Descubra Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/pt/interviews/clips/1303/

Sailfish story

Did I tell you the story about the fish?

I*: No, can we record that?

Oh you can, it’s just off the wall thing. But when he was doing the Mako Shark, Bill Mitchell was really into fishing I guess, Bill was his boss at General Motors and they were designing a, they had Larry designing the Mako Shark, which was a show car and it was going to be the next, the precursor to the next Stingray, you know, the next generation of the Stingray.

So Bill wanted the car painted like the shark that he had, not a shark, it was like a, it was some kind of fish. Anyway, and it was on his wall in his office, behind him. I think it was a Sailfish, and you know how they have the blue and the dark blue and then it gets lighter on the bottom I guess. Anyway, he had that and he had this thing and he kept saying, "No, the paint’s wrong." Because they painted this car and they’d come back, "No, it’s not the right color." "No, it’s not the right color." So I guess what happened was, Larry told me that they got into...they came in real early and they got into Bill’s office and stole the fish and repainted the fish to match the car. So there was no...so when Bill looked at it and said, "Hmm, ok." and then looked at the fish, everything was fine.

That’s the way Larry was, he was not just, you know, all serious, all design, all this. I mean he was a fun guy. i mean he had...and he knew, you know, what he had to do to get the job done. So it was kind of a unique story and I think that’s been retold many times. But I asked him about it and he goes, "Yeah, it happened." It happened.

* “I” indicates an interviewer (Akira Boch)


automóveis Bill Mitchell design General Motors (empresa) Larry Shinoda veículos motorizados

Data: September 14, 2011

Localização Geográfica: California, US

Entrevistado: Akira Boch

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Entrevistados

Depois de graduar-se no Ensino Médio em Anaheim, Ron Kusumi colou grau em Cal Poly Pomona e trabalhou na indústria automotiva por 20 anos com empresas como a Nissan e Mitsubishi. Foi enquanto trabalhava em um projeto de desenvolvimento de uma roda de liga de alumínio na Nissan, que Ron conheceu o famoso designer Larry Shinoda, cujos breves comentários sobre o projeto impressionaram Ron, com um olhar vivo e um gênio por conhecer a essência do estilo e função. Os dois compartilhavam uma paixão mútua por carros esportivos e se tornaram amigos. Nos últimos 15 anos, Ron tem conduzido um estúdio de cinema independente em Long Beach, Califórnia, escrevendo, produzindo e dirigindo programas para televisão a cabo. (Setembro de 2012)

Nakamura,Grace Aiko

Larry designing chairs in the camp

Irmã do designer automotivo Larry Shinoda

Nakamura,Grace Aiko

Larry’s fishing skill

Irmã do designer automotivo Larry Shinoda

Nakamura,Grace Aiko

Mother’s reaction to Larry's daredevil racing

Irmã do designer automotivo Larry Shinoda

Nakamura,Grace Aiko

Larry and President Clinton

Irmã do designer automotivo Larry Shinoda

Nakamura,Grace Aiko

Corvette Hall of Fame

Irmã do designer automotivo Larry Shinoda