Famed Detroit customizer Larry Alexander dies

Larry Alexander, who with his brother Mike ran the famed Alexander Brothers car customizing shop in Detroit, died Wednesday, Aug. 25. He was 79 years old.

The Alexander brothers created dozens of stylized and concept vehicles in the 1950s and '60s--for automakers and private customers--that were featured at auto shows and on the covers of national magazines.

Among them was the Dodge Deora truck, which won the coveted Ridler Award at the 1967 Detroit Autorama--one of three Ridlers won by Larry and Mike Alexander. The Deora was a model for one of the original Hot Wheels cars released in 1968.

Other noted cars from the Alexander Brothers include:

-- The Silver Sapphire, a 1932 Ford Coupe for Clarence Catallo, which was pictured on the cover of "Little Deuce Coupe" by the Beach Boys.

-- The Grasshopper, a 1931 Ford Model A pickup.

-- The Victorian, a 1955 Ford Crown Victoria for Sy Gregorich.

-- The Venturian, a 1956 Chevrolet for Bobby Massaron that won the brothers their first Ridler Award in 1965.

-- The Alexa, a 1964 Ford Galaxie Fastback.

-- Top Banana, a 1923 Ford Model T that won the brothers their third Ridler award in 1969.

The Alexander brothers learned their auto bodywork skills in trade school in the mid 1950s and began working in their father's garage. The business grew quickly and in 1957 the duo opened the original Alexander Brothers Custom Shop in Detroit, one of three locations the business would be based at during its history.

Larry Alexander left the business in 1968 to work as a metal model maker at Ford Motor Co. The business closed in 1969 when the building on Schoolcraft Road in Detroit was razed to make way for freeway expansion. Mike Alexander went to work for Heinz Prechter at American Sunroof Corp.

Services were scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 28., in Westland, Mich.

For more on the Alexander Brothers, go to www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Alexander_Brothers.

View service information at www.griffinfuneralhome.com/_mgxroot/page_10780.php.

By Dale Jewett