Cal Worthington was a consummate salesman (and carnival barker) who did very well for himself. He boasted, “I’ll stand on my head to make a deal”. People would go to Worthington Ford and would buy a car – big, lanky old Cal would stand on his head for them.

I remember Cal. Dad and I were watching TV one day, and old Cal came on with a “come on”. He was giving away a rod and reel combo for just coming down to look at cars. Dad and I looked at each other, got up, and went to see Cal. I still have that rod and reel. I was probably around 13-14, so that would have made it somewhere around 1962-3.

I don’t remember the tags being that big? Where those real auto tags or stock number tags for his business? I know that I bough my first car (’57 Studebaker Hawk) from a sailor and drove it for over a year. To young and stupid to know the law, but drove that bad boy all that time with a normal looking tag that had expired two years before. What did I know about the law?

1986, Renton, WA I was selling cars for Fred Knack. Cal had a Ford and Suzuki/Yugo store in Federal Way. At a dealer meeting he was extremely rude to Fred. Bad move. Two years later Floyd Little, the former Bronco, had Cal’s stores and Cal was no longer on TV in Washington State.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920825&slug=1509230

Ok, so Iooked him up…turns out, he is a hero…29 missions, 5 air medals, DFC

World War II

At the beginning of World War II, Worthington enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant, he was the aerobatics champion at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas. He saw combat as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 390th Bomber Group, flying 29 missions over Germany. He was discharged after the war as a captain. Worthington was awarded the Air Medal five times, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was presented to him by General Jimmy Doolittle.

Worthington’s military service was frequently revisited in the 21st century in aviation magazines, since he had trained pilots who would become some of America’s first astronauts.

Business career

Early years

After leaving the Army, Worthington wanted to become a commercial pilot, but could not because he was not a college graduate. He sold his car for $500 to purchase a gas station in Corpus Christi, Texas, which was unsuccessful,[8] but sold it for what he had paid, an indication of future sales success. He then sold used cars in front of the post office in Corpus Christi, making a folksy pitch to people who stopped to pick up their mail. He moved to a dirt lot, where he made a $500 profit in one week by selling just three cars. He decided car sales would be his career.

Cal had a dealership in Phoenix for a while.
What a maroon!

gfa

Cal’s gone and so is El Toro where I watched him.
Seemed like he was on the screen more than the crappy movies.
Hymie
Every plane I ever hung a bomb on has been retired.
How come I can’t?

In the late 70s, early 80s, son alert at a missile silo north of Tucson we used to see his commercials pop-up all night long on one of the two TV channels we got. Great memories.

I recollect the Cal Worthington spots Rancho Cordova-ish in the mid 1980s. And I just heard a Cal Worthington spot tonight here in AZ… Could he possibly be still alive?