In this thread the vile and unspeakable name of Cal Worthington Chevrolet was uttered.
I remember several times as a young squirt singing Cal’s commercial jingle “Pussy Cow, pussy cow…” (see the thread) only to have my Dad ask where in the holy hell did I learn that (my response was always “Cal taught me!!”, which didn’t fly too well with my Dad, whose name also happens to be Cal). He’d take of his belt, and spanking would ensue.
I was 23 years old before I knew what a dog really looked like (Not really, but anyone who’s seen the commercials knows what I’m talking about. That kind of imagery can confuse and mislead a little couch-potato-in-training, as my brother and myself were for the formative years of our lives.)
In summary: Hi. I’m Brian, and I was warped by Cal Worthington.
The other auto-dealership-related wad of glop rattling in my brain right now is “Pete Ellis Dodge, Long Beach Freeway, Firestone Exit, South Gate” with the little bouncy ball.
And I wonder why I never want to go to Los Angeles again.
Oh man, I forgot all about good ole Cal W. I moved from Southern California 16 years ago, and was just fine. Now you have uncovered these past experiences that my mind had buried for it’s own protection!!!
NO!!! Sanity…slipping…away…
it’s Cal Worthington and his dog SPOT <insert animal pic here…as long as it is NOT a dog>
Damn you, Robyn!!! :: shakes fist at the screen ::
As for the OP: Yes, I, too, was traumatised in my childhood by Cal Worthington [sup] and his damn dog(s) Spot [/sup].
I remember a time that I was having a sleepover with my best friend. We, as youngsters were wont to do, would stay up as late as possible (4 or 5 am) watching TV and raiding the kitchen. This one particular time we were watching some late night movie on KTTV (IIRC) and every single commercial break it was Cal Worthington, over and over and over and over again.
My recollection of this night is that there were no commercials but this one, at least 4 in a row every break …but that can’t be the way it really was, can it?
Oh, the horror!!! I’ll never get back to sleep now.
Appreciate the cultural icon that ol’ Cal is right now. Admit it, he’s the coolest car dealer in the world.
“It’s Cal Worthington and his dog Spot!”
C’mon even ‘Emergency’ had an episode where Johnny and Roy had to rescue a car dealer who was shooting a commercial and got mauled by his tiger co-star.
Commandment #11: Thou Shalt Not Mock The Sacred Jingle
*wanders off, murmuring “Go see Cal, Go see Cal, Go see Cal!”
It is quite possibly true that good old Cal was the first person in the western hemisphere to wear an umbrella hat.
Back when TVs had wonderfully stiff rotary tuners, and Saturday afternoon could find three stations in matinee mode, one or two running some sports programming, and possibly some sort of Marlin Perkins, Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom type stuff on the others, it was absolutely possible, with a high degree of repeatability, to find Cal simultaneously on channels 2 - 4 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 11 & 13.
I have often wondered if there is a genetic link between Cal Worthington and Ron Popiel. There are cosmetic similarities to the two.
They both have that certain early mid-century, Atlantic City Boardwalk husksterism-ness about them.
Back in the 70s we had a Philippine neighbour, an adult, who thought the jingle was “Pussy Cal, pussy Cal, pussy Cal!”
And Pete Ellis Dodge pops into my head whenever I hear “Firestone exit” or “Long Beach Freeway”.
There was a dealer when I was a kid in San Diego whose jingle is (thankfully) just beyond the border of my memory. Of course now that I’m thinking of it, it will probably come to me…
