Kurt considered Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) to be a significant artist. Roth created visions of the “hot rod” through cartoons, models and customized car creations, and burnished the image of the hot rod bad-boy through exaggerated, even demonic-looking characters. Kurt loved cars, especially “hot” cars like Ferraris and Maseratis, both of which he owned later in life. The “Firebird” illustration above was sent to Kurt by Ed Roth in 1968. Naturally, Kurt kept it, along with the note on its reverse side and the envelope in which it was delivered.
