Larry Stevenson was remembered by family and friends this morning at the Venice Breakwater. Stevenson, the inventor of the skateboard “kicktail”, died of Parkinson’s Disease on March 25th in Santa Monica at the age of 81.
Photographs by Ray Rae.
Stevenson, who attended Venice High School, Santa Monica College and USC, was also a lifeguard here in Venice Beach in the 50′s. In 1969, Stevenson added the “kicktail” and then the “double kicktail” to skateboards, which were until that point flat pieces of wood. The kicktail, combined with the invention of urethane wheels, created modern skateboarding as we know it.
