Notable Blackhawk owners
The very first Blackhawk sold was purchased by Elvis Presley on October 9, 1970, for $26,500. This was the second Blackhawk prototype, as built by Officine Padane (the first one, built by Ghia, was driven by James O'Donnell himself). Frank Sinatra had vied with Presley for the car. Sinatra was offered the second prototype on the condition that the distributor, Jules Meyers, could show the car at the LA Auto Show, and get publicity photos with Sinatra upon delivery. Sinatra declined, but Presley accepted and ended up with the car. Presley had it customized by George Barris after purchase. In January 1971, Presley had a mobile telephone installed for $1,467.50. In July 1971, a hired driver destroyed the car. Distributor Jules Meyers offered $1,000 for the wreck, but Presley declined and put the wrecked car in storage. It was only restored, with non-original parts, after his death and can now be seen at the Graceland museum. Presley bought at least three more Blackhawks and leased one other (he bought a black 1971 for himself and a white 1971 for his Las Vegas doctor, Elias Ghanem, and leased a white 1972 and a black 1973, his favorite Blackhawk, which he purchased at the end of the lease; this 1973 car is also on display at Graceland).[9][10]
Other famous owners included Dick Martin (1971), Lucille Ball (who got her 1971 Blackhawk as a gift from her husband Gary Morton with a dash plaque saying I Love Lucy - Gary), Sammy Davis Jr. (who owned two 1972, one for himself and one for his wife), Dean Martin (who owned three and crashed his 1972 Blackhawk with vanity plate DRUNKY), Robert Goulet (1972), Evel Knievel (1974), Wilson Pickett (1974), Luigi Colani (1974), Lou Brock (1974), Johnnie Taylor (1975), Johnny Cash (1975), Curd Jürgens and Willie Mays[11] (1977), Erik Estrada (1978), Larry Holmes (1982), as well as Jerry Lewis, Charley Pride, Liberace, Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Tom Jones, Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Al Pacino, Wayne Newton, Barry White, and H.B. Halicki. The Shah of Iran reportedly owned twelve of them. Stutz collector Ken Ramsey owns at least ten Blackhawks.[12]
Each car included a dash plaque naming its original owner.
Fictional owners
- Nikki Sixx (played by Douglas Booth) in the 2019 Mötley Crüe biopic Netflix film The Dirt, drives a black 1974 Stutz Blackhawk.
- Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski (played by Michael Keaton) in the movie Night Shift appears not to drive a Blackhawk but a 1981 Stutz IV-Porte sedan.
- In the movie 8mm, James Gandolfini's character Eddie Poole has a black Stutz Blackhawk.
- In the movie Never Die Alone, DMX's character King David owns a Stutz Blackhawk, which is then inherited by David Arquette's character Paul Paskoff.
- In an episode of Dragon Ball GT features the appearance of an escape vehicle with a remarkable likeness to the Stutz Blackhawk.
- In an episode of Columbo, ('Forgotten Lady', episode), John Payne's character Ned Diamond drives a white Stutz Blackhawk.[13]
