When Suzanne Somers first got the part in Graffiti, George Lucas remarked, that everyone will always remember the girl in the Thunderbird. And, he was right. When one thinks about the mysterious blonde young lady in Graffiti who has Richard Dreyfuss chasing her all over town, they remember her primo wheels too: "A white T-bird, ya understand?"
The story of the famous movie car dates back 8 years before production began. Owners Clay and May Daily originally bought the Thunderbird convertible in 1964 from a used car dealership in San Bernardino, CA. They paid $1,000 for the used car, ( A new one in '56 retailed for about $3,100). At the time of purchase the car's stock white color had been re-painted Fiesta red. When the Daily's moved north to Petaluma, CA, the car was hit from behind. When the car was repaired the Daily's had it re-painted to it's original color, white.
May would often drive the car to the Sears store in downtown Petaluma where she worked. It was there that the car was first spotted by Graffiti Transportation Manager, Henry Travers. Clay remembers, "When May left for home there was a piece of a brown paper bag under the wiper. On the bag was a note asking if we would like to have the car in a movie. She thought it was a joke and almost tossed the paper. She decided to bring it home and when I read it I also thought it was a joke as it was signed and said to call Lucas Films. We had never heard of Lucas Films, but decided to call." To their surprise, it turned out to be someone on the Graffiti film crew and they really wanted to use the car. So, they agreed to rent out their T-bird for filming. An agreement was signed stating they would be paid a one time price of $25.00 a night for about 6 nights of filming, and an additional $75.00 for the day shot.
Although the shooting script for Graffiti refers to a blonde in the yellow T-bird, the Dailys were not asked to repaint their precious ride yellow to match the script. And, good thing too, because in the film, the white color of the car serendipitously adds to the ghost-like mystery of the T-Bird and it's beautiful blonde driver. |
