Joe Pierre |
of SEVCO |
 |
 |
The original 'Wild and Crazy Guy'
SEVCO (Sound Electronics Video Company) was the brainchild of Joe Pierre. He memorably appeared in his own commercials from the early 1970s through the 80s. Watch one below. Could Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin have been watching Tulsa TV? |
Does anybody remember those commercials for "Sefco" that came on late night TV, usually on some locally hosted movie show? The guy had an accent of some kind. Heck, I don't even remember what "Sefco" was but I do remember that guy saying it!
Not sure what his accent was...sounded like eastern European to me.
Didn't Peter Hardt, the director at KVOO-TV, do the voice over for SEVCO? He had a German accent. SEVCO was just down the street from Channel 2.
The guy that owned SEVCO was Joe Pierre and had a French accent. A daughter of his was a friend of mine.
I found a view of a 70s teenager's bedroom full of electronic gear . Mine never reached this density, but I still use the pictured Kenwood amp and Pioneer turntable (purchased from "try it, you'll like it...SEVCO"), and I used to have the TEAC tape deck and Realistic amp.
I didn't find anything about SEVCO or Joe Pierre (who just passed on a year or two ago). He used to do live commercials from the 3620 S. Peoria Brookside store, sponsoring the Channel 2 Saturday movie. I'll bet a lot of people remember "Crazy Joe" from SEVCO. I worked for him for several years, starting at age 15. I have several commercials... Any interest in putting something on TTM?
(from GroupBlog 310) The webmaster said:
Actually, this SEVCO spot was shot in the fall of 1982, if I remember correctly. Joe's fashion sense remained pretty much the same for decades - sort of lounge-lizard chic. I don't remember ever seeing him in a pair of jeans.
The very PL-112D Pioneer turntable upon which I am now playing Robin Trower Live! was purchased from SEVCO, downstairs at Southroads Mall, on 6-17-77.
Read several posts about the man who used to own SEVCO down on Peoria and have to mention this also. Dad took me in there one Saturday morning and Joe Pierre was waiting on us, showing us stereo receivers, when all of a sudden Mr. Pierre leaned over and spit on one of the receivers and started wiping it off, telling us that spit was one of the best cleaners ever invented. Imagine doing that these days in front of a prospective customer looking at a thousand-dollar stereo unit!
Location: Third Stone From The Sun My aunt and uncle worked for Joe at SEVCO for many years. My uncle Ed was the first to work at SEVCO doing repair work. He was really good with electronics, I think he started in the mid 60s and my aunt Lynn went to work at the store a few years later working in the office. From what I remember Joe was a real firecracker to work for and had a volatile temper. He would get mad about something and would either fire them or they would quit, this happened at least a couple times and then he would call ask them to come back to work since they were such valuable employees. I only met Joe on a couple of occasions when my dad and I would go by the store to see my aunt and uncle or look at the electronics. I remember hearing SEVCO stories at our family Holiday gatherings, it was quite entertaining.
Joe Pierre used to hang out at the Penthouse Club in the early 70s when I was a regular there and his standard line was "Let's get something straight between us," accompanied by an entirely unnecessary pelvic thrust. Every time I saw the "wild and crazy guys" on SNL, talking about "big American breasts," I thought of Joe Pierre. I'm sure I wasn't the only one he said this to; he was like a broken record.
Joe owned the Penthouse Club for awhile. I remember hauling some huge JBL L-200 studio monitors and a great big Marantz 500 power amp up there and installing them. I think he liked the idea of being the host of a party every night. He spent more and more time at "the club" for awhile there - I think he eventually had to let it go when finances began to stretch too thin. I still have a book of Penthouse Club matches around here somewhere among my SEVCO memorabilia.
I believe SEVCO was in the building on the other side of Peoria with painted verbiage facing south (just upper left of the center of this photo.) Stacy Richardson worked for KAKC then. Here is his personal report on the tornado.
SEVCO invoice, courtesy of Ed Colton
Joe Pierre Sr. was my grandfather. His oldest son, Joe Jr., is my father. I was browsing around and found this site. I just wanted to let you know I have all of the original SEVCO commercials on a DVD. And tons of SEVCO stuff. I saw the thread about his accent and I wanted to let people know that he disguised his accent because he was a Holocaust survivor. Joe was a young boy in Poland when the Russians invaded and put him and his mother in the camps. But it was his voice on all of the commercials.
Mike, I just wanted you guys to know what a great website you have, and the page devoted to my dad's business, SEVCO. He would have really enjoyed it! I grew up working there, and have to say that to be a part of Tulsa television was quite an honor. As the oldest son and main inheritor of most all the SEVCO memorabilia, that for others to enjoy commercials from the eighties is a kick! I have a copy of every SEVCO commercial from 1974 on (including radio jingles from the 1960s) and would be glad to share them. I'll share copies of the SEVCO commercials for the Ed Greer Tape Center commercials that Gailard Sartain used to do; they were pretty funny, too! (Remember 1417 E. 11-teenth?) Many pictures of Joe Pierre and the SEVCO family can be found at http://photos.yahoo.com/josephpierre@sbcglobal.net. Thanks for the memories, guys, and hi to Ed Colton! |
(via email 4/19/2006)
Ed Colton said:
(via
email 4/28 and 5/9/2006) Anonymous female reader said:
