Real or fake: 250 GTO in Rockford Files?

In the early 70's a GTO would have gone for $15 - 20K ish... depending on provenance. Back then a Daytona would have set you back $15-18K ... so they were still expensive, but not in ratio to today. they were still just old racing cars, mostly handled by enthusiasts and older racing / club drivers.... I remember seeing an ad in Road & Track around 1975, for a Ferrari 250 SWB - in California ( I lived in PA ) for $7,580!!! it needed an engine overhaul.

 

I don't think Claudio Z ever owned this car. He was a mechanic for Stu Baumgard, M.D., in those days, and I have seen him drive it for Stu. The two guys referred to were in the clothing biz (jeans); David Gaon was one of them. Somehow I've forgotten the name of the other. The memory is the second thing to go; I forget what the first is! I remember when Walt McCune was getting ready to build a replica we went over to the clothing warehouse with a supply of newspapers and duct tape and made a rough female mold of the body of this GTO. (The replica turned out all wrong as the body builders in Italy ended up copying a GTO in their shop which turned out to have been poorly rebodied, and had to be re-rebodied!).

 

There's a picture of 3987GT during the time Stephen Mitchell had in the vid/interview Ferrari GTO in Paris.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQFjdRR2wTU[/ame]

 

It's the GTO with the lights on the roof.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md_jcC6OnIU[/ame]

 

My father never owned any Ferrari but would occasionally drive the ones that I bought—two Lussos, the GTO and a couple others. The money came to me from an insurance settlement after I survived a car accident--<http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-12.html>--and from earnings doing extra work and small parts in films. I was also buying Bentleys in London and selling them in Los Angeles at a decent profit at the time. Gary Wales and I used to help each other when either his cars or mine would arrive at the docks in San Pedro. Later, I included Italy on my itinerary buying Maseratis there for resale. John Andrews, Peter Helm, Matthew Ettinger and Gary Wales were great friends and I’ve known them all through the years and up to the present. Any doubts about this, ask them. Two of them can be contacted on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/matthewettinger
http://www.facebook.com/Garywalescars

As to my “…tall tales about his many films he supposedly made, despite his absence from IMDB”, all of them were independently produced for TV, cable and cassette markets world-wide before IMDB existed with one exception. By the time I began using a computer in 2000, all of the masters and production stills and records for my films, not to mention a great quantity of personal belongings and mementos, were lost owing to a “misunderstanding” with a women I had divorced in 1997. I thought “I’ll put everything in storage” meant “I’ll put everything in storage”. Instead, it was all hauled away in a dumpster never to be seen again.

IMDB will not accept a listing for a project that cannot list a distributor. Of all my films, the only distributor I knew personally—DB Media which funded and released Dead Right and was owned by the DiBari brothers—had gone out of business and the DB Media name has since been adopted by a different company. I had no direct dealings with other distributors as a series of producer reps made sales for me by attending film markets around the world and passed money through to me as licensing fees came in from the various countries. Incidentally, DB Media was going to ‘franchise’ my Interview series but stopped conducting business before they could launch the campaign. Here is a photo of their brochure for the series: <http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150632215174335&set=a.10150456705554335.373410.700074334>

I have never put anything on IMDB though Charlie Evans, Jr. added my co-producer credit on Addiction Incorporated--<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1735495/fullcredits#cast>--and someone else added my writing, producing and directing credit on Carrera Panamericana (1950-54)-- <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2379739/fullcredits>.

And in spite of “…tall tales about his many films he supposedly made, despite his absence from IMDB” these movies—independently made though they were—left traces and people who were involved in the making of them are still around. Here is the list of movies and shows to which I lay claim. Beneath each title and date are Facebook links to actors and others who participated in making these projects with whom I am still in touch and the “tall tales” can be verified with any or all of them. Some titles also have links to clips of footage that was kindly furnished by some of the actors in the various projects who had learned that my possessions had been ‘lost at sea’ and contributed their personal VHS footage for digital conversion. On a few titles, nothing remains.

1979 Monmartre
Clip: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHUsoYUqEl8[/ame]
1980 The French Chef (TV pilot)
1980 Desert Center
Lead actor: http://www.facebook.com/gismaelle
1980 Success
Lead actor: http://www.facebook.com/gismaelle
1981 Fait Accompli
Lead actor: http://www.facebook.com/gismaelle
Music composer: http://www.facebook.com/bunnybrunel
1982 Ladies & Gentlemen
Lead actor: Patrick Tanzillo (no links)
1984 Terminal Velocity (not the Buena Vista film of 1994 of the same title)
Actor: Joel Hile: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383940/
Actress: www.margaretasjodin.com
Actress: http://www.facebook.com/kathicarey
1985 Woman on the Beach
Actress: www.margaretasjodin.com
Actress: http://www.facebook.com/kathicarey
1985-2001 Interview, TV (500 half-hour episodes)
Clips, L.A. Herald-Examiner review and info: http://sminterviewseries.blogspot.com/
1986 To the One Who Knew and Loved Me
1988 Bleeder & Bates
Cover art: http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2011/06/bleeder-bates.html
Actor: http://www.facebook.com/gregory.brown.56614
Actor: http://www.facebook.com/kip.parrott
Actress: http://www.facebook.com/kathicarey
Actress: http://www.facebook.com/lea.lashaway
1990 Dead Right
Actor: http://www.facebook.com/gregory.brown.56614
Actor: http://www.facebook.com/kip.parrott
Actress: http://www.facebook.com/kathicarey
Actor: http://www.facebook.com/matthewettinger
1994 Double Cross
Lead actress: http://www.facebook.com/kathicarey
1996 Confessions TV (six half-hour episodes)
Clip, L.A. Daily News article and info: http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2011/02/confessions.html
1997 Clip Joint, TV (13 half-hour episodes)
Clip: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFna0QBC8v8[/ame]
Clip: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY3-uvXcHWQ[/ame]
Lead actor: http://www.facebook.com/duke.maltin
Composer: http://www.facebook.com/michael.chanslor
1998- 2004 The Jerry Fairfax Show, TV (170 half-hour episodes)
Lead actor: http://www.facebook.com/michael.chanslor
2004 Point of Departure
Clip: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=166Cqp613DM[/ame]
Composer: http://www.facebook.com/michael.chanslor

