1934 Packard sold at auction for $3.63 million. Experts say it wasn't the original car owned by Maybelline owner, Tom Lyle Willimas

During the 1930's and 40's, Tom Lyle, Emery Shaver and Arnold Anderson made up the West Coast branch of the Maybelline Co.  These three men handled the entire Advertising department and produced some of the most artistic photographs of movie stars ever seen. 

Tom Lyle worked with the major film studios, movie stars and ad agency who booked ads in magazines and newspapers seen around the world.  Emery wrote the copy for the ads and created Maybelline's famous slogans. Arnold a creative genius when it came to  touch-up and "before and after" shots, used technicolor to perfect his photos to Tom Lyle's satisfaction. 

Their story is clearly spelled out in my book, The Maybelline Story, but in case you've already read the book and wished for more pictures of Maybelline West, The Villa Valentino and the three men who lived there, here are some rare vintage black and whites.

Tom Lyle and his custom 1934 Packard,
 worth $3.65 million today



Tom Lyle and Emery on the deck, with the 1934 Packard Vee Windshield,  parked in front of the Villa Valentino.

Tom Lyle Williams on the right in California with his lifetime partner Emery and Bud Shaver.

Maybelline West, The Villa Valentino in
 the Hollywood Hills.



The car sold for $3.63 million yesterday.  I ran in to a friend of mine at Pebble yesterday who actually restored 1108-43 and he said it's not the same car.  In his opinion the car appeared to originally have side mounts when he restored it. This would mean it couldn't be Tom's car. He is a good guy and a straight shooter so I take it to the bank.  

This means the Maybelline car is still out there or was destroyed.

Mat Kilkenny

Maybelline Heir, Chuck Williams - BB1 - Has a Passion for fashion when it comes to his Factory 5 Cobra

Charles Allen Williams, aka Chuck - BB1..... with two of the cars from his personal collection. Chuck, like his great-uncle, Tom Lyle Williams, carries on the tradition of collecting EYE CATCHING Automobiles.

Chuck's great uncle, Tom Lyle Williams, with his 1934 Packard.  Tom Lyle worked for several years to save enough money to buy his first car in 1917. The Paige, called the most beautiful car in the world, ignited Tom Lyle's passion for custom cars.

1917 Paige Model 6-51 information

100 Years of Maybelline,  1915 - 2015.....

The Maybelline Story Embraces Vintage Fashion, Make up, Hair, Maybelline Ads, Classic Cars, as well as drama, intrigue History and Real Americana. 

Read about Tom Lyle and his love for beautiful automobiles in the Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.

Be sure to visit my Hilarious Saffrons Rule Blog at http://saffronsrule.com/

Maybelline Heir Bill Williams, AMERICAN CLASSIC, 1977 Clenet, Series 1, number 13 out of 250,

GATSBY AUTOMOBILE click on.

My father, Bill Williams, chose his Series 1 Clenet,
 because it gave him the feeling he had driving in his
 uncle Tom Lyle Willimas, 1934 Packard Victoria.

To a little kid growing up in Chicago,
 his uncles, 1934 Vee Windshield Dietrich Packard 
was a fantasy car.

When Bill turned 16, his Tom Lyle Williams, had this 1940 Packard Victoria, custom made and Bill remembered the thrill of his uncle teaching him how to drive in it. The style, glamour and flash of the Packard was reborn in the Clenet. 

53 year old Bill Williams represented the ideal
 Clenet owner living out the Gatsby Dream.

Clenet Series I, Number 13/250

            In the early 1970’s Alain Clenet had
 a dream to design and build one of the most elegant coach-built automobiles ever produced. He formed a company in Santa Barbara, California with a very small, elite group of craftsmen that helped make his dream a reality.

             
This is a 1977 Series 1 Clenet, Number 13 of 250. Originally purchased by Bill Williams, who recently passed, this car remains a part of his family’s estate.

This particular Clenet is very rare because it was the last car built on a Lincoln Continental running gear and chassis. After 1977 the running gear on the first series cars changed to a Mercury Cougar chassis with a smaller motor, transmission, and suspension. This particular Clenet has the 400 cubic inch engine with the C6 transmission, large breaks and suspension. There
 were many Series I cars that were purchased by celebrities and used in filming movies and TV
 shows.
  

            The car has been in storage for the
 past 7 years and recently went through a preservation
 by Steve Kouracos. Kouracos was one of the original craftsmen at Clenet Coachworks. He set up and managed the body and paint division. The car is 100% original, including the 35 year old lacquer paint job.

            We hope you enjoy viewing this piece of automotive history as much as we love showing and displaying it to others.

-The Williams Family

Specs:

400 cubic inch 2v v-8 engine

Select shift automatic transmission C6

Four-wheel power disc breaks

2.75 rear axle ratio  

Sharrie and Chuck Wiillams BB1, celebrate their great uncle, Tom Lyle Williams 117th Birthday at the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction

Maybelline Family Classic Cars Slideshow

Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction with Sharrie and her Maybelline Cousins.

Sharrie and her cousin Chuck Williams, BB1, Cousin Nancy Williams Fesler and her husband EJ Fesler, toast their great uncle, Tom Lyle Williams, 117th Birthday.

Sharrie, EJ and BB1 at Barrett Jackson Classic
 Car Auction standing next to the Lexus LFA, V10,
8 speed, Carbon Fiber, $375,000 showpiece. 

