38 Facts About Madman Muntz

Earl William "Madman" Muntz was an American businessman and engineer who sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987.

Madman Muntz was a pioneer in television commercials with his oddball "Madman" persona; an alter ego who generated publicity with his unusual costumes, stunts, and outrageous claims.

Madman Muntz invented the practice that came to be known as Muntzing, which involved simplifying otherwise complicated electronic devices.

Madman Muntz produced and marketed the first black-and-white television receivers to sell for less than $100, and created one of the earliest functional widescreen projection TVs He was credited with coining the abbreviation "TV" for television, although the term had earlier been in use in call letters for stations such as WCBS-TV.

Madman Muntz's wives included actress Joan Barton and Patricia Stevens of the Patricia Stevens finishing schools.

In 1934, Madman Muntz opened his first used car lot, in Elgin, with a $500 line of credit.

Madman Muntz was only 20 years old, and his mother had to sign the car-sale papers because legally he was too young to close his own deals.

Local newspapers ran stories about the unusual cars, and Madman Muntz sold them all within two weeks, still in their original shipping crates.

Madman Muntz soon opened a second lot in Los Angeles and closed his lot in Elgin.

Madman Muntz rejected the then-common opinion that used car salesmen should project a staid image.

Madman Muntz realized the possibilities of generating publicity with odd stunts, and developed a "Madman" persona as a result.

Madman Muntz was willing to take large risks in his attempts to generate publicity.

Today, Madman Muntz Jets are prized collector cars and are recognized as predecessors to the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Thunderbird.

Madman Muntz started plans to sell television receivers in 1946, and sales began in 1947.

Madman Muntz often carried a pair of wire clippers, and when he thought that one of his employees was "overengineering" a circuit, he would begin snipping components out until the picture or sound stopped working.

Madman Muntz was the first retailer to measure his screens from corner to corner rather than by width.

Madman Muntz solved this problem by adding a built-in antenna to his receivers.

Madman Muntz used skywriting as one of his marketing tactics, but, after watching one of his ads being created, he noted that the letters began to blur and dissipate before the pilot could finish spelling out "Madman Muntz Televisions".

Madman Muntz admitted his business lost $1,457,000 from April to August 1953, and although he tried to reorganize, Madman Muntz TV filed bankruptcy and went out of business in 1959.

Madman Muntz chose stereo recording as a standard feature because of its wide availability.

Madman Muntz designed a stereo tape player called the Autostereo for cars and had it inexpensively manufactured in Japan.

Madman Muntz sold the players and cartridges from his own stores and through franchises in Florida and Texas.

Madman Muntz exhibited his Autostereo players and Stereo-Pak cartridges under the trade name Stereo-Pak at the 1967 Consumer Electronics Show.

Madman Muntz attempted to establish a modern, trendy image for his players and cartridges.

Madman Muntz explained that when reproducing the work of major artists like The Beatles, the Stereo-Pak plant had to make hundreds of thousands of cartridges.

Madman Muntz was unprepared for the returns and said the huge cost of unsold merchandise eventually made his Stereo-Pak business unprofitable.

In late 1970, Madman Muntz closed his Stereo-Pak audio business after a fire severely damaged his main offices.

Madman Muntz housed these primitive units in a large wooden console, making it one of the first successful widescreen projection TV receivers marketed for home use.

Sony's US sales division was unaware that Madman Muntz was dealing directly with Sony's Tokyo original equipment manufacturer department, which shipped him the TV chassis directly.

Madman Muntz was quick to feature Sony's Betamax as well as JVC's and RCA's VHS recorders in his store, setting up a showroom to demonstrate the potential for a "theater experience in the home".

In 1979, Madman Muntz decided to sell blank tapes and VCRs as loss leaders to attract customers to his showroom, where he would then try to sell them his projection TV systems.

The CVC format failed in the marketplace, sales quickly eroded, and Madman Muntz's store closed soon after.

Shortly before dying of lung cancer in 1987, Madman Muntz centered his retail business on cellular phones, satellite dishes, a motorhome rental company dubbed "Madman Muntz Motor Mansions", and prefabricated aluminum houses.

Madman Muntz made headlines in February 1985 as the first retailer to offer a Hitachi cellular phone for less than $1,000, when just two years earlier most cellular phones had cost about $3,000.

The "Madman" method pioneered by Muntz was later copied by other retailers, including California car salesman Cal Worthington and New York area electronics chain Crazy Eddie.

The film documents Madman Muntz's life, paying particular attention to his colorful career, and includes interviews with people who knew him and home movie footage contributed by his children.

The KCET 1997 documentary More Things That Aren't Here Anymore has a segment on Madman Muntz and is broadcast by the station regularly during pledge periods.

In 2001, Madman Muntz was posthumously inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.