Slim Barnard

The first show was aired on October 15, 1963, and the program has been a smashing success every since.

Lawrence Carter "Slim" Barnard was born in Babylon, New York and raised and educated in Winchester, Massachusetts. Almost from the beginning, it was evident that he had that special something that would somehow distinguish him from other men. A six-foot, three-inch New Englander of boundless energy, his friends nicknamed him "Slim" because they were certain that his continual activity would always keep him thin. A self-made man, Slim Barnard has been a success at everything he has put his hand to. Until 1961 he wrote a popular weekly column for the Los Angeles Examiner called, "Slim's Pickins. " And since that time, he has stood at the helm of Slim Barnard Enterprises which produces the vastly successful television show, "The Happy Wanderers. "But it wasn't always this way and Slim remembers the early years when he came west. He arrived in Texas as a wide-eyed youth of eighteen and witnessed the Battle of Juarez. Crouching on a rooftop, he observed the protracted struggle between The Renegade Pancho Villa and the Mexican Army. These were the years of growth for both the West and Slim and adventure was never very far away.

He continued his weekly column which ran right up to his retirement in 1961. For the first time in his life, Slim took a breather but it didn't last long. He wasn't a man to "take it easy" and the idle hours soon prompted him to accept a position as Public Relations Counsel for the Los Angeles and Southern California Motor Car Dealers' Association. His followers and fans hadn't read a decent travelogue since his retirement and a small group of friends approached him with the idea of filming them. He had worked hard all his life and was reluctant to risk the nest egg he had saved on such a venture. But his last objection was quickly dispelled when his friends presented him with a check for $50,000 as an indication of the confidence and faith they had in him. He immediately set up Slim Barnard Enterprises, Inc. , and began the business of putting together a series of television travelogues.

Now he was creating competition for his old firm and in 1934, the Examiner wooed him back to head-up their Automotive Department.

In 1932, the rival Daily News offered him a job as Automotive Editor and he accepted. Immediately he launched into a series of motorlogues which were both a sightseeing tour and a critical evaluation of new cars.

And in 1922 he met the beautiful Henrietta Seipp and they were married shortly thereafter. The early years were not easy but he managed to land a $12 a week job as a salesman in the Classified Department of the Los Angeles Examiner. He called on automotive people and quickly became familiar with the industry.

In 1921, he moved to Redondo Beach, California and put in a short stint as a bit actor.

In 1919 he landed a berth as a mechanic on one of the cars in the El Paso to Phoenix Road Race. Dust flying in his face, he rode the entire race pumping air into the gas tank of a Stutz Bearcat as it bounded over four hundred miles of unpaved desert road. Slim vividly recalls the experience and laughs heartily when he speaks about the winner of that race who averaged a scant 48 m. p. h. through the sage brush and sand. For a time, he rode fence on an Arizona cattle ranch and slept under the stars.