Harley Earl lived from 1893 to 1969 and has certainly gone down in the history books as one of the most important figures in automotive design. He made a big splash at GM when he joined them in 1927 and designed the 1927 La Salle.
He headed GM's Art and Colour Section for decades and was in charge of styling. He signed off on Frank Hershey's design of the 1948 Cadillac (the tail fins were Hershey's idea). He personally designed the original Corvette in 1953.
For a really nice web site devoted to the biography and accomplishments of Harley Earl, Click here .
updated November 15th, 2001 by Jan Chciuk-Celt