The 1965 George Barris Batmobile at 2012 San Diego Comic Con
My very first memory of television dates back sometime to around 1973-74 and I’m sure belongs either to Flip Wilson or the original 1960’s Batman series. So it’s no small matter that nearly 40 years later I’d have the opportunity to meet face to face with the original 1965 George Barris Batmobile. Call this machine my first crush? That might not be far off base. I mean, look at those curves — this thing’s got sex written all over it.
The 1965 George Barris Batmobile at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con.
The pic was taken at about 7am Saturday morning of this year’s San Diego Comic Con while at least 10,000 fans waited patiently in line to see the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Gabriel del Toro, and Peter Jackson inside Hall H. Truth be told the area was closed off but somehow I managed to slip inside for a closer look. I had all of about 30 seconds before the security guard (the guy charging towards the camera) put it together that I wasn’t really supposed to be there. No matter, I got the pic I needed.
If you’re down for further study there’s a cool history of the car here.
I’m a little confused and maybe you can straighten me out. In the spring of 1965 I was stationed near LA and had a friend living in San Fernando. One night he took me to Chuck Barris’s garage and sitting outside next to the garage was a Batmobile. But the earliest I can find of Barris’s Batmobile is October of 1965. What Batmobile did I see and touch?
Boy, I wish I could claim to have sufficient knowledge of Batmobile heritage to answer this question. Sadly I don’t!