Cal Worthington, the one-of-a-kind car Dealer with dealerships in 5 western states, died at age 92 yesterday while watching a football game. He was larger than life -- a poor boy from Oklahoma, later a WWII bomber pilot who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Hudson Dealer beginning in 1949, and finally he became oneof the most successful car dealers in America. Known for his outrageous TV ads featuring various animals ranging from apes to tigers, Worthington knew how to break the ice with his TV audience, while at the same time taking a dig at his competition. An American original, his sales techniques reflected an era when Americans loved their cars, and even some sales people and dealers. For a time at mid-century, being a car dealer was one way to become rich in America!
