"Big Daddy" Ed Roth was an artist, cartoonist, custom car painter, and pinstriper who created the hot-rod icon Rat Fink

Rat Fink

Rat Fink is one of the several hot-rod characters created by one of the originators of Kustom Kulture, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero answer to Mickey Mouse...

 and other extreme characters. As a custom car

Custom car

A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been modified in either of the following two ways. First, a custom car may be altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission. Second, a custom car may be a personal "styling" statement, making the car look...

 builder, Roth was a key figure in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

's Kustom Kulture

Kustom Kulture

"Kustom Kulture" is an American neologism used to describe the artworks, vehicles, hairstyles, and fashions of those who drove and built custom cars and motorcycles in the United States of America from the 1950s through today....

 and hot-rod movement of the late 50's and 1960's. He grew up in Bell, California

Bell, California

Bell is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the west bank of the Los Angeles River and is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles...

, attending Bell High School

Bell High School (Bell, California)

Bell High School is a public high school in Bell, California, United States.The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of District 6 of the Los Angeles Unified School District....

, where his classes included auto shop and art.
Roth is best known for his grotesque caricatures — typified by Rat Fink

Rat Fink

Rat Fink is one of the several hot-rod characters created by one of the originators of Kustom Kulture, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero answer to Mickey Mouse...

 — depicting imaginative, out-sized monstrosities driving representations of the hot rods that he and his contemporaries built.