Joe Bailon (March 18, 1923 – September 25, 2017) was an American car customizer credited with creating the paint color Candy Apple Red, which eventually led to a full spectrum of ''candy'' paint colors, each with a metallic base-coat, a transparent color coat, and a final clear coat. Bailon customized such cars as

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian Americans, Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva Gabor, Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Mis ...

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running si ...

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

, and Sammy Davis, Jr.'s,

Chevrolet Vega The Chevrolet Vega is a Subcompact car, subcompact automobile that was manufactured and marketed by General Motors, GM's Chevrolet subdivision from 1970 to 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, station wagon, wagon, and sedan deliver ...

wagon. Joe built the

Oldsmobile Toronado The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmission ...

-powered ''Panthermobile''. He was an inductee of the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame. The ''San Francisco Rod, Custom and Motorcycle Show'' annually gives the ''Joe Bailon Elegance Award'' for the visual appearance of the paint, interior, engine, design, and suspension. The trophy, unique for the award, features a Candy Apple Red apple, painted by Bailon. Bailon, who grew up in

Newcastle, California Newcastle is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, Placer County, California. Nestled in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada foothills, Newcastle is located northeas ...

, as the youngest of ten children, later worked in the

Richmond Shipyards The four Richmond Shipyards, in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards. In World War II, Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard, turning out as many as three ships ...

prior to fighting in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and thereafter turned to customizing cars. He lived in

Auburn, California Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Placer County, California, United States. Its population was 13,776 during the 2020 census. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history and is registered as a California Historical Landmark. Au ...

until his death on September 25, 2017 at the age of 94.

References

*Lackey, Mike. "Joe Bailon." Lima ''Daily News'', 18 September, 2005.

External links

Pink Panther car images from GoogleLearn More About Candy Paints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailon, Joe 1923 births 2017 deaths American industrial designers People from Auburn, California People from Newcastle, California Military personnel from California Vehicle modification people American military personnel of World War II