Talk:Cal Worthington/Archives/2012

Henning and Miss Teen USA
Susan Henning is my mother, she did win miss teen USA in 1965.

Is this the Susan Henning in question? That article (and her IMDB entry) claim she was Miss Teen USA in 1965. -- Mikeblas 00:04, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

They probably got the title mixed up... most probably a similar title (news people get them mixed up all the time)... the Miss Teen USA title was first awarded in 1983... (what I find interesting that the similarly named Shelley Hennig won in 2004... odd coincidence) -- PageantUpdater  •  talk  |  contribs  |  esperanza  00:11, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Early Life
Worthington's dog Spot is a direct parody of Chick Lambert's dog Storm. Lambert worked for Ralph Williams (parodied spot-on by The Firesign Theatre as Ralph Spoilsport) and featured his dog Storm in the many car commercials he did for Williams. Lambert later moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where, along with his dog, Storm II ("my dog, Storm the Second"), he sold cars for Jack Ross Chevrolet.

Jack Ross is a whole 'nother story. Unsuccessful candidate for Governor, married to '40s B-movie star Acquanetta, with a couple of the oiliest salesmen you ever want to meet.

For that matter, Ralph Williams is a whole 'nother story too.

Signinstranger 17:56, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Follow up for verifiable details on Cal's Bombing Runs over Germany: Cal Worthington's 29 bombing runs are documented at the 390th Bomber Group Memorial Museum (http://www.390th.org/index.htm) When the 'Research Data' asks for a name, type in EXACTLY: 'Worthington, Cal%'. His biography "My Dog Spot: The Cal Worthington Story," commissioned Bob Cox to write his story in 1975. Only a few copies remain because Cal's home burned to the ground six or seven years ago and almost all his memorabilia was destroyed -- momentos, photos, documents, the works, were lost. At 85, he is still flying his Learjet around California and Nevada. See: http://www.cacountry.tv/learnmore_story.cfm?id=18 Kate Campbell of the Ag Alert/California Country Magazine wrote this article about him for the magazine. She can be reached at: Kate Campbell, Assistant Editor Ag Alert/California Country 2300 River Plaza Dr. Sacramento, CA 95833 e-mail: Kcampbell@cfbf.com; Web: CFBF.com Jon Becker jbsandpony@yahoo.com. January 11, 2007. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.216.18.12 (talk) 00:47, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Professional Difficulties
I'm surprised there isn't more here about his legal problems. I live in Washington State, where the name Worthington is synonymous with bait and switch. I'm not even sure he can legally sell cars here anymore (don't know for certain). Perhaps it's not notable since his reputation is on par with many other car dealers. Kylebrotherton 10:44, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.216.18.12 (talk) 17:54, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

What I can remember in the seventies, he also was known in California as a bait and switch dealer. He first sold Dodge, but because of the complaints and lawsuits, Dodge took his franchise away. That is when he started selling Ford. The rumor was that the cars he showed in his commercials were never those prices at his dealership. Even though I was very young then, I remember this about Cal Worthington. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cammye (talk • contribs) 17:43, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

Dog Spot
I've heard another story of the origin of "Dog Spot"... that early commercials often ran in the wee hours of the morning, and that such commercial slots were nicknamed, "dog spots". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.197.237.201 (talk) 15:33, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Pussycow?
Okay, I live/lived/live in Las Vegas, NV. However, I was once watching the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills in 1995, and there's this scene where Nick Nolte can't get to sleep, and this commercial is playing, "If you wanna buy a car, pussycow!" I asked somebody about it, and they told me it's, "Go see Cal". Also, when I did visit Los Angeles frequently as a child (so much so I can navigate without a map just fine), I do recall thinking the commercials were "pussycow" though the first recollection I have is from the Nolte movie.

[] (If the link is good or not.)

Searching the Internet, apparently, many people consider it "pussycow".

Also, Cal was parodied in an episode of Histeria!, an old Kids' WB cartoon that aired, I think, in 1998 or 1999 or 2000. The character of Loud Kiddington was playing Cal. 24.72.187.165 (talk) 03:59, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Online interview
I just found this online interview, posted for YouTube, from just before his 90th birthday late 2010. It has other useful information that might be added. Source. --Bobak (talk) 16:12, 10 March 2011 (UTC)

Referenced on Jeopardy!
I remember seeing a few decades ago an answer-question on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!" about Cal Worthington. I was surprised to hear it (the answer was something about a car dealer with a dog named "Spot"). None of the contestants knew the answer; they just looked blankly at the host. I googled around a bit, but I could not find that episode referenced. Pooua (talk) 18:52, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

More

 * I recall that references to Worthington and/or airings of old commercials occurred multiple times throughout Into the Night. I also recall seeing a Worthington commercial in the original Gone in 60 Seconds.


 * I'm pretty sure it's been reported in Anchorage that Worthington owns a home in an upscale corner of Anchorage, adjacent to Chugach State Park. If I recall, it's mostly used by his son and that he rarely visits it, preferring to stay at the Hotel Captain Cook when he's in Anchorage.


 * This next one may not be able to be confirmed by reliable sources, however. Hard to say whether the tape even exists anymore.  An Anchorage-based performing artist, Jim Henderson, had a standup comedy routine which aired on cable access television quite often in the 1980s.  The routine was mostly centered around an oilfield worker at Prudhoe Bay, who arrived in Anchorage with his paycheck and is desperate to score cocaine.  At the core of the bit is a parody of the Worthington Ford commercials, which by that point had become ubiquitous in Anchorage.  Worthington acquired Friendly Ford from the Stepp family in 1976.  The Stepps continued to run a Lincoln/Mercury dealership, however, but it appears that Worthington also acquired that a few years ago.  Anyway, Henderson's version of Cal Worthington Ford was "Hal Sleazington VD."  In reference to the earlier post about "pussycow," Henderson's version of "Go see Cal" was in fact "Pussy Hal," with the insinuation that while he had free hot dogs for the kids, he had another sort of free hot dog for the wife.  I'm sure none of this would qualify as encyclopedic, but I thought I would share it nonetheless.RadioKAOS (talk) 08:30, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

I added Beetlejuice with a reference in the form of the script, which explicitly says "a la Cal Worthington". Whether http://clothesonfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Beetle-Juice_Michael-Keaton_cowboy-TV.bmp.jpg or something similar should actually go in the article is something I'll leave for others to decide, since I'm evidently unable to do so even if I'd gotten to that point. Wendin (talk) 04:28, 29 December 2011 (UTC)