Fairfield, Ohio—Burton “Buddy” Kallick, known for his down home, folksy television commercials for the retail flooring chain he once co-owned, has died of cancer. He was 76 years old.

Kallick, who had been battling kidney cancer since 2000, passed away Jan. 17 at Hospice Care Center of Northern Kentucky in Fort Thomas, Ky., near Cincinnati.

“My dad just enjoyed the public and promoting the business,” said Buddy’s son, Mark Kallick. “He got a lot of enjoyment and pleasure out of it.”

Buddy’s Carpet Barn was established in 1983 when Kallick joined former boss Leif Rozin and his business, the Carpet Barn, in Fairfield. The two went on to build one of the largest specialty flooring companies in the region with its distinctive, if not annoying television commercials that featured Kallick imploring customers to take advantage of an incredible offer but to act before “9 o’clock Tuesday night.” 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!” While his thriving business afforded Kallick a good life and educations for his two children, the sentiment was true, his son said.
“He worshiped Cincinnati,” his son said. “He loved anything that was Cincinnati, whether it was the Bearcats, the old Cincinnati Royals (NBA basketball team), the Reds. He loved doing his silly, corny, fun, hokey, folksy TV commercials.”

The pitchman never wrote a script, never practiced. He could just feel how long to talk for a 30-second commercial. The ads fed the frustrated entertainer in him, his son said.

The man who would grow up to be everyone’s Buddy moved to Cincinnati from Chicago when he was two years old. He began selling floor covering in the 1940s. Kallick sold linoleum door-to-door as a 14-year-old student at Hughes High School in Cincinnati. His father introduced him to a salesman friend because he thought Kallick was getting too big for his britches and needed some structure in his life.

He did advertising for other companies, including Harry’s Corner carpet stores. He and partner Rozin then opened the first Buddy’s Carpet store. That one store grew into a chain of 48 locations in five states.

In an interview with the Cincinnati Post in 1997, Kallick talked about the commercials in which he admitted he poked fun at himself. “All my life people have come into my store and say, ‘Hey, we hate your commercials. You’re terrible. Blah, blah, blah.’ But they’re in there buying carpet. Gee, I’m sorry I offended you, lady. Where’s the carpet go?’”

Rozin and Kallick sold their company to a group of investors for $8.3 million in 2000, and it was renamed Buddy’s Carpet & Flooring. “He had a full, active life with his business and he was fully ready to retire and enjoy retirement,” his son said.

Kallick was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer within weeks after the sale. In a 2000 interview with The Enquirer, he referred to the cancer as “crap.” Doctors predicted he’d live six months. That stretched to more than six years. Both he and Rozin stayed on with the company as consultants until 2002.

Buddy Carpet’s president and CEO Ben Goodyear said everyone associated with the company was saddened by Kallick’s passing. “Although Buddy has not been involved in the management or ownership of Buddy’s Carpet & Flooring for many years, he still had many friends throughout the entire floor covering industry, not just in Cincinnati but everywhere. All who knew him will remember him as a warm and caring gentleman who will be sorely missed.”

Kallick loved promoting his carpet business, his son said. “He loved being out publicly in Cincinnati, and he loved being recognized. He was a folksy sophisticate...he was happy with anyone, on their level. He enjoyed hot dogs and also escargot at the Maisonette. His priceless quality was he could really connect with anyone.”

Survivors include sons, Mark Kallick and David Moore; a daughter, Lauran Hoven of Franklin, Mich.; and two grandchildren. He remained close with his former wife, Phyllis Rehmar. The two divorced in 1971.

Memorials are suggested to Adath Israel Synagogue, Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund, 3201 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236.