As we enter the age of con artists with nuclear codes, it’s important not to let our new, metaphorical used-car-salesman of a President-elect spoil the good name of the literal used-car salesmen who form such a crucial part of our American tapestry. Sunday would have been the 96th birthday of one of our nation’s great unsung heroes: Cal Worthington, the legendary Southern California auto dealer whose “Go See Cal” television ads were as inescapable in their day as the Kars4Kids jingle is now.
An Oklahoma native and decorated Army Air Corp pilot, Worthington got into the car business in 1949 with a Hudson dealership in Huntington Park he purchased from equally eccentric pitchman Earl “Madman” Muntz. He saw the power of television earlier than most, sponsoring a TV show, Cal’s Corral, on KCOP in 1956. The show, emceed by songwriter Sammy Masters, treated Californians to three hours of live country and rockabilly music every Saturday, and stayed on the air in various forms until 1972. It’s barely made its way to the internet, but here’s audio of Glen Glenn performing “Jailhouse Rock” in 1957:
And here’s Jerry Lee Lewis in 1959:
Rockabilly probably moved cars, but it didn’t make Cal Worthington famous. His big idea came in 1971 when another dealer began airing commercials featuring adorable puppies. Never one to back down from a challenge, Worthington’s next ad introduced him as “Cal Worthington and his dog Spot.” “I found this little fella down at the pound, and he’s so full of love,” Worthington told the audience, as an angry gorilla snarled at him. For years to come, Worthington barraged the Southern California airwaves with ad after ad in which he was introduced with a seemingly never-ending variety of dogs Spot. Sometimes his dog Spot was a lion:
Sometimes his dog Spot was a killer whale:
And at least once his dog Spot was, somewhat inexplicably, a biplane:
The one thing Cal Worthington’s dog Spot never was was a dog.
But what really made Cal Worthington unforgettable was the “Go See Cal” jingle, written by Cal’s Corral emcee Sammy Masters. This may be the most deadly advertising jingle ever written: On just one hearing, it worms its way into the listener’s subconscious, forever becoming an essential part of the piles of capitalist detritus that shore up our ruins. (Not that Worthington would ever have counted on one pitch to make a long-term impression—a tape of KTLA’s broadcast from a single night in the summer of 1984 yielded more than seven minutes of Cal Worthington ads.) So in the interest of rebuilding our nation after such a divisive election—or at least making sure everyone has the same garbage rolling around in their heads—here’s the full “Go See Cal” jingle, complete with extraordinarily low-resolution clips of Cal Worthington getting mauled by his ever-changing dog Spot:
You’re welcome.
