Make no mistake, friend, Southern California is car land.
So auto dealer Calvin Coolidge Worthington decided to have a little fun, attract attention, and clear his lots with “My Dog Spot” television commercials featuring a live, snarling gorilla.
The commercials, in which he also used other animals such as a dog named Spot (a penguin, a camel, an elephant, a bear, a lion, a hippopotamus and a tiger) helped Worthington build an empire of 27 dealerships that sold more of 1 million cars.
Worthington Ford dealership on Saturday.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Many of those commercials were filmed under the large “Worthington Ford in Long Beach” sign at the dealership he purchased in 1963.
Now that sign has arrived to mark the end of an era. Worthington's family said he sold the 3-acre business, the last dealership still named after the legendary auto salesman who died in 2012.
“It's very sad,” Nick Worthington, Cal's grandson, said in an interview with ABC7. “Our employees have been with us for more than 40 years.
“It's part of everyone's childhood and life growing up here,” he added. “It's hard to close that book for everyone.”
On Saturday, Shawn Abdallah, the dealership's chief financial officer, said news of the sale “came a shock, although for a couple of months there were rumors that something like this was in the works.”
“The rumors were confirmed on Thursday,” he said, “when Nick had everyone gather here in a conference room to receive an important message.
“He said, 'You probably heard the rumors and I'm here today to confirm them.' ”Abdallah recalled. “I was very excited. And yes, there were tears everywhere.”
The buyer, Nouri/Shaver Automobile Group, plans to keep all of Worthington Ford's employees, but they will have to reapply for their jobs, Abdallah said.
The iconic big blue “Worthington” sign overlooking Bellflower Boulevard, Abdallah said, “will not be removed until March 1.”
Worthington Ford dealership on Saturday.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Meanwhile, visitors don't have to look far to see reminders of the flashy stunts used by the Oklahoma transplant to promote his 65-year career that made him an icon of Southern California's quirky culture.
The showroom of shiny new Ford models, for example, features a floor-to-ceiling photograph of Worthington cheek-to-cheek with a tiger—the most affable of all the animals that helped him build a cult following.
It's a reminder of a peculiar time when car salesmen here in the capital of car and highway culture dressed like Napoleon, wore halos and adopted exotic animals for a sale.
Worthington's signature stunts were the “Dog Spot” ads, which first appeared on the air in 1971. They were originally intended to be parodies of two competitors: Ralph Williams and Fletcher Jones.
Williams had launched an ad campaign featuring a German shepherd named Storm, and Jones appeared on television cuddling puppies.
Anthony Crawford reviews new vehicles at Worthington Ford on Saturday.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
“I decided to imitate them,” Worthington recalled in an interview. So he borrowed a gorilla, chained it to the bumper of a car and let the cameras roll.
Trying to appear unfazed, the lanky pitcher with a cowboy hat and an ear-to-ear grin launched into that typically folksy tactic with welcoming words: “Hi, I'm Cal Worthington and this is my dog Spot.”
“I found this little guy at the pound,” she added with a smile, “and he's so full of love.”
The new owners of the dealership will change the name to BP Ford.