Matthew Ettinger, who owned the Ferrari Breadvan during the time I owned the GTO, was not only a Ferrari friend but turned in a very good performance as an actor in my film Dead Right. None of my films were mainstream Hollywood studio productions. I was able to make a living using the ‘guerrilla’ filmmaking techniques of the French New Wave facilitated by the repertory company for film & TV which I created and ran for twenty years that developed, branded and managed the members. This explains why the same actors appeared in several films over the years.

Claudio Zampolli never owned 3987. I sold it to Alain de Cadenet but it never left the country. In fact, the car remained in my possession for a period during his ownership and prior to its sale to Stuart Baumgard. Stuart and I were in Virginia City and Claudio merely drove 3987 in the hillclimb. I was in a 454 Corvette ill-suited for the occasion.
http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2010/05/foc-virginia-city-hill-climb.html

This is the history of 3987 as I know it to be with (most of) the errors and omissions made by Barchetta corrected: http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2012/01/ferrari-gto-history-of-sn-3987_03.html

As to the vents seen in the Rockford photograph, they are exactly as they appeared on 3987 while I owned it: <http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150456905239335&set=a.10150456705554335.373410.700074334&type=>

 

1. S. Mitchell entered the world of Ferraris when most of us are just dreaming of getting our first car; something like 18 as I recall. He had a Lusso before the GTO. 2. Zampolli never owned this car; he was Stu's driver. 3. Yes, they were just used cars in the late 70's. Several changed hands at around $5,000, which was peanuts in the world of movie-making. 4. Don't remember brokering this car, but then I'm lucky if I remember to tie my shoe laces these days.

 

Stephen-- welcome back!

 

Incredible cars, stories and people. Thank you all for sharing your life experiences.

 

Here's a facebook to the space shuttle.....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Space-Shuttle/34594777034?fref=ts

Prove I wasn't on it! For reference: I was the one wearing the blue denim shirt and Nurse Reeboks.

 

For the record, Jedi, you are 100,000,000% incorrect.

 

Agreed. Stephen has owned an amazing automobile or two and I love hearing about them (especially since I would've done the exact same thing with a little cash in my pocket at the time).

Duke it out somewhere else..

 

In the mid 70's I was in the Alfa Owners of New England and one of the members brought his silver 250 GT SWB to a car show at Larz Andersen (License plate read: "Va Bene") and told me how he bought it off a friend of his who was in financial distress. As he told it,the conversation went like this:

Friend: "Bob, I need some money fast, can you buy my Ferrari?"

Bob: "I don't have very much money right now."

Friend: "Well, how much do you have in your checking account?"

Bob: "Around $3,500."

Friend: "Sold!"

During that same period, I went to college in Boston with a friend from the midwest by the name of Courtney Spindler who seemed to have some family money. Aside from hanging around with him drinking Famous Grouse scotch at his rented house in Dover, I remember when he tried to convince his father to buy him a Lusso that he found for sale for $8,000. I'm not sure exactly why his father said no, but Courtney's grades weren't that good at the time, so maybe that was a factor.

As much as those Ferrari prices in the mid 70's seem like screaming bargains now, back then it was still a lot of money. My budget in those days allowed me to buy a four year old Triumph TR-250 for something like $1,500 borrowed from my father. In 1976 I bought an Alfa Berlina sedan and then a GTV coupe in 1978, just in time for my honeymoon.

 

I'm not so sure it was as much a case of bickering as defending himself against an accusation. Frankly one that should have been thought out a little more before being posted.

George

 

The GTO in Rockford Files was my car and was 'REAL'. This car (3987) is now owned by Ralph Lauren.

James Garner was a patient, and a close friend, and asked me if I would be willing to let him use the car in one of his episodes and I let him do so.

Stuart

 

Spencer Stillman? 'Chemin de Fer' Jeans.

 

Cool! Thank you for posting. Any more stories of the old days?

 

Thanks for stopping in! I saw this car race at Sebring in 1963...Mecom Racing Team with Penske and Pabst up. Class winners....in every sense of the phrase.

 

Dear Ed, It's been a long time.

The other guy you were referring to was David Gaon.

Best Regards, Stuart Baumgard

 

Thanks Stuart, very nice to hear from the former owner!


Onno

 

Same GTO in the Santa Monica Mountains?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VCfItWwi2V8

Freeman