The Bearcats' Stutz Bearcats - Where are they now?

[Naphtali]

In 1971 there was an adventure television show, "The Bearcats," starring Rod Taylor. Its Pilot episode, "Powderkeg," is available for download on You Tube.

Bearcats of the title was a reference to the motor car used by the adventurers - a 1914 Stutz Bearcat. That' not completely accurate, though. There were so few of the automobiles made, Stutz Bearcats are extremely expensive antiques.

The show's producers commissioned a custom automobile builder named Barris to create two steel-bodied reproductions at a horrific price, circa 1971. Despite being praised by critics, the show lasted only 13 episodes.

Finally to my questions: What happened to the automobiles after The Bearcats' cancellation? Where are they now?

 

[bigwheelzip]

As of three years ago:


Driving a George Barris-built Car
Posted on December 5, 2014

If there’s one car-lover who knows determination, it’s John Boyle. This 59 year-old, retired Air Force officer from Colbert, Washington told A.J. Baime of the Wall Street Journal, about how he came to own his George Barris-built car, the Bearcat.

It was in 1971, when John Boyle was a teenager that he recalls a TV series that began called “Bearcats!” It was the story of two soldiers of fortune who drove a 1914 Stutz Bearcat. Boyle says he loved the car and wanted one. He’d read in TV Guide that George Barris had built two Bearcat replicas for filming. “Barris was (and still is) a bigshot in the custom-car movement…the go-to guy when producers needed a special car, best known for building the original Batmobile and the Munsters’s Koach.”

The antique Bearcats were extremely expensive, so when the show was cancelled Boyle told himself he’d keep his eyes open for one of the Barris replicas. After searching for over 25 years, in 1999, he found one, whose owner agreed to sell it at a price he could afford. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Boyle. “I was now driving the exact car I saw on TV when I was a kid, made by George Barris.” He later met with Mr. Barris in his L.A. office, and the car was authenticated. Boyle admits that the car is now his “weekend toy” and he feels very lucky to have it.

I found one for sale as of last year, only $190,000:

1968 Stutz Bearcat for Sale | ClassicCars.com | CC-911095

 

[Onomea]

The Google Fu is strong in that one!

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I remember reading the summary write up of the show before it was aired. I believe the write up was in "TV Guide", and while I don't recall the author's name, I do remember the lines where he was introducing the concept of the show, and the reason for its name. The writer explained the show was named after the car the two heroes rode around in, and praised the wisdom in selecting a car with a cool name. After all, the writer asked, "...who in the world would watch a show titled Stanley Steamer?" Frankly, I thought that was not only witty, but the height of comedic writing. I used that line in high school for a while, and somehow my schoolmates attributed the creation of that line to me. Oh well, the price one sometimes has to pay for being literate. Frankly, while corny, I really enjoyed the show.


Regards,

Dave

 

[jag312]

I prefer a Mercer Raceabout. You have to be nuts to own a Stutz.

 

[Muley Gil]

I prefer a Mercer Raceabout. You have to be nuts to own a Stutz.

And the Stutz folks would reply, "There is no car worser than a Mercer."

I read all of the Clymer books as a kid.

 

[Texas Star]

I remember that show and one where David Haselhoff talked to his car, which replied.

 

[Naphtali]

Bigwheelzip:

Many thanks . . . and a WOW!

 

[bigwheelzip]

Bigwheelzip:

Many thanks . . . and a WOW!

Your very welcome. If you get that one that is for sale with the machine guns, I'll volunteer to be the side gunner. Whoopee!!