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CRAZY EDDIE IS INSANE! (video here)
- Thread starter mg196
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You are right, he IS! Now why can't we have one of those stores around here!
mg196
Johnny Thunders - LAMF
The hyperactive TV spokesman (Jerry Carroll) became so identified with the company that many viewers assumed that he was the owner of the company, despite the fact that Crazy Eddie was always referred to in the third person.
In 1989 the chain suffered a major scandal when Eddie Antar and his family were accused (and eventually convicted) of "cooking the books" in order to skim money and inflate inventory. Antar was found to have sold used electronics as new, committed insurance fraud, faked inventory, and skimmed most of the cash payments to avoid taxes. Having taken the company public (the stock was soon worth hundreds of millions), Antar began selling his stock and the stock price began to collapse. The firm was bought in a hostile takeover by another company, but the buyers were quick to find that some $80 million in inventory did not exist. Antar fled to Israel using the name David Cohen, where he lived until 1994 when he was extradited back to the United States. He was subsequently sentenced to eight years in jail, ordered to pay over $150 million in fines and also owes more than a billion dollars from civil suits.
In 1999, the grandchildren of Eddie, Allen and Mitchell Antar revived the Crazy Eddie electronics chain with a store in Wayne, New Jersey, and as an online Internet venue. However, in 2004 Crazy Eddie went out of business again.
In the popular TV Series, Futurama, the character of Malfunctioning Eddie (The over-excited robot which sells cars and explodes if he gets even slightly over-excited) is a parody of Eddie Antar and the Crazy Eddie Empire. Coincidentally, when Eddie Antar fled to Israel, he adopted the false name of David Cohen. David X. Cohen is an executive producer and writer on Futurama.
(pulled from a Wikipedia article)
In 1989 the chain suffered a major scandal when Eddie Antar and his family were accused (and eventually convicted) of "cooking the books" in order to skim money and inflate inventory. Antar was found to have sold used electronics as new, committed insurance fraud, faked inventory, and skimmed most of the cash payments to avoid taxes. Having taken the company public (the stock was soon worth hundreds of millions), Antar began selling his stock and the stock price began to collapse. The firm was bought in a hostile takeover by another company, but the buyers were quick to find that some $80 million in inventory did not exist. Antar fled to Israel using the name David Cohen, where he lived until 1994 when he was extradited back to the United States. He was subsequently sentenced to eight years in jail, ordered to pay over $150 million in fines and also owes more than a billion dollars from civil suits.
In 1999, the grandchildren of Eddie, Allen and Mitchell Antar revived the Crazy Eddie electronics chain with a store in Wayne, New Jersey, and as an online Internet venue. However, in 2004 Crazy Eddie went out of business again.
In the popular TV Series, Futurama, the character of Malfunctioning Eddie (The over-excited robot which sells cars and explodes if he gets even slightly over-excited) is a parody of Eddie Antar and the Crazy Eddie Empire. Coincidentally, when Eddie Antar fled to Israel, he adopted the false name of David Cohen. David X. Cohen is an executive producer and writer on Futurama.
(pulled from a Wikipedia article)
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Crazy Eddie, heading up the river 
Toasted Almond
RIP 1952-2016
Out on Long Island you had Battling Barry and his discount stereo.
2DualsNotEnough
Addicted Member
Those commercials are great!Does anyone remember the SNL skit with Dan Ackroyd doing a Crazy Eddie type commercial with TV's for 5 bucks and whole stereos for 10?"How can we do it?We cant!Crazy Eddie left town with my wife,and left ME in charge of the store!"Great stuff!
Jimmy
Jimmy
denniswilson
Well-Known Member
Crazy Eddie store in Syosset is where I bought my Pioneer SX-535. I Had a price from the Wiz for $169.00. Crazy Eddie gave it to me for $165.00.
Later on I got my PL-112D there and also Dynaco A-25XL and Shure M91ED.
Ahhhh..those were the days of working part time after school and saving up your money to buy stereo equipment...
Later on I got my PL-112D there and also Dynaco A-25XL and Shure M91ED.
Ahhhh..those were the days of working part time after school and saving up your money to buy stereo equipment...
soundmotor
super modified
mg196 said:
IIRC, he was yanked off the kibbutz he was hiding at/living on at the time.
I used to see his ads when I was over in Highland, NY visiting my mom. He always looked like was going to stroke out at any second.
thedelihaus
Nocturnal transmissions
Keep your eyes peeled- either Court TV, or Discovery Channel had a mini-documentary on Crazy Eddie a few months back (around Thanksgiving). It showed how he'd arrange a "wall" of stacked inventory- a bunch of boxes filled with gear as they are supposed to be, stacked 3 or 4 deep, then nothing behind them. Or, the same method this time with empty boxes stacked behind them.
An enjoyable watch for sure.
Thank you so much for the videos!
An enjoyable watch for sure.
Thank you so much for the videos!
thedelihaus
Nocturnal transmissions
Oh, every once and awhile I see a crazy eddie t-shirt pop up on eBay.
Now wouldn't one of those be the perfect shirt to wear at an AK fest?
Now wouldn't one of those be the perfect shirt to wear at an AK fest?
kichijai
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the one in Norwalk, CT was a zoo at all times. I remember bringing in my ad to have them beat a price on a Panasonic HiFi VCR circa 1988. They had a good vinyl selection too.
BTW, that Court TV show was called "Masterminds" regarding Eddie's bust. It was on real late.
BTW, that Court TV show was called "Masterminds" regarding Eddie's bust. It was on real late.
cruppr
New Member
I went to the Crazy Eddie grand opening in East Brunswick, NJ in the late 70's. They were giving out free yellow t-shirts & the line to get in was around the building. I remember I was lucky enough to get two shirts. The Crazy Eddie commercial also appeared in the movie Splash.
ldatlof
We are all steak
jleon92f said:
My friend worked there and every peice had an inventory number below it's model number, etc. It was really a code for the salesman to know what was the lowest price he could sell a peice for. All you had to do was divide by 2 the number that was between the nines. It was like having the keys to castle. Unfortunetly, I was too young to think of collecting. Why would I need more than a stereo and a boombox? :stupid: This thread brought back some memories growing up on L.I.
