Damn! Cal Worthington died yesterday. RIP Cal.

[cherokeeprogressive]

Some of the best, campiest commercials TV ever knew.

RIP Cal.

[RGinNJ]

1. What will spot do?

[sweetloukillbot]

5. Take off his Brock umbrella hat and bow his head? n/t

[NYC_SKP]

2. I met the dude once, at the Sacramento area franchise. RIP Cal.

[gopiscrap]

13. OMG I remember those commercials. I was in college when those were going on

[hatrack]

27. "A 1979 Chevy Chevette . . .

It's like the Allhallow's Eve parade of bad 70s sheet iron. Lincoln Mark IV, Crown Vic, you name it. The automotive equivalent of the oil on velvet painting of the dogs playing poker.

[NYC_SKP]

34. Funny to watch and to see how few of those cars are still on the road.

When's the last time you saw a Chevy Monza or a Ford Pinto?

[Xithras]

33. So did I!

My mom was buying a car at Worthington Chevrolet in Sac (a Monza...shudder) when the salesman mentioned that Worthington would be at the lot shooting a commercial the following day. She arranged to pick up the car the next day, and brought my sister and I along to "meet Cal" and pick up her new wheels.

I remember that I didn't recognize him without his hat and coat on, and that he seemed to be a nice guy, but being a kid I was far more interested in meeting Spot. I was hoping for an elephant or a tiger, but Spot turned out to be a chimpanzee that particular day.

Every time that commercial aired, my little sister (who was 5 at the time) would go tearing around the house screaming "OUR MONKEY IS ON TV! OUR MONKEY IS ON TV!" I have no idea how it became "our" monkey, but that's one of those childhood memories that I'll never forget.

I'm oddly saddened by the fact that modern children are growing up with no equivalent to Cal Worthington. Cultural touchstones are important.

[Duer 157099]

3. Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal!

Boy do I remember him.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. I'll eat a bug! n/t

[Duer 157099]

7. I'll stand on my head til my ears turn red! n/t

[gopiscrap]

6. I remember him and his crazy commercials

he had a dealership I think in Sea Tac, WA about 20 miles from my house. Rumor had it that he flew twice aweek from California to WA to do his business.

[cherokeeprogressive]

9. I believe he had dealerships all over the country.

Pretty sure he had one in WI at least. One wild and crazy guy.

[gopiscrap]

11. wow he must have had a pretty hefty bank account

[d_b]

8. RIP

pussy cow

[frylock]

16. pussycow pussycow pussycow

[eissa]

19. Pussy cow!

My cousins were so upset with me when I told them the actual words were "go see Cal!"

[LadyHawkAZ]

22. SO glad to know I wasn't the only one that heard it n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. I thought d_b was calling me names...

Guess I never heard it LOL.

[LadyHawkAZ]

32. LOL!

[d_b]

35. lol

[NV Whino]

10. That brings back memories

RIP Cal.

[PasadenaTrudy]

12. The 10 day trial exchange!

Wish all dealers did that.

[MannyGoldstein]

14. One day, Crazy Eddie will pass

And I will be sad.

[KurtNYC]

30. I thought that when Crazzy Eddie was up for tax evasion the nartural plea would have been

insanity.

[AtomicKitten]

15. go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Call

[spanone]

17. must have been 200 years old. he was on tv in the early 70's when i lived in l.a.

[deutsey]

25. I lived in Long Beach '72-'73

All these years later I still remember Cal and his theme song.

[IDemo]

18. Crenshaw and Ventura Blvd.?

Or am I thinking of Felix Motors. I haven't heard Cal's name since the my childhood in the 60's, but I remember that theme song and maybe, the address.

[2naSalit]

20. Oh my gosh

Did he eat a bug?

Man he was THE late night sponsor of most TeeVee in SoCal back in the day... even Johnny Carson made fun of him, but he also had him on his show a couple times too.

May he rest in peace, must've been 100 yrs old!

[Blue_In_AK]

21. Yep.

I remember Cal on my TV when I lived in Seal Beach in 1972. Then I moved to Alaska, and, lo and behold, he was on my TV there, too. Still is. I just couldn't get away from the guy. I'll kind of miss him.

[Hekate]

23. Cal and his dog Spot! Cal's commercials were a monument to California car culture...

... hymns to the holy freeway...

Legendary -- and you are right, also campy.

RIP Cal.

[yuiyoshida]

26. That is so sad, I loved Cal Worthington

and his Commercials!

[Bluenorthwest]

28. Sad news

Good dealing in the afterlife Cal....

[MineralMan]

29. Here's My Dog, Spot.

He'll have to eat the bugs from now on, I guess.

[bullwinkle428]

31. Just read about his background on Wiki - what an amazingly interesting guy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Worthington