Southern California → Showman car salesman Cal Worthington dies at 92

al Worthington, the Oklahoma native whose old-time carnival flair built one of the most successful car dealerships west of the Mississippi, has died. He was 92.

Worthington died Sunday while watching football at his home on the Big W Ranch near Orland, Calif., said Brady McLeod of the Miles Law Firm in Sacramento, which represented Worthington.

Described as a cross between Dale Carnegie and Slim Pickens, Worthington was best known for his wacky television pitches that had him wrestling with a tiger, flying upside down on an airplane wing or riding a killer whale. His sales antics with his “Dog Spot” drove a career that took him from a three-car lot on a patch of Texas dirt to a multi-make dealership empire that grossed billions of dollars and stretched from Southern California to Alaska.

here

Such a sad day. SoCal lost a great icon who made us laugh, smile & brightened our already sunny days. He will be missed.

Who is going to get his dog Spot?

Is anyone here old enough to know how "Spot" came to be?

Many years ago, the original pitchman was Ralph Williams. He owned a Ford dealership on Ventura Blvd. in Encino, in the San Fernando Valley. Late nights, especially on the independent TV channels, Ralph Williams would appear with his German Shepherd dog named "Storm" and pitch his used cars. "Hi friends, Ralph Williams here, with my dog Storm..."

Cal Worthington in Long Beach picked up on it a spoofed it. It took off way beyond his dreams and he never dropped it.

I remember his stupid commercials up here in NoCal back in the 80s. He had a dealership located in Franklin Blvd and Florin Rd, competing with the new car dealership in that area at that time.

any word if they will be still airing the stupid ads