George Barris, the man who designed some of TV's coolest cars - starting with the Holy Grail, Batmobile No. 1, the primo prop used in the 1960s TV series Batman - has died, age 89.
Barris died Thursday, according to a post by his son, Brett Barris, 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 passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 am," Brett Barris wrote.
"He lived his life they way he wanted til the end. He would want everyone celebrate the passion he had for life and for what he created for all to enjoy."
Barris Kustom Industries spokesman Edward Lozzi confirmed Barris died following a lengthy illness.
As a custom car designer, Barris was among the best, designing scores of iconic cars for scores of movies and TV shows, such as K.I.T.T deom Knight Rider, the jalopy from The Beverly Hillbillies, the coach from The Munsters, the transformed DeLorean from Back to the Future, the stretch dune buggy in The Monkees, and even the General Lee onThe Dukes of Hazzard.
But it was the Batmobile, used by actors Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, that viewers might remember best. Before it was auctioned in 2013, it was briefly on display as a star attraction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.