Sports / Business & brands
Mel Farr
1944–2015 · American football running back, car dealer
Lions running back of 1967–1973 who became Detroit's famous caped TV car dealer, "Mel Farr Superstar", heading the nation's largest Black-owned business in the late 1990s.
- Born
Beaumont, Texas- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 70- Birth name
- Melvin Farr
- Also known as
- Mel Farr Superstar
- Detroit years
- 1967–2015
- Field
- Sports, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
The Lions drafted Farr, a consensus All-American at UCLA, with the seventh overall pick in 1967, and he was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year after his first season at Tiger Stadium. He played seven seasons as a Lions running back and made two Pro Bowls, though injuries shortened his career. Like teammate Lem Barney he was a friend of Marvin Gaye, and in 1970 the two players joined the singer at Motown's Studio B to add the party chatter heard at the start of "What's Going On". After football Farr went into the car business in metro Detroit, and his local TV commercials, in which he appeared in a red cape as "Mel Farr Superstar", made him a household name. By 1998 his dealership group grossed nearly 600 million dollars and was the largest Black-owned business in the United States. He lived in Detroit until his death in 2015.
Highlights
- 1967 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Played for the Lions 1967–1973; two Pro Bowls
- Voice in the background of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On"
- "Mel Farr Superstar" TV ads made him a Detroit celebrity
- His dealership group was the top Black-owned US business in 1998
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1967–1973
Tiger Stadium (site)
Demolished · 1912–1999
The Lions' home throughout his playing career; demolished in 2008–2009.
Recorded here · 1970
Motown Studio B
Status being checked
Where he and Lem Barney added the vocal chatter to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".