ON THE SCENE: Rare “Big Daddy” Roth Photos!

1950 Olds Rocket 88Powered Mysterion.

- John Gilbert

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: “Big Daddy” Ed Roth built the fun stuff, wild, whimsical cars that tickled the fancy and pickled a kid’s imagination for life. Back in the day when Roth was at the peak of his artistic career, creating cars like the Mysterion, we were all snot-nosed little kids, and it was square to call him “Big Daddy” Ed Roth—simply “Big Daddy” Roth or just “Big Daddy” was how the cool guys said it.

In 2020 “Big Daddy” Roth’s Mysterion exists mostly in the memories of those who saw it in person, but thanks to Jeffery Jones, a guy most likely as much a madman artist as Roth himself, re-created a fantastic version of the Mysterion. The lead image for this story is of Jeffery Jones’ Mysterion, and for those who know how to read, check out the book Jones wrote, Ed Roth’s Mysterion: The Genesis, Demise and Recreation of an Iconic Custom Car.