Cincinnati, OH, January 19, 2007--Burton "Buddy" Kallick, known for his folksy television commercials for the Franklin, Ohio-based Buddy's Carpet chain that he once co-owned, has died of cancer, his son said. He was 76.
Kallick died Wednesday at a hospice in Fort Thomas, Ky., near Cincinnati, son Mark Kallick said.
Buddy Kallick used to star in his company's television commercials, which included the slogan, "You've got a Buddy in the carpet business!"
The ads also featured Kallick saying: "I don't care about making money, I just love to sell carpet!" The spots started in 1983 when Kallick and partner Leif Rozin opened their first store in nearby Fairfield.
They sold their company to a group of investors for $8.3 million in 2000. Buddy's Carpet now operates about 30 stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, according to its Web site.
"All who knew him will remember him as a warm and caring gentleman who will be sorely missed," Ben Goodyear, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Kallick and Rozin were indicted in 2005 on federal tax evasion charges, but the case had not reached trial. The men had pleaded not guilty, and a request for dismissal filed by Kallick's lawyer is pending.
Kallick started selling linoleum door-to-door when he was a 14-year-old student at Hughes High School in Cincinnati. He loved promoting his carpet business, his son said.
"He loved being out publicly in Cincinnati, and he loved being recognized. He loved doing his silly, corny, fun, hokey, folksy commercials," Mark Kallick said.
Buddy Kallick also is survived by a daughter and two grandchildren.
A service was scheduled for Friday at Weil Funeral Home in Symmes Township, with burial at United Jewish Cemetery in Montgomery.
