Stuart Elliott: The Days When "Crazy" and "Insane" Referred to Ads, Not Politics

The death recently of Eddie Antar brought a knowing nod from aficionados of a certain type of advertising. Antar was a founder of the Crazy Eddie chain of electronics stores, which flooded the airwaves in the '70s and '80s in markets such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia with more than 7,500 television and radio commercials. And what commercials they were! No one who saw or heard them is likely to forget them, thanks to their ubiquity, high energy and gimmicks that ranged from "Christmas in August" sales to riffs on pop-culture staples like "Saturday Night Fever" and "Superman." Another reason for their memorability is that they all featured a fast-talking pitchman, Jerry Carroll, who shouted and mugged his way through the scripts and shticks, always proclaiming at the end, "Crazy Eddie, his prices are insane!" with the last word delivered as an instant ear worm, "insa-a-a-a-ane."