1933 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe

This Duesenberg, with chassis number 2421 and engine J-386, was custom-built for Roy del Ruth, the Hollywood producer of many films from the 1920s to the 1950s. This example features a very delicate polished belt line that continues around the entire car, ending at the grille shell. This fully disappearing top convertible coupe is the second body to grace this chassis; it was replaced in period. This is the only long-wheelbase Model J Convertible Coupe Disappearing Top Roadster with Bohman & Schwartz coachwork. It has been owned by the Harrah Auto Collection in Reno, Nevada, the Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California, and Las Vegas' Imperial Palace.

Of the 32 or so coachbuilders Duesenberg consigned to build custom bodies for the Model J, the most productive was the Walter M. Murphy Company, which was responsible for an estimated 140 of the 488 production total. Yet with all this success and the design talent that included Herb Newport, Phil Wright and Franklin Hershey, the Murphy Co. would fail in 1932, an early casualty of the Great Depression. Up from the ashes, Murphy veterans Chris Bohman and Maurice Schwartz created a leaner boutique firm of their own name. It was located in Pasadena and much of its work focused on modernizing coachwork on existing motorcars. Some of their work involved adding a few embellishments, while other jobs included working from a completely fresh canvas. For the Duesenberg chassis, Bohman & Schwartz would work their craft on 14 examples, 10 of which began as creations of other coachbuilders, later improved by Bohman & Schwartz.

The original owner of this car was Marie Dressler. Dressler appeared in more than 20 films between 1927 and 1933. It was given LeBaron coachwork with a seven-passenger convertible berline body that easily covered the long wheelbase chassis. Dressler passed away in 1934 from cancer and soon after, it was acquired by Roy Del Ruth, who commissioned Bohman & Schwartz to upgrade the coachwork to the convertible coupe body style it wears today.