L.A. Vintage Commercials: Cal Worthington
If you, like me, were a latchkey kid in the LA area in the 80s, you may well have passed more than a few, or perhaps a few hundred, post-school afternoons watching cartoons. I spent countless blissful hours of my tender youth vegetating in this manner, but if you asked me to recount the plot of a single Voltron or G.I. Joe episode, I’d draw a blank (except for the Scooby-Doo where Phyllis Diller guest-starred).
What do I remember? The commercials. Not all of them of course, but the really good ones, the ones with the themes and the jingles that bring back the smoggy-lunged, air conditioned, TV-brainmushed afternoons like they were yesterday. And to my surprise, I found that I’m not alone in this. I went to college on the east coast, and whenever I ran into anyone from southern California, all I had to do was sing a few bars of the Pete Ellis Dodge jingle and baby – we had a stew goin’. Instant cultural camaraderie – like the ethnicity I always wanted but never had.
I’ll begin with perhaps the most famous and beloved of all these commercials, the Cal Worthington genre. Cal is a car-selling cowboy; the closest visual equivalent I can think of is the Sam Elliott character in Lebowski. Cal was a throwback to the days when California still had a bit of a wild-west aesthetic, though why he bought ad space for his several Ford dealerships during children’s cartoons remains unclear to me.
The genius of the Worthington commercials was severalfold. First was their jingle – a simply and catchy tune that wormed its way into your head like a weevil, based on its uncanny similarity to the camp ditty “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Even trickier was his lyrical sleight of hand. The song’s chorus “Go see Cal” was often replaced with the sound-alike nonsense phrase “Pussycow” so that impressionable young viewers such as myself were titillated. Did Cal just say “pussy”? Is there something adult-themed going on at Worthington Ford? I swore years ago to find out, but never got around to it.
The Cal Worthington commercials stuck in the adolescent brain also thanks to their thematic bait-and-switch. The introduction to these ads invariably promised “Cal Worthington and his dog Spot”yet the animal accompanying Cal was never a dog. It was an elephant, a tiger, a goat, or some other god-forsaken fauna, but the promised dog never materialized. Watching these ads as a nine-year-old, I first realized: grownups are filthy, filthy liars.
To be fair to Cal, though, making these commercials was hard work, because showbiz animals, like human actors, piss all over you. The difference is that with animals it’s not merely a euphemism. Cal braved both a mighty geyser of elephant urine and a close-up stream of baby-goat whiz to bring us these classic ads. Thanks pardner. And for what it’s worth, Cal’s business still appears to be going strong, and while I may have an unhealthy obsession with the guy, at least I’m not as stalker-y as the person who created this cyberhagiography.
Congrats on being commenter #300 on the Cal Worthington post.
That’s pretty special.
I hope it makes it to 400.
You stay cool now.
Regards,
E.L.
Thanks! But Pamela got 256, which is way more digicool. I hope it makes it to 32767.
Anybody remember free movies at the Loyola Theater courtesy of Marina Federal Savings?
Post #26 and #27 – Does anyone have links to those PSA’s ? All the signing I know I learned from those spots.
The Beach Boys once performed at the Wallach’s Music City at Artesia & Hawthorne.
“El Monte Legion Stadium – Be There or Be Square”
“Harvey’s Broiler” in Downey, great cruise destination in addition to “The Wich Stand”
SoBay: yep .. recall “Harvey’s” with amused heart- burn! Can still hear the ring of “Be there or be Square” in my ear. Anyone remember the “Johnny Otis Review”? (he recorded “Willie & the Hand Jive and the original “Harlem Nocture”) Major R&B bus touring company .. Hank Ballard & the Moonliters, Etta James, Jackie Wilson. I’m so grateful that I grew up in LA with it’s amazing musical heritage. It was possible to wake up to Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart” on the radio, sock-hop with the Beach Boys at lunch period at Hawthorne High, Phillie Shuffel after school and attend the Van Cliburn master’s Beethoven recital at the Hollywood Bowl in the evening. We had our pick of every rose in the bouquet of music. Afro-Cubano Jazz (pre and post Castro) Easy Listening (KPOL AM & FM) .. pick one. And if you heard something you liked .. you went to Wallach’s Music City. If they didn’t have it or know where you could find it .. you didn’t need it or it didn’t exist! Yep .. we were blessed.
The ice cream truck we used to hear when I lived in Hollywood around 1959 or so was very distinctive. Still trying to find a sound clip. Any ideas?
Also would love to have a cartoon clip of “Dr. Ross Dog Food” commercial.
