Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Ervin Goodman


    Ervin (Goodie) Goodman passed away at home in Los Angeles at the age of 101. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and his daughter, Laurie.
    Goodie spent his early years in Southern California as a sales rep for Victor Tennis Guts and Strings, TA Davis Rackets and Sherman Park desk sets. He was also a member of the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, where Pancho Seguras, a well-known tennis pro, was Goodie’s favorite partner.
    Goodie was a pioneer in the ski business. He was the founder of the Western Winter Sports Association. This association’s first members were Barney MacLean, Wolfgang Lert and Hans Hagemeyer. Goodie and his brother Jerry were the first to produce ski shows, which started in large hotel rooms in many Western cities.
    Goodie and Walter Blascoe were the driving force in creating the sales team for Beconta, the sporting goods company that introduced Volkl skis, Nordica boots, Look Nevada bindings, Puma shoes, Ellesse clothing, Gerry parkas and Sport Aim sweaters. He was also instrumental in the early success of the Hart Ski Co., which, at their peak, made 130,000 pairs of skis in St. Paul, Minn. Goodie was known as the most respected sales representative in 13 Western states.
    Later, Goodie and his two brothers met an individual who had created a soap that was exceptional for washing wool. They entered into a two-year contract for exclusive sales of the product and introduced Woolite to the United States.
    Goodie was active in tennis and golf and loved the Sun Valley nightlife. It was at The Ram that he befriended two Swiss brothers who worked at a tennis shoe manufacturing facility in Switzerland. Goodie and his brother Jerry put together a business plan and joined forces with the brothers Art and Ernie Brunet, starting a tennis shoe factory in Van Nuys, Calif. Through hard work they introduced K-Swiss Tennis Shoes to the world. Twenty years later, in 1980, the business sold for $20 million. Twenty five years later, the global sales of K-Swiss surpassed $500 million.
    He loved hiking and was known for saying, “Let’s go for a walk.” Such “walks” always turned into strenuous hikes. He organized trips with friends to many of the lakes and trails around Sun Valley. Goodie helped Clarice Blechmann produce one of the first trail books of the Sun Valley area. He was an avid photographer and took many wonderful pictures of lakes, flowers and mountains.
    Sue Jacobson, a Ketchum artist, shares a story of talking with a family who had just returned from Aspen. The daughter told a story of being bitterly cold when an unknown gentleman approached and gifted