# Filmmaker David Lynch ate lunch at Bob's every day for 7 years. He has said the combination of caffeine and sugar from the chocolate shakes and coffee he ordered gave him many ideas for his films. He also recently held a contest on his website where one fan could win a free meal at Bob's with him.
# In the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Dr. Evil and his cat Mr. Bigglesworth make their escape in a cryogenic rocket that is the shape of a statue of Big Boy. Additionally, an alternate ending to the film which was scrapped to allow for a sequel had the Big Boy rocket crash back to Earth due to a malfunction, with Dr. Evil suffering amnesia as a result and subsequently becoming the night manager of aBig Boy restaurant in El Segundo, California.
# Scenes from the 1980 cult classic film Midnight Madness were filmed at the Los Angeles coffee shop Johnie's,[1] whose "Fat Boy" mascot is clearly modeled on Bob's. One character provides laughs by inadvertently duplicating the Big Boy pose.
# The same owners as above also installed their "Fat Boy" mascot at Johnie's Broiler in Downey, California
# Syndicated radio personalities Rick and Bubba had a Big Boy statue outside their former studio, located on a mountain overlooking Birmingham, Alabama. In on-air and Internet promotions, the site was referred to as "Big Boy Bluff." (Ironically, such statues haven't been seen in Alabama for more than two decades because of Shoney's disaffiliation with the trademark.)
# In December of 1993, syndicated Los Angeles radio personalities Mark & Brian attempted to launch a (borrowed) Bob's Big Boy statue, painted with an Evel Knievel jumpsuit and dubbed "Elvis Bob", over the fountain at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. The launch device was a spring tension contraption looking much like a green steel bedframe. The attempt fell about 10 feet short and into the water, sending Caesar's general manager into an obscenity-laced tirade, as Elvis Bob broke part of the fountain. "Elvis Bob" has been used over the years for various other events throughout the L.A. basin, repainted as Vegas Elvis, complete with chains and shades. [2]
# Big Boy was parodied by Frank Miller in his Give Me Liberty comic book series as the Fat Boy restaurant chain, a fast-food franchise that had grown so powerful that it was at war with the United States government.
# Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, MI has a Big Boy Statue done in mosaic on display.
# "Lard Lad Donuts" on The Simpsons is modeled after Bob's Big Boy.
# In the 2004 animated film Shrek 2, Bob's Big Boy was parodied as Friar's Fat Boy.
# The Bob's Big Boy Restaurant in Burbank, CA has a table in the back where the Beatles sat. There was a plaque for many years commemorating this. The plaque is no longer there, as according to store employees, it was beingstolen and replaced often.
# In the film I Am Sam, Sam Dawson is persuaded to visit a Bob's Big Boy instead of their usual IHOP but, in the end, doesn't like the Big Boy's menu.
# In the Futurama episode Leela's Homeworld, Leela, Fry & Bender are chased through the sewers past a "Big Mutant Boy" restaurant (featuring a mutated Big Boy-esque statue).
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