I didn’t know the Beach Boys performed at the Wallachs Music City store at Hawthorne and Artesia. That was a great store. I hung around there from 1967-1969 before going into the military. I know a couple of the Beach Boys were raised in Hawthorne, so that makes sense they did a neighborhood concert.
I was in Long Beach in 1971 and was invited by friends to see a concert held at a huge church near downtown given by the California State University. The choir gave a great performance in the first half and just as the second half of the concert started, they surprised the packed church with a concert by the Carpenters. They gave a great show with their band and the entire college choir backing their vocals. Karen Carpenter looked great and sang really well. I’ve never been a Carpenters fan, but gotta admit they did a wonderful job and it was a memorable experience.
Christian,
Try this site: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/06/ice_cream_truck.html
It has a variety of ice cream truck chimes. Maybe yours is there.
I believe it was either ‘62 or ‘63 that the Beach Boys performed in the parking lot at Music City. Sometime before that I saw them perform at the Torrance YWCA.
When talking with folks from other parts of the country, they can’t believe that often SoCal kids had record players in their cars. Does anybody remember Motorolas’s Vibrasonic?
“Pussy Cal Pussy Cal Pussy Cal!” My whole childhood, I thought that’s what was said. Glad I’m not the only 1. It wasn’t until I came back from college 1 summer and they flashed on the screen “Go See Cal! Go See Cal! Go See Cal!”. I nearly fell out of my chair. I also liked the theme to: “Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach Fwy, Firestone Exit, South Gate”…with the bouncing white ball to the lyrics.
In the very early days of television in LA (mid to late ’50’s??), there was a daytime game show. It was on ‘location’ at different grocery stores around LA – usually in the parking lot. The “host” would hand out grocery products and place them into grocery bags – one of his tag lines was “hold the bottom of the bag”.
Does anybody remember the name of the show? …and/or the host’s name? (It seems as though he also did the broadcast of the Rose Parade and may have also been a newscaster)
All his commercials aside,you want to know what kind of man Cal Worthington REALLY is? Around 1969, an airliner crashed after taking off from LAX, killing all on board (I’m not positive about the year, there were actually 2 within a couple of weeks. This was the second crash). Many commercials were live back then, and channel 13 movie was sponsored by Cal. For the rest of the night, every commercial he did was filled with news about the crash and ongoing rescue efforts, with requests for prayers for those on board. He flat said selling cars wasn’t as important as caring about fellow human beings. Even after all these years, I can remember him fighting to hold back the tears as he kept us informed of the ongoing rescue efforts. Yes, he was a car salesman, but he was a human being first.
January 18, 1969 all 38 passengers and crew members were killed. It was a United Airlines flight.
SoBay:
I believe the show you are thinking of was “Star Shoppers”. I am not sure, but I think it was on KTTV channel 11, and hosted by Bill Welch.
Re the Beach Boys performing locally. In very late 1962 or very early 1963 they did a show at Bellflower High (where I graduated from). They put on a great show.
“I’ll stand on my head to give you a better deal!!!!!”
Does anyone remember “Dialing for Dollars”? I loved watching that show. Wasn’t Paul Winchell a host of that show for a time? It was among the few interactive TV shows of the day.
I remember Dialing for Dollars! Specifically, being home sick from school, and lying on the sofa watching Channel 13 in Los Angeles. Did Paul Winchell host it? I don’t remember.
I believe the host was Chick Hearn, he used to be the play by play guy for the L.A. Lakers in the Jerry West Days, boy that really dates me!
Ray – re Chick Hearn, I think you are thinking of “Bowling for Dollars”. The reason I remember that show is that a couple of people I worked with at the time were on – neither of them won anything.
Chick was the best. The way in which he did the Laker games is what got me following the Lakers in the first place. Yeah, I’m old enough to remember Jerry West. Remember his mid-court shot at the buzzer at the Forum ?
Jim, you are correct, Chick Hearn lol. My wife says it was Johnny Gilbert on KCOP, she just got thru mocking me for the Chick Hearn comment. And yes I do remember that shot at mid court WOW! I wonder whatever became of that kid that would sit way up in the nosebleed section and announce the play by play into a tape recorder hoping someone would discover him.
It was a show called “Dialing for Dollars” and it was on KCOP Channel 13. “Bowling for Dollars” was another show. I just couldn’t remember who the “Dialing” host was. Here is the link for the history of the show…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialing_for_Dollars
Here’s a link to some Johnny Gilbert videos… on of which is “Dollar For Dollars”…
http://www.johnnygilbert.tv/video.html