painters.
In 2005 a young man proposed to honor Ed's life by creating a resin copy of the Rat Fink character and distributing them to selected artists to create their version of the rodent.These would then be displayed in various museums around the country beginning with the premiere of a movie about Ed's life starring John Goodman as the voice of Ed.At the end of the tour the pieces were to be auctioned off with the proceeds being donated to charity.
I was one of the artists who was asked to submit a version and happily did so. The movie was released along with a book showing all 83 of the artists' interpretations. All seemed well.
However as all well intentioned ideas something went wrong and a legal battle ensued with the result that the person was forced to stop selling these items.I found out about it when a friend of mine who had also done a Fink called and told me that he was getting his back and if I wanted mine to get in touch with this person pronto.
After a few phone calls I was able to get mine back the other day.When it came back it had some damage but nothing that could not be readily fixed.I repaired him and he is now residing in my shop where he will stay until my grandson inherits him along with a story I'm writing about it.Here is a pic of Rad Fink;hope you enjoy it
