Mystery Friday Foto #52 Solved: The ‘Case Super Special Speedster’
Did you identify the rare and unusual 'Case Super Special Speedster' forwarded from the Himes Estate Collection?
Identify;
- The custom, one-off vehicle (Hint: The automobile has been featured a few times on this website when seen in Bridgehampton)
'The Beast', as it was known as later on, was an interesting, one-off custom built vehicle built on a surplus WW2 Jeep.
- The owner (and his profession) seated in the driver's seat
Russ Case (March 19, 1912 – October 10, 1964) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, conductor, songwriter, and arranger who led jazz and light music orchestras.
Case was born in Hamburg, Iowa. His professional career began when he was hired at WOC (AM) in Davenport, Iowa to arrange and play trumpet with local bands on broadcasts. He worked with Frankie Trumbauer in Chicago and Paul Whiteman in New York City, then was hired by NBC to arrange for radio and television. He led orchestras which accompanied broadcasts of singers such as Peggy Lee, Eddy Arnold and Julius LaRosa, but became best known for directing ensembles behind Perry Como, including on his hit single "Till the End of Time". The song was written by lyricist Buddy Kaye and composer Ted Mossman and published in 1945.
Case lent his name to dozens of light orchestral albums which were released in the 1950s, and arranged for The Jackie Gleason Show in the 1960s. He also served as conductor for cast recordings of musicals such as Finian's Rainbow, The King and I, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, and Oklahoma!. He died, aged 52, in Miami in 1964.
- What were the two nicknames for this vehicle?
Originally nicknamed the "Case Super Special Speedster" for original owner Russ Case, it was later changed to 'The Beast' when the car was purchased by Chuck Kotchan, who painted it in a Grand Prix Motors livery and used it as a tow vehicle, (see 1951 video below)
- Approximate year of the photo, provide a rationale
The vehicle was built from a surplus WW2 Jeep making it no earlier than 1946-47. The car was featured in the December 1948 Science and Mechanics Magazine, (watch for a future post) but sold shortly thereafter as Case did not keep the car very long. The car was sold to Chuck Kotchan around 1950. Being Case is sitting in the driver's seat during his ownership, one can presume this photo is 1948/1949.
- Where is it today?
The car has been lost to history as many one-off custom cars do. It's whereabouts are unknown, but it would be neat if it was discovered somewhere in a barn or field.
Comments (1)
'The Beast' photo has seemingly stumped most everyone... but not Steve Lucas! Congrats on this difficult mystery foto Steve!
Greg O.
'The Beast' as seen in it's post-1950 Grand Prix Motors livery.
Owner Close-up
'The Beast' on the cover of the December 1948 Science and Mechanics Magazine (Keep an eye out for a future post for the feature article in the magazine)
'The Beast' can be seen quickly at the 0:07 mark in this 1951 Bridgehampton film which was provided by Walter McCarthy and the Long Island Old Car Club and had not been seen for over 25 years.
Comments
That’s a custom built one-of-a-kind tow-car used for towing an EFFYH racer at the 1951 Bridgehampton race. It was originally built for Russ Case, bandleader, song writer, composer, trumpeter and musical arranger for the old Jackie Gleason show. He sold it to race car driver Chuck Kotchan, who owned the above mentioned EFFYH racer. Regarding nicknames, I actually found three: “Case Super Special Speedster”; “The Beast”; and “The Bullet”. I think the date of the photo is probably 1950 or 1949 when Case still owned it. Could not find any info about its current location.
Interesting car, Greg! And congratulations to Master Mystery Photo Solver, Steve Lucas!
Very interesting life of the car’s owner, Russ Case. Lots written about him, especially his music career. I found a 1962 newspaper cartoon by American cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo depicting an auto race in which Hatlo thanks Russ Case. I’m not sure of the connection except that in Hatlo’s cartoon series, “They’ll Do it Every Time”, thanks were often given to I’m presumably someone related to the cartoon.
Art,
That was how Jimmy Hatlo thanked the person who submitted the idea for the cartoon. Hatlo was especially popular in the 1940’s and 50’s. I only know this because my Grandfather submitted a story to Hatlo in the late 40’s about how he was a respected engineer at Sperry on Long Island, but at home his family didn’t even think he could hang a picture. My mother still has the framed original Hatlo artwork for the papers that Hatlo would also send back to the submitter as a souvenir of being printed in the newspaper.
Thanks Greg, I’ll look to see if there’s any newspapers that carried the Hatlo cartoon suggested by your grandfather. You never know! What was your grandfather’s name?