Annual World of Wheels show features celebrities, custom creations
Actor Paul LeMat has appeared in almost 50 films and TV shows in the past 30 years, but he's best known for his role as John Milner in the 1973 classic comedy-drama "American Graffiti."
He earned a Golden Globe award for most promising newcomer in the Hollywood hit that helped launch the careers of Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss. LeMat's claim to fame in the movie, directed by George Lucas, was a drag-race scene in which his canary yellow '32 Ford deuce coupe narrowly edged out Ford's character Bob Falfa's '55 Chevy.
LeMat and his cool car will be featured at the 46th annual Advance Auto Parts World of Wheels show this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. He says the original hot rod now belongs to Rick Figari, a San Francisco fireman and car collector. Also displayed will be the '68 red Camaro LeMat drove in "Aloha Bobby and Rose," a lesser-known 1975 release.
The actor says he's having fun meeting fans, signing autographs and selling "American Graffiti" scripts and DVDs as the World on Wheels show travels around the country. The shows have drawn crowds that LeMat says represent "a bigger turnout than I expected. Hot-rod people remember that movie. Its popularity is a phenomenon."
Besides appearing at custom-car shows, he says he is working with a producer on the West Coast who is writing a script for an updated hot-rod movie, "Hot Rod Angel," in which he hopes to star.
A car that is famous to a much younger audience also will be part of the World on Wheels show. Lightning McQueen, the lovable free-spirited racer from the hit animated Disney/Pixar Studios movie, "Cars," has been generating a buzz wherever "he" appears, says Larry Way, public relations spokesman for the touring show.
"Kids are bringing gifts and coloring pictures for Lightning and waiting in long lines to have their pictures taken with him," Way says. "It's so neat because it's such a family attraction."
Way says the car was one of five models built for Disney by EP Industries in El Segundo, Calif., after the movie came out. The hero of the fictional Piston Cup Series boasts big Goodyear tires, air deflectors on the trunk and roof, a smiling grille and big blue eyes on the windshield.
Besides the big-name attractions rolling into the Convention Center, some 250 cars and their owners, many from Western Pennsylvania, will be showing off their custom creations, according to Sean Ulanowicz, of Blawnox, co-chairman of the event with his dad, Bob Ulanowicz, of O'Hara.
"The great thing about World on Wheels is that people will start in late summer or early fall building a car specifically for this show," Sean Ulanowicz says. A special Steel City Award of Excellence will be presented for cars debuting this weekend.
He says among those displaying their hand-built vehicles will be John Kaiser, of Indiana Township, whose "Terrible Truck" that pays tributes to the Steelers of the 1970s is a replica of a 1923 Mack C Cab. His vehicle will be the backdrop for weekend appearances by Steeler veterans Dwight White from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, and Mel Blount from 3-5 p.m. Sunday.
One of the new additions this year will be a charity auction of household items decorated by a group of about 25 auto pinstriping artists from around the country.
"We've been working for three years trying to get this together," he says. "These are amazing artists who are donating their time and materials for this event." Proceeds will benefit the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, he says.
Also making guest appearances on Saturday will be NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd from 2-4 p.m., and WWE superstar Rey Mysterio from 6-8 p.m.
Ulanowicz says as many as 30,000 car enthusiasts are expected to attend World on Wheels during its three-day run.
Additional Information:
46th annual Advance Auto Parts World of Wheels
When: 3-10 p.m. Friday.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $13; $5 for ages 6-12, free for age 5 and younger. Opening-night discount coupons available at Advance Auto Parts stores
Where: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown
Details: 412-487-8348
