The men that owned them

[Barry Wolk]

I've given some thought to the people that owned these cars new. They were, for the most part, the pillars of the industrialized world. However, anyone could own one. Women hated them as there was no graceful way to exit the car so few had female owners.

I want to dispel a myth that has dogged the Mark II since before its introduction. The stories about who could, and who couldn't own a Mark II were untrue. We've all heard the stories. I love the Sammy Davis Jr. story, but I've seen no proof of it. I grinned when I heard the story of the NYC plumber that peeled off $10K from a roll of money, threw his tools in the trunk of a Mark II and drove off to do a service call.

From the number of letters that I read in the Continental files, none of the "requirements" existed. It was heart wrenching to read the letters from people asking permission to buy one, thinking that they needed to "qualify" to be a Mark II owner. One gentleman claimed he wasn't like the "others" of his kind that were excluded. I wonder if there was a collusion amongst dealerships to create a level of exclusivity?

Now I think of who owns them today. A judge, well that's not a far stretch. A investment banker, well, that one's a fit, too. But look at who else owns them. A professional mechanic, a tool maker, a cake designer and a guy that screws in light bulbs for a living. Only in America.

Actually, that seems to be the span of all the people that I've met at Concours all over the country. Seems the commonality of cars puts us all on the same level, and I'm truly glad it does.

What lore have you heard about the Mark II?

[Shelly Harris]

You're leaving me guessing as to what is the Sammy Davis Story? This must be gossip, or can you direct me to a legitimate source.

[Nick DeSpirito]

I heard the one about the plumber years ago, so it must be true. I've heard that they marketed professionals like Doctors, lawyers, etc. by mailing out the "Continental Story" book. which I'm sure all of us have copies of, (I know I have a few somewhere) to prominent people.

But I also heard that towards the end when sales were waning, that there were some brand new Mark II's that wound up on used car lots and the people that eventually bought them received huge discounts on the purchases. I can imagine how disheartening that was to the buyers that bought them initially. They must have thought that they were buying an automobile that was the most prestigious and timeless car of the era and would keep it's value far longer than any other, only to find out that they were now selling for thousands less than what they paid. So I guess from then on, it was a spiral down turn for the Mark II.

[Barry Wolk]

I love the Sammy Davis Jr. story, but I've seen no proof of it.


The story, as I heard it, was that Mr. Davis was denied the purchase of a Mark II because of his skin color. Another person in the Rat Pack supposedly purchased it for him.

Never stated it as fact, your Honor.

[Nick DeSpirito]

I heard that story too. It could have been true, but who knows. I know that Frank Sinatra originally owned one, but how about Dean Martin?

[Shelly Harris]

One can only guess if that is true. All those who would really know for sure are dead, but I don't believe it. In 1956 lots of mean spirited things went down which today are very hard to accept. It was still well before the equal rights marches and civil rights laws of the 1960's. So stuff like that could well have been the thinking of some Ford people. It's hard to imagine when you consider the company was still sensitive to recovering from Henry's anti-semetic writings. I know that Sinatra abhored racial prejudice and I would like to think he wouldn't have touched a Mark II in protest of Davis not being able to buy one. Sinatra owned one and made one of his very few endorsement commericals for the Mark II. I think those acts belie Davis being denied one based on race.

There's a story that you'll hear if you take a tour in Vegas that Davis was denied a room on the strip even though he headlined in the main rooms. The story goes that Sinatra broke that barrier when he let it be known he wouldn't play Vegas unless the practice was stopped.

[vancec]

It doesn't seem far-fetched to me that a black man wasn't allowed to buy a car from one particular dealer. I doubt it ever would have been a Ford policy.

Those were strange times. In 1965 I visited relatives in Louisiana. May aunt and I sat alone for 30 minutes in an optometrist's waiting room, with no body around to wait on us, before she realized we were in the "colored" waiting room.

[Barry Wolk]

I'm 57 years old. I was 4 when the Mark II came out. I remember at about 10, being turned away from the Crystal Pool in Detroit. My folks were stopped dead in their tracks by a sign that said "No coloreds or Jews". At least they capitalized Jews.

