George Barris with the Batmobile.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/BoingBoing)

George Barris, the custom car designer behind the 1966 Batmobile and several other famous Hollywood vehicles, died Thursday. He was 89.

In 1966, he was approached by ABC to make the Batmobile for the new series, Batman. Barris used a Lincoln Futura that he'd stored for a decade as the base of the car, and had a final product ready to go in 15 days for a cost of $15,000. He kept that Batmobile, finally selling it for $4.6 million at auction in 2013. He also designed the Munster Koach from The Munsters; cars featured in The Beverly Hillbillies, Knight Rider, and Mannix; and customized vehicles for the likes of John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Elton John. He is survived by son Brett and daughter Joji.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.