Tattoo Icon Lyle Tuttle Passes Away at 87-Years-Old

On March 26th, 2019 tattoo icon Lyle Tuttle passed away in his sleep at the age of 87. Tuttle was born on October 7th, 1931 and raised in Ukiah, California. Tuttle received his first tattoo at the age of 14, for $3.50, which in today’s market has a value of $50. He began tattooing in 1949, working for Bert Grimm, and in 1954, Tuttle opened his first tattoo studio in San Francisco. During his lifetime, Tuttle tattooed a number of celebrities, including Janis Joplin, Cher, and the Allman Brothers. In October of 1970, Tuttle was on the cover of Rolling Stone and became the first artist to tattoo on all seven continents. Tuttle retired from tattooing in 1990, however, he was known to tattoo his signature onto friends and acquaintances after the fact.

Tuttle passed away at his Ukiah home and his family announced on his Instagram that a service would be held on March 30th, 2019 at the Eversol Funeral Home. 

Since his passing was announced on social media, many notable figures in the tattoo industry have paid their respect. Take a look at the tremendous impact Tuttle had on the tattoo world in the gallery below and let us know your thoughts on his legacy in the comments section.