Oklahoma

I must admit I never heard of the ultimate pitchman Calvin (Cal) Coolidge Worthington until I read his obituaries today. I've spent very little time in the Southwest . Even less time watching television in that area. And absolutely no time in Alaska. So I was never aware of his commercials.

New York of course had a zany pitchman, Jerry Carroll, for Crazy Eddie, the discount electronic store. Eddie Antar was the Crazy Eddie, who the last I heard was arrested for securities fraud and was handcuffed to a hospital bed in Israel. But that's old news. Crazy Eddie needed doctors and lawyers.

Cal Worthington was a car salesman of the first order. Perhaps the highest power. He used a barrage of inane, but catchy television commercials featuring animals that vaulted him to top of selling cars. When I read his obit and learned he came from Oklahoma and was born in 1920 in a town that now no longer exists (Springsteen would likely sing, "blown away") I couldn't help but think of Will Rogers and the Ogden Nash poem about Rogers.

Rogers was perhaps the first national comedian that wasn't elected to office. He was famous in the 1920s and 30s and toured that nation in Vaudeville. Think Bob Hope with a cowboy hat twirling a rope telling one-liners. He also appeared in movies and wrote a newspaper column. 

Ogden Nash was a poet with the most unique form of verse. His life overlapped that of Rogers, and he no doubt would have been entertained by him at some point. Nash was himself famous for light verse poems, often with forced, but funny rhymes. Some of his best known pieces were quite short.

Reflections on Ice Breaking

 

Candy

Is dandy,

But liquor

Is quicker.

When Rogers died in a plane crash in 1935, Ogden Nash wrote of him as if Rogers was describing himself:

“I worked with grin and gum and lariat
To entertain the proletariat.
And with my Oklahomely wit
I brightened up the world a bit.”

Cal Worthington was a Will Rogers for the television age. His commercials apparently were filled with pitchman lyrics:

If your axle is a-sagging,' go see Cal...
If your wife has started naggin,' go see Cal...

Cal advertised himself as the person to see for anything, so long as you wanted to, or needed to buy a car.

His early television efforts promoted country music with a live show in 1959 from a dealership lot. Soon-to-be big stars appeared: Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, and Roger Miller, another singing versifier from Oklahoma. Who can forget...

"...and you hadda do wack-a do, wack-a-do, wack-a-do..."

Cal was obviously a character. I'm not Ogden Nash, and like I said, I never even heard of the guy until reading his obituaries. But in the spirit of verse I've written my tribute to Cal.

With a zoo of animals
He sold sedans,
And made it big
With Los Angelans.

He's got to be missed.

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