I didn't experience racism in its brutal form until I went to military school at 15. As a Jew, we had services on Saturday, which got us out of chores. That went over real big. Someday I'll tell you what happened to me there. Did you ever read "Lords of Discipline"?:(

Since that time I've experienced nothing overt relative to my heritage. I have, however, experienced overt racism because I'm white. Doesn't happen often, but it really stings. Make me think twice about the way I deal with people.

[vancec]

Jesus Barry, sometimes the economy and crime and all make me think, "Oh, what a horrible time in history." Then I hear a story like that and it really wakes me up.

To think the Holocaust was so recent that there are still people who survived it makes me want to… I don't know. Words fail.

[Mad Scientist]

How does that quote go?. It is the best of times and it is the worst of times.

We have a lots to be very thankful for.
But there is a lot that we need to be very fearful of.

[Barry Wolk]

It's funny, both of my grandfathers survived the concentration camps and came to America and lived the American Dream. Both were shopkeepers in ethnic neighborhoods and did pretty well in life. Neither of them suffered oppressive racism.

My father was another story. My father graduated from U of M in 1950 with a degree in advertising and couldn't find a job in the city of Detroit in the advertising business because he is a Jew. He's obviously a Jew, too. What a schnoz! The only thing that throws you off is that he's 6'6".

He couldn't find a job because he looks Jewish. No ad agency in the area would hire a Jew for fear of losing Ford's work. He spent the first two years of my life reading the morning papers, going through the birth announcements and then the phone books to find where the new parents lived. He would wait a week and just show up on their doorstep, offering to take pictures of their newborn, for a nominal fee. But, it paid the bills. He eventually found work in a suburban agency that didn't care about Ford's work. A few years later he started his own agency. Last I heard, he's still working at 82.

Another interesting story about racism (religionism) in Detroit. The largest hospital in Detroit is Henry Ford Hospital. Jews were allowed to be doctors on staff, but none could use the surgical theater. That's how Sinai hospital came about.

However, I must state categorically, that Henry's children and grandchildren have done more to foster unity than any other family that I can think of. They have successfully undone their founder's deeds.

[Barry Wolk]

I will be interviewing WCF for an article in CC in February. Are there any questions that anyone would like answered? I hope to dispel some of these myths, from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

[Don Henschel]

I thought about (and re-reading this thread) when I saw this post
http://www.markiiforum.com/showthread.php?t=1199
Coincidentally, I am working on a cake in the shape of a '65 GTO Convertible for a customer. It's for his father's 70th birthday which is being held tonight. I am trying to get it as true to form as possible. Remember, I am working with cake here and my measurements are totally by eye working from pictures provided to me by the customer. I will post a picture of it when it is completed. I need to paint the chrome and work on the wheels and get it to the restaurant by 5PM. YIKES!

I've given some thought to the people that owned these cars new.

Now I think of who owns them today. A judge, well that's not a far stretch. A investment banker, well, that one's a fit, too. But look at who else owns them. A professional mechanic, a tool maker, a cake designer and a guy that screws in light bulbs for a living. Only in America.
What lore have you heard about the Mark II?
Is this a cake designer or an Artist?

[Nick DeSpirito]

Don,

I am a Baker/Pastry chef/Cake artist. I majored in Fine Arts in high school and Business with a minor in the arts in college. You can read my background and see my work here.

www.cakespecialty.net

[AU_MK2]

Nick... great job on the cakes I have seen a few done here in OZ a friend had one done for his 50th of his '50 Barris Merc and it looked great Well done and keep it up.

[5219]

Somewhere on the internet, I found a 1956 story from Jet, the Black magazine of the fifties, about Bishop L. Lawson of Harlem taking delivery of the first Mark II Continental in NYC. The story shows the very black Bishop taking delivery from a black salesman.

I found the story when I googled Mark II Continental.

The Sammy Davis story is not believable. By 1956, the only color that anybody in the car business cared about was green.

[Barry Wolk]

Could you post that story from Jet? That would be a great talking point.

[linc64]

I found a picture and brief description here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/1950160082/

[Barry Wolk]

Thank you.