Ian Ross was born in Chelsea in 1943. Aged sixteen he first went to Los Angeles, saw an automatic car wash and opened one in Richmond, Britain's first. In 1963 aged nineteen he co-founded Pirate Station Radio Caroline, briefly co-managed The Animals, and met his future wife Bunty Lampson. He moved his family to Los Angeles in 1979 and opened Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace in Hollywood. The place caused a sensation and was closed by the authorities after three years whereupon Ian became a butler in Beverly Hills. In 1988 he returned to England and wrote two books about his adventures, Rocking the Boat and Beverly Hills Butler, both published by Arcadia Books.