Calvin Coolidge Worthington was an American car dealer, best known in Southern California and other parts of the West Coast of the United States for his offbeat radio and television advertisements for the Worthington Dealership Group.
22 Facts About Cal Worthington
1.
2.
Cal Worthington made minor appearances and was parodied in various films and television programs.
3.
Calvin Coolidge Worthington was born on November 27,1920, in the now-defunct town of Bly, Oklahoma.
4.
Cal Worthington was named after President Calvin Coolidge, who had been elected Vice President of the United States three weeks earlier.
5.
One of nine children, Cal Worthington left school at 13 and worked as a water boy on a road crew for 15 cents an hour.
6.
Cal Worthington later joined the Civilian Conservation Corps at age 15.
7.
At the start of World War II, Cal Worthington enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps.
8.
Cal Worthington became an aerobatics champion at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas, and served as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in the 390th Bomb Group, flying 29 missions over Germany.
9.
Cal Worthington was awarded the Air Medal five times and the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was presented by General Jimmy Doolittle.
10.
Cal Worthington remained a notable figure in aviation circles for his role in training pilots who later became some of America's first astronauts.
11.
Cal Worthington sold his car for $500 to purchase a gas station in Corpus Christi, Texas, which was unsuccessful, but he sold it for what he had paid.
12.
Cal Worthington then began selling used cars in front of the post office in Corpus Christi, pitching to people as they picked up their mail.
13.
Cal Worthington moved to a dirt lot, where he made a $500 profit in one week by selling just three cars.
14.
In 1949, Worthington relocated to Huntington Park, California, where he opened a Hudson dealership.
15.
Cal Worthington was an early adopter of television advertising, buying airtime for a three-hour live country music show on Los Angeles station KTLA every weekend.
16.
When full-program sponsorships became unfeasible, Cal Worthington switched to 30- and 60-second commercials and became a Ford dealer.
17.
Cal Worthington purchased Friendly Ford, an existing dealership, from the Stepp family, which retained control of the city's Lincoln-Mercury franchise.
18.
One early ad featured a roaring gorilla; in others, Cal Worthington stood on a flying airplane wing or appeared alongside a hippopotamus.
19.
Cal Worthington's parody proved so popular that the "dog Spot" motif became a staple of his brand.
20.
Cal Worthington reportedly wrote the lyrics and recorded the jingle himself, with help from country-western singer Sammy Masters.
21.
Cal Worthington had his last child in his early eighties.
22.
Cal Worthington appeared in film and on television portraying himself as a car dealer.