Nostalgia Pinstripes and Flying Eyeballs
Kenny Howard, Circa 1961
Kenny Howard would be nonplussed to see a boutique on Melrose marketing halter- tops and Capri pants in his guise. The eccentric man known as Dutch, J.L.Bachs (Joe Lunchbox), and most notably, Von Dutch, preferred nuances such as gun-smithing and installing Volkswagen engines into nearly anything (except a VW) in lieu of glitz, glamour and spotlight.
The seed of a renowned logo and letterhead painter, Howard himself mastered the same craft by the age of ten. In his words, he was “Always a mechanic first”, humbly ignoring his ingenuity in painting, pin striping, fabrication and metallurgy. Grease under the fingernails and wrench in pocket, the gritty Dutch was striping motorcycles at fifteen when, as a mere folly on a quiet day, he reincarnated the dead art of auto striping.
The custom car boom of the 1950’s solely existed as a result of his new vogue. Enthusiasts from as far away as New York would trek to Los Angeles to have their ride “Dutched”. Never did they request specifics-Howard created as he saw fit. The patriarch of Kustom Kulture, he would go on to implement fabrication standards that live today. And he couldn’t have cared less.
Quirky is a word without justice when Dutch is involved. His idiosyncrasies have added to the legend he attempted in vain to avoid. For a period, the cohort of Steve McQueen left the scene altogether, opting to forge hand made knives and shotguns. He also invented motorized roller skates and a steam powered television. He detested money, and purposely stayed on “the edge of poverty”. He dabbled as a garage philosopher (though unintelligible at times) and painter.
In his later years, Dutch took up residence in the back of his warehouse, eliminating mundane tasks such as travel should inspiration strike. He was known to chase off anyone in a uniform or wielding a clipboard, and once shot at a man-because, reportedly, the offender was from Cleveland.
Today, Von Dutch exemplifies duality. For the twenty something brood, it is a brand, rock n roll couture. For gear heads, it is a man, the godfather of a movement. Whether it’s the Flying Eyeball sticker on a rustic toolbox, or the name emblazoned across the torso on a cotton tee, Kenny Howard and his countless identities have shaken the foundations of our culture forever. And true to his essence, he probably would shrug it off and create something offbeat to all but him.
Reader Comments (5)
really cool
Love this story, first I've heard about the real man. Wonder what he would think of the Von Dutch clothing line?
Great post, though the assertion that Von Dutch was somehow the only reason for a postwar custom car boom is waaaayyyyy wrong. I think that can be attributed to young men returning from war with skills they learned in the army. That, and a plentifulness of used cars and parts.
but otherwise - great post!
One cool cat.
I agree with Gerald's remarks above, concerning the importance of our returning Vets - with new skills in hand - to the overall hot rod movement, but see this observation as taking nothing away from the fact that Von Dutch revived the art of pin striping in his own way, a process that, when combined with the likes of So Cal and other then burgeoning hot rod specialty speed shops, produced something both wild and, unpredictably, wildly productive within the realm of hot rodding in general. In my view, Von Dutch was to a wrench and pin striping brush what Beat writers were to the written word - and certainly no less than that.