Cousin Chuck, BB1, owner of REEEEEL Convertibles, was able to speak with George Barris about the Batmobile.   Barris knew what others thought about the car, but that did not change his belief at all!  BB1 was wrong about the price but not the car. BB1, along with George Barris we're on both sides of Right and Wrong but both on the same page.   Barris, designer and owner of the Batmobile believed his car would sell for 4-5 million...He was right... It wound up selling for $4.2 million, to Rick Champagne, of Arizona, for his girlfriend, he said...The Batmobile, was the big
 surprise winner of the entire auction.

Of course the big event for me was seeing the Packard's and comparing to our great uncle Tom Lyle Williams 1934 and 1940 Packard's.

The Packard closest to Tom Lyle Williams 1940 one of a kind Packard Victoria.

Tom Lyle Williams 1934 custom 1934 Vee Windshield Dietrich Packard.

Tom Lyle Williams with his 1940 Packard Victoria.

Tom Lyle Williams 1940 Packard is now owned by Bill Snyder.

MAYBELLINE FOUNDER TOM LYLE WILLIAMS - PACKARD’S VEE-WINDSHIELD REMBRANDTS

Here is an article written by John Kilkenny and his son Matthew Kilkenny about the Packard Vee-Windshield.  Tom Lyle Williams, founder and owner of the Maybelline Company, was one of owners of this rare 1934 automobile.

Tom Lyle Williams with his 1934 Packard Dietrich.

Click little box on the right at the bottom of article to enlarge.

Pebble Packard Dietrich Article

T.L.WILLIAMS 1917 PAIGE DETROIT AND 1934 PACKARD DIETRICH.

Here is one of the articles appearing in the Antique Automobile magazine, about Tom Lyle Williams 1917 Paige Detroit and his 1934 Packard Dietrich - Vee Windshield.

Paige Article Steve Snyder - click on "full screen" in little box below this article to enlarge.

Corrections to this article: 
1 - I have known Bettie Youngs, 5 years not 20.  
2 - The lady driving the Paige isn't Mabel.  Mabel was 25 years old in 1917, the lady in the car is much older. Mabel is in the top picture with Tom Lyle Williams and my grandfather, Preston Williams.
3 -  Mabel never drove a car her entire lifetime.
4 - and her brother didn't give her the Paige.  
Continued tomorrow.

AN EYE-POPPING STATEMENT OF BEAUTY AND LUXURY.

Tom Lyle Williams, had an eye for exquisite motor cars and purchased cars that are today considered some of the best of the classic era.

Tom Lyle Williams, 1939 Packard Super 8 Convertible coupe, with bumper guards and driving lights.

Tom Lyle's car's (pictured below in earlier posts) include..... a 1916 Paige Detroit roadster..... a 1926 Kissel Gold Bug Speedster..... a 1934 Packard Individual Custom Dietrich V-windshield V-12 Sport Sedan..... a 1939 Packard Super 8 Convertible coupe..... and the 1940 Packard Bohman & Schwartz Convertible Victoria we see today.

So ends my 10 day, mini- documentary, on Tom Lyle Williams and his extraordinary, gorgeous, custom automobiles..... hope you enjoyed the ride with us. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for more fun, fascinating stories from The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behindt It.

On the hunt for TL Williams 1934 Packard Dietrich Vee Windshield,.

Tom Lyle Williams loved his family, the Maybelline Company and his Packards.

Tom Lyle with his brother Preston, his sister in law, Evelyn and his nephew Bill Williams top left.  Below he poses with his son Tom Lyle Jr.  Right, Tom Lyle with his 1934 Packard Dietrich Vee Windshield, one of only 4 made.

I recieved this letter about Tom Lyle's 1934 Vee Windshield Dietrich Packard and thought it might be interesting to my Car-Guy readers.   I

Dear Sharrie,


My name is Matthew Kilkenny, a Packard auto historian, and I'm currently writing a book about Custom Packards from the early 1930s including Dietrich custom bodied Packards. Tom Lyle had superb taste in cars as his car is only one of about four ever built in 1934. The goal of my book, because these cars are so rare and beautiful, is to as best I can document the history of each car including the original owner.  Like a Monet or Rembrandt, people a generation or a century from now will want to know the history of these rolling scullptures. I'm trying to document the stories of each of these rare cars such as Tom Lyle's in a definitive book before the stories get lost. The stories are starting to get lost because people that owned rare Dietrich Packards early in their life for example are dying off.


We owe it to future generations to document these beautiful cars as best as possible.  I saw the pictures of the car on your website and I have actually been trying to find more info on this car! I have a photo of Tom Lyle taking the keys to this car from a Packard Salesman. As part of my documentation and figuring out for example, which of the four cars existing today belonged to Tom, I need the "VIN" numbers off of the car. In Tom's archives does he have any sales invoices, registration documents, fireewall plate or other pictures of this car bill of sale who he sold it to and when? This will allow me to figure out which of these cars was Tom's.


As you know it takes so much work to track down leads and do research for a book, but I have moments like this where I personally, or through help of another, get pointed to things such as this and you feel like you make progress! My Dad owns a 1934 Dietrich Conv Sedan similar to Tom's and we have written an article on Dietrichs for the world famous Pebble Beach concours program. I have attached this article. Tom Lyle is in company of Al Jolson and Gene Sarazen, the famous golfer, who also owned rare Vee Windshield Dietrich Packards.


 Best Regards,


Matt Kilkenny


Stay tuned tomorrow for update on Tom Lyle Williams 1940 Packard Victoria, one of two ever made and found at last.