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John H. Londoff, Sr., founder of Johnny Londoff Chevrolet in Florissant, one of the area’s most respected automobile dealers, and a dedicated volunteer who raised millions for special needs children, died peacefully the morning of May 11, at the age of 85.
This past summer on August 24, 2009, Johnny celebrated his 85th birthday and 64th year as an automobile dealer. His son John Londoff, Jr., owner of Johnny Londoff Chevrolet, is still selling cars and trucks to descendants of customers who bought from his dad when he opened his first dealership in North St. Louis in 1946.
This is an amazing success story considering that Johnny Londoff, Sr., 22 years old with an honorable discharge from the US Marine Corps, didn’t have a clue about how to sell a car or get it ready for delivery afterwards.
Johnny, the son of Macedonian immigrants Harry and Stella Londoff, created a business that has been a leader in its class for more than 64 years. He established a persona which earned nationwide recognition because of a catchy advertising jingle and a talent for promotion that included billboards, radio, TV, print advertising and a weekly column in the daily paper.
With a little help from his father, who owned a bowling alley and cocktail lounge and wanted his son to be a lawyer, Johnny opened a Kaiser-Frasier dealership above the Londoff Bowling Lanes where he set pins when car business was slow. He later became a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer and was one of the last Edsel dealers before he founded Johnny Londoff Chevrolet.
When Chevrolet announced plans to open a North County franchise, seven dealers applied. When Johnny was chosen for the dealership, he always said, “Getting the Chevrolet franchise in Florissant is the second best thing that ever happened to me. Marrying Sylvia George is first.”
The Jingle
This was a situation which called for an intensive, hard-hitting media campaign. So what did Johnny do? In 1958, he aired his “buy the low overhead way” jingle on every radio and TV station and conducted an off-the-wall media assault which eventually made Chevrolet synonymous with Johnny Londoff. The jingle, which hasn’t been changed to this day, was sung to him by flight attendants, parking lot employees, waiters, and celebrities like John Goodman, who sang it to him from the stage, calling it “one of the finest memories of my hometown.” Sammy Davis, Jr. recorded it at Powell Symphony Hall and William Webster, Director of the FBI, once sang it to him. The Wall Street Journal printed the words and music in a feature describing it as “a jingle like a golden oldie which lasts for decades.”
Billboards & More
In a feature about Johnny Londoff in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reporter Bob Duffy wrote “If you’ve lived in St. Louis at all, you know his name. And when you’ve driven to the airport, you’ve seen his benevolent Macedonian countenance beaming down from billboards that seemed to be placed about 20 feet apart.”
For eight years, he published a column in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat writing about his wife Sylvia and their four children, listing “sharp dressers,” “terrific teenagers,” “places to do business,” and recommending menu items from Tony’s to the Wishing Well Restaurant in Berkeley. The column ran every Friday on page 3 in the front section with his picture at the top and his address at the close. He rarely mentioned new car sales except for an occasional “Kings of the Road” item. Guest columnists included Jack Buck, Harry Caray, and other celebrities, even Frank Sinatra.
Shifting Gears to Humanitarian
At 36, Johnny was one of the county’s top young dealers, when the youngest of his four children was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth, a personal event which resulted in a lifetime mission. He pointed out, “Jackie, our special child, opened by ears and heart to children like her and their potential. It changed my focus from setting records as a dealer to raising funds to equip these children for a happy productive life.”
He installed a private phone in his office which he used exclusively to raise funds for special needs children. His personal campaign took him off big time when he met Sammy Davis, Jr. who was appearing at the Fox. Sitting next to him at the head table at a Variety Club luncheon, he discovered, “We had something in common. We were both parents of a special child so I asked him if he would come back for the telethon.”
The Telethon
Sammy came back every year until he died bringing Hollywood producer Bob Wynn and stars like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, John Forsythe, Angie Dickinson, Liza Minnelli, Billy Crystal and many more to appear pro bono on the Variety Telethon. He secured major contributions from St. Louis corporations including the St. Louis-Dispatch which printed and distributed the St. Louis food industry’s Cash for Kids supplement raising $1.5 million annually.
In 1988, after many years on KPLR-TV11 and KSDK-TV5, Johnny asked Allen Cohen, president and general manager of KMOV-TV4, for 19 hours of free air time. Cohen’s immediate response was “Anything for the kids!” His commitment to station talent and personnel continues to this day and throughout the entire year. During that period Londoff served as Telethon Chairman, more than $40 million was raised for St. Louis special needs children.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
In recent years, Mr. Londoff concentrated his fundraising efforts on St. Louis Children’s Hospital through personal contributions, corporate solicitations and special events including the GM Dealers Golf Benefit at Norwood Hills Country Club and the Carousel Ball.
In 1996, St. Louis Children’s Hospital dedicated the John and Sylvia Londoff Rehabilitation Center. In 2001 John and Sylvia Londoff were honored with the hospital’s prestigious Heart of Golf award.
Lee Fetter, President of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said “The St. Louis community is filled with many people who love St. Louis Children’s Hospital but it’s hard to identify a bigger supporter for our cause than Johnny Londoff. Over the years he helped raise a remarkable amount which directly benefited our patients and the services we provide for them. He took on our cause with great fervor throughout the years. He was a special human being and our children will continue to be served through his humanitarian efforts.”
Early in his career Johnny Londoff received the St. Louis Globe Democrat’s 1979 Humanitarian of the Year Award, the front page banner headline read, John Londoff, Special Friend to Special Children.
As a successful dealer for 64 years, he won many industry awards including being named by Time Magazine as one of the country’s Top Ten Quality Automobile Dealers.
In 2008 when John Jr. bought the dealership from his dad and built a state-of-the-art showroom and office at the same location in Florissant, John Sr. retired. He however came to the office regularly to continue his philanthropic activities which earned him the title “Special Friend to Special People.”
The hundreds of photos which still line the walls are an exciting panorama of friends, customers, celebrities and the Londoff family now in its third generation of selling cars and trucks “the low overhead way” and following in the footsteps of the legendary dealer and humanitarian.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years Sylvia George Londoff, his children Laura (William Koch III), Linda (James Ruck), John Londoff Jr. (Mary Elizabeth) and Jacqueline Hope Londoff. He is the loving grandfather of Matthew Ruck, Lindsay Ruck, John Londoff III, Sam Londoff, Harry Londoff and Timothy Londoff.
He was preceded in death by his parents Harry and Stella Londoff and his sister Harriet Londoff. His brother Harry B. Londoff survives.
Services have yet to be announced.
Memorial contributions appreciated to:
St. Louis Arc Inc., 1816 Lackland Hill Parkway, St. Louis, MO 63146
St. Louis Children’s Hospital, One Children’s Place, St. Louis, MO 63110 |
(314) 822-0333
(314) 822-3147