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Get hooked on 13 nostalgic (and new) Tucson commercials
- Updated
These Tucson commercials will be stuck in your head all over again.
Wally Sevits "Call for Wally"
"The jingle for Wally Sevits' TV commercials ring in longtime Tucson residents' ears.
"Call for Wah-lee.
Call for Wah-lee.
For an estimate free,
Given cheerfully,
Call Wally immediately."
Sporting his trademark cowboy hat, in his unaffected Missouri drawl, he would add, "and I'll come a-runnin'."
Taken from Sevits' Arizona Daily Star obituary in 2000
Arizona Daily StarJack Furriers Western Tire Centers
Havin' An Eegee! (90's Commercial Jingle)
Gordo's Mexicateria
Gordo's Mexicateria, located on Broadway for about 40 years, was known for its commercials in which owner Diego A. Valenzuela asked, ""Do you like chimichangas? I mean, do you r-r-r-really like chimichangas?" Valenzuela died in 2003 at age 69.
Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star 1983Scott Lehman: I'm in a Pickle
Golf N' Stuff "Can't Get Enough" 2009
Luck Wishbone Jingle - Performed By The Band Oracle (1972)
Tucson Appliance Incredible Hulk
Jim Click and Boompa
Mid-1990s commercials featured Jim Click and his father Jim Click Sr. AKA "Boompa" competing over who could sell more cars.
From Boompa's obituary in 2002:
In the mid-1990s, the father-son team began running new-vs.-used-car-sales television commercials in which he was referred to as "Boompa" Click.
In an interview with the Arizona Daily Star in 1996, Click Sr. conceded that the commercials had catapulted him to local celebrityhood.
"I told Jimmy that I don't want to be a celebrity," Click Sr. said. "This ‘Boompa' deal has gotten so far out of hand that I get calls to judge ice-cream contests."
Arizona Daily Star fileDancing Paint Kings Commercial
Beat the Peak - 1987
Szechuan Omei Restaurant
Tucsonans are still quoting catchphrases from the memorable late-night commercials - "You try, you like" - that made Magdalene Gerrish and her Szechuan Omei Restaurant on "Essa Spee'way" popular.
Gerrish died at age 87 in 2010. Read more about her here.
BENJIE SANDERS / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 1998That's a ganga!
Austin Agron, the owner of Bargain Center Furniture gained notoriety by dropping lamps and yelling, "Hey, neighbor, that's a ganga!" on TV commercials.
From an Arizona Daily Star story published in February, 1983: "I've found the personal touch is important in doing commercials," says Austin Agron, who uses the slogan "It's a ganga!" to attract customers to Bargain Center Furniture, 4949 E. 22nd St. "People walk into my store and see me — the guy from the commercial. It gives them a warm feeling, and that's good for business."
A “ganga” is the Spanish word for “bargain” or “windfall.”
Agron began using the word at the suggestion of a local disc jockey who was doing a remote broadcast from Agron’'s furniture store.
“In Spanish, ‘ganga’ means ‘bargain.’ And since that’s the name of my furniture store, it’s the perfect trademark,”
Bargain Center Furniture closed in 2005 though the Tucson Furniture Mart that opened in its place was also owned by the Agron family.
Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star 1983Related to this collection
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