Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Autographed Car



Does anyone know anything about this "Autographed Car?"
The car was signed by the "Stars of Hollywood" and supposedly driven to the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Thanks to Chuck Pinney for providing the history of the “Autographed Car.” Chuck wrote the following:

My dad first told me the story about that car earlier tonight. You see, my grandfather was one of the Pinney Brothers, Chuck Pinney. He and my great-uncle (I believe his name was Jack) had purchased the car for a mere $13 dollars while working in Connecticut. They decided that they wanted to travel across the country to see Hollywood, so they took this beater car across the country. With only two pairs of clothes and this car to sleep in, they drove across the country. When they reached Hollywood, they encountered an actor they recognized (I can't remember his name, I don't recall 1930's celebrities), and they asked for an autograph. They realized, however, that they didn't have a pen or paper. Fortunately, they did have white paint, and chose simply to have the actor sign their car. They continued doing this until the car became a bit of a legend in Hollywood, to where all the major celebrities wanted to sign the car and place their mark on it. The movie studios soon talked to them, and convinced them to drive the car on a sort of tour on their way back to Connecticut. They drove across the country, showing the car off at the various major movie theaters. My dad left out the part about the World's Fair, but it makes sense. In any case, they went back to Connecticut for school, and left the car on their mother's farm. Not long after, however, World War II began. My great-uncle Jack was sent to Guadalcanal, where he ended up dying. My grandfather flew in the Aleutian Islands, near Alaska. Their mother (my great-grandmother) wrote my grandfather about the car, asking what should be done with it. At the time, scrap metal was desperately needed for the war effort, and unfortunately the autographed car was chopped up.

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