I just stumbled upon the back story for this image - interesting!
"The radical build made its debut at the 1965 Winternationals N.H.R.A. Custom Auto Fair, where Steve won the Special Sweepstakes Award. At the end of the show George Barris slapped Steve, and Steve and George went to court. When Steve filed the complaint against George, Ed Roth drew a cartoon of Steve in the Uncertain T.
According to Steve, the reason for the confrontation was that George had built a show car for a family, promising them that they would win the show. George asserted that Steve had "kiss-assed" the judges to win, and decided to give him a slap. At least seven LA Policemen and eight car show officials and workers witnessed the situation. Later on, someone put the car up for sale in the "Hot Rod Mart" classified section for $7,000. Steve never found out who placed that ad."
And Steve Scott's version of events...
"Ed Roth drew this "Born Bad" cartoon of me and The Uncertain-T
when I filed a complaint against George Barris after he slapped
me at the end of the 1965 Winternationals Car Show in the old
Pan Pacific Auditorium, in West Los Angeles, and I took him to
court. “BORN BAD” couldn't possibly refer to me, as I’m “Mr. Nice
Guy”. In my opinion, and the opinion of many others, “BORN BAD”
surely refers to George Barris!
Here are the facts about Ed Roth’s cool drawing:
I used to always wear that type of sport shirt.
The rolled up summons paper says "Big George, Notice to Appear."
The Uncertain-T is Buick powered.
There is a “T?” on the radiator shell.
That's the correct key for the back bumper of The Uncertain-T.
The front axle is close, but not right.
The Uncertain-T does not have springs for the front suspension.
I made my own custom torsion bar that goes through the frame
just behind the front crossbar and the radiator.
The bandage is on the wrong side.
And, my teeth weren't quite that sharp. LOL!
George was well-known for instigating situations, then suing the other party, claiming that they started it! He always had one or more "witness" who would back up whatever he said in court. This happened way back in 1965, but it's still a vivid video in my mind. I can even see in my mind what clothes George was wearing. The car show was just over. I was carrying the heavy car battery back to the "T" on my shoulder. You had to take them out during the show to comply with Fire Department rules. George, a couple of his "henchmen", and the family that had paid George A LOT of money to rebuild their well-known white pearl pickup show car, “The Ala Kart”, all approached and confronted me in a group in the side aisle. George started angrily asserting that I had "kiss-assed the judges” to win the Sweepstakes Hot Rod category, instead of “The Ala Kart”. I said that was ridiculous, and that I didn't even know who the judges were. The woman/mother then blurted out that George promised them that they would win! George then slapped me, obviously hoping that I was stupid enough to retaliate! I just stared down at him and laughed.
George was not very smart at all, and… he was VERY lucky that I wasn't stupid enough to let him dupe me into retaliating! Someone else with less restraint than I had might have smashed the very heavy car battery on his head! Hey... would that have been "Assault With A Battery"? LOL!
George was also very stupid to have done this where he did, without paying attention to the surroundings! I think he just saw me walking there alone and saw an “opportunity” to confront me. However, my mother was about 10 feet behind them and witnessed it all. Also, across the side aisle from us was the show office with a big window facing us, and several people inside who saw it all!
I then went back to my display to resume moving out. Right behind me was a very nice young guy who came up to me and introduced himself. His name was Andy Anderson. He had been following me to ask me for an autograph. He had witnessed it all from just a few feet beside me. Andy is still a friend today.
Shortly thereafter, another very nice guy came up to me and handed me his business card. His name was Gene. Get this... he was a Los Angeles Police detective! He told me that his (gorgeous) black '34 Ford 2 door sedan was in the show space right next to where it all happened. Not only did he witness it all, but so did several of his off-duty police buddies who were there with him. Total recorded witnesses: 7 Los Angeles policemen, 8 car show officials and workers, Andy Anderson, and my mom!
Gene, the off-duty detective, advised me what to do. He said to go into the show office immediately and call the police to file a complaint, making sure that everyone in the office was listening. He said the police will refuse to file a complaint, saying that if nobody was hurt, that it was a civil matter. Gene said that I needed to make sure that the police logged my call for the record. He said to call the Los Angeles Court in the morning and file a formal complaint, and to have him (Gene) summoned as a witness in court. Other than in the complaint, he asked me to NEVER divulge his name due to the nature of his work. I never have until now... he was an "undercover cop"!
When I went to the courthouse, Gene came up to me in the lobby and moved me over to a corner. He said that he couldn't appear in the judge's chamber because of the nature of his job. He told me to not worry, that everything would be ok. However, if it was absolutely necessary, to have the judge call him in. I was soon led into a judge's office, not a courtroom. Right behind us entering the room was George and one of his "witnesses". They must have been hiding, because I hadn't seen them until then. The judge had me sit to the right side of his desk, and George and his "witness" in front of his desk. George looked all puffed up by this, like he and his “witness” were sitting in the important seats. The judge read the complaint, then asked me to tell my side of the story. Before I was finished, George started blurting out his side of it, saying that I was lying. The judge dramatically raised up a bit and leaned far forward over his desk and pointed his finger at George and told him literally... "Shut up... we've had enough of you around here!"
WOW! That was it! Case Closed! The judge then pronounced that he was granting me a Permanent Restraining Order against George, and that if George ever came near me (I don't remember the distance), or in any way bothered me again, and I reported it, George would go to jail for slapping me!
It all lasted only a few minutes, as the papers were already done. Gene wasn't outside when it was over,
so I couldn't ask him what happened, and he probably didn't want to be seen with me AFTER George got
hammered by the Judge. My guess is that Gene had conferred with the judge before the hearing and
entered his sworn testimony... and that's all it took. Love it!"
