Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cal Worthington Legendary Car Salesman DEAD AT 92
TMZ ^ | 09/09/2013 | TMZ

Posted on 09/09/2013 12:28:25 PM PDT by kingu

Cal Worthington -- the legendary car dealer who became famous for his "Go see Cal" TV commercials has gone on to that great used car lot in the sky, TMZ has learned.

Worthington -- who had dealerships in Long Beach, CA, Anchorage, Alaska, Phoenix, Houston, Sacramento and other cities -- died Sunday at his ranch in California.

(Excerpt) Read more at tmz.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Local News
KEYWORDS: ads; autosales; cal; calworthington; cardealer; goseecal; longbeach; mydogspot; obituary; spot; worthington
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last
To: kingu; abigail2; AgThorn; al baby; BAW; bboop; BenLurkin; Bob J; Bon of Babble; Brad's Gramma; ...
SoCal Ping!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Attention Southern Californians



Please ping me with any Southern California related articles. Thank you!

If you want on or off this ping list, please FReepmail me.

41 posted on 09/09/2013 2:10:37 PM PDT by EveningStar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: kingu

Thank you for the ping. :)


42 posted on 09/09/2013 2:11:56 PM PDT by EveningStar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Lx
He flew B-17s for 29 missions and was an acrobatics champion.

Wow. Worthington really has my respect. You had to be extremely skilled... and fortunate... to survive 29 missions in a B-17. The Memphis Belle became a household name after completing 25 missions, although her crew actually flew 4 more missions in other aircraft.

43 posted on 09/09/2013 2:13:27 PM PDT by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: justlurking

I disagree, many early 70’s models are worth big money.


44 posted on 09/09/2013 2:13:35 PM PDT by esoxmagnum (The rats have been trained to pull the D voting lever to get their little food pellet)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: kingu

RIP.


45 posted on 09/09/2013 2:13:47 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: kingu

Rest in peace, Cal. You were a fixture of my youth in SoCal.


46 posted on 09/09/2013 2:22:36 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: a fool in paradise

Oh man.....Ralph Williams Ford. Boy, does that bring back memories. I used to hate that guy .. LOL

Most obnoxious car salesman ever.


47 posted on 09/09/2013 2:26:16 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: kingu

I remember seeing his commercials on cable TV in New Mexico back in 1973. What a hoot!

I had a friend from Los Angeles who said Worthington was a real shyster when it came to selling cars.

There was a movie about 1974, FREEBE AND THE BEAN in which there is one scene in which you can hear in the background “Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal”.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071521/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I remember him walking his pig, various other animals, even saw him do some wing walking on an airplane. But he DID NOT walk the lion he had on the set once. It was still caged while the “Go see Cal” theme played. He may have been a shyster but he was no dummy!


48 posted on 09/09/2013 2:36:06 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: a fool in paradise

Actually, Cal Worthington’s advertisements were a parody of Ralph Williams. Instead of Ralph’s dog Storm, it was Cal’s “dog” Spot.


49 posted on 09/09/2013 2:36:15 PM PDT by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: kingu

Loved the commercials as a kid.


50 posted on 09/09/2013 2:37:17 PM PDT by Fledermaus (Note to the NSA: I approved this dissention. What are you going to do about it Punks?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lx; All
Cal had quite a distinguished military career. I like him more now.

Worthington served in the United States Army in World War II, flying for the Army Air Corps. He served as a Second Lieutenant and was the aerobatics champion at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. During the war, he served as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 390th Bomber Group, flying 29 missions over Germany, and was discharged after the war as a captain. He was awarded the Air Medal five times. He was also a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was presented to him by Jimmy Doolittle. Worthington's military service was revisited during the 21st century in articles in aviation magazines, for his role in having trained individuals who later became some of America's earliest astronauts.

51 posted on 09/09/2013 2:43:12 PM PDT by South40
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: justlurking

“Actually, Cal Worthington’s advertisements were a parody of Ralph Williams. Instead of Ralph’s dog Storm, it was Cal’s “dog” Spot.”

Storm the German shepherd was Chick Lambert’s dog, not Ralph Williams. Lambert was the general manager.


52 posted on 09/09/2013 3:22:28 PM PDT by chrisinoc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: kingu
RIP, Cal Worthington. Even as a kid watching late-night TV, I always got a kick out of your commercials. You'd stand on your head to beat all deals! Thanks for the fun.
53 posted on 09/09/2013 3:24:26 PM PDT by Finny (Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. -- Psalm 119:105)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lx

Makes me like him even more. God bless Cal Worthington. Cal, thanks for fighting to defend my freedom. May you rest snug and secure in the love of the Lord.


54 posted on 09/09/2013 3:28:04 PM PDT by Finny (Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. -- Psalm 119:105)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: kingu
I remember his commercials from the late 1970s in Phoenix. Cal would “stand on his head till his ears turned red” to sell you a car!
55 posted on 09/09/2013 3:35:55 PM PDT by 4yearlurker (Democrats + Unions + Corruption= Detroit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
If Cal Worthington was such a shyster, how did he stay in business for as long as he did?

I kinda have a hunch that ol' Cal provided cheap, decent wheels for generations of people, repeat customers, referrals, year after year, decade after decade. Fly-by-night operations are the only venues in which shysters can survive. Cal Worthington's was the opposite of a fly-by-night operation. On the contrary, it probably outlasted 90 percent of its competitors over the decades. Stability and consistency are hardly the marks of "real shysters."

56 posted on 09/09/2013 3:39:15 PM PDT by Finny (Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. -- Psalm 119:105)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: 4yearlurker

Anybody remember “Big Johns Appliance Store” commercials in the early 1960s in the Phoenix area? His washers and dryers were “solid porcelain.”


57 posted on 09/09/2013 3:40:21 PM PDT by 4yearlurker (Democrats + Unions + Corruption= Detroit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: EveningStar

Just heard this— grew up hearing Go See Cal!! Go See Cal!! Go See Cal!! and trying to guess what kind of animal “spot” would be.

A truly self-made man, one of a kind. And what a life he had.


58 posted on 09/09/2013 3:55:25 PM PDT by Bon of Babble (Didn't make it to the gym today. That makes 5 years in a row.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: Finny

***If Cal Worthington was such a shyster, how did he stay in business for as long as he did? ***

My neighbor from LA said he was. I had no dealings with Worthington as I was hundreds of miles away.


59 posted on 09/09/2013 3:59:51 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: kingu

As a kid, he always interested me. He seemed to understand human nature very well! We want to see animals doing strange things, attractive people, and people doing odd stuff! RIP, Mr. Worthington!


60 posted on 09/09/2013 4:36:10 PM PDT by Melian ("Where will wants not, a way opens.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-67 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson