Bert Grimm (1900-1985) started hanging around tattoo shops in Portland Oregon when he was about 12 years old and before long he started tattooing. Grimm was a fixture in the tattoo world for the next 70 plus years. Early in his career, he spent a season with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Over time, he operated shops in places as diverse as China and Chicago, as well as Honolulu, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, Long Beach, St Louis, Portland and Seaside Oregon.
Grimm worked with some of the greats in the business and he’s best remembered today for the shop that he operated at the Nu Pike in Long Beach, CA. from the 1950s to the late 60s. Bert Grimm’s World Famous Tattoo was historic. It was the oldest continuously operated tattoo parlor in the continental United States. Generations of sailors got inked up there before shipping out.
Grimm retired in the small Oregon town of Seaside. But, he was not able to stay away from the tattoo business so he set up a small tattoo shop in his home. In a letter written to Paul Rogers during this time Bert stated that he did about 10 tattoos a week out of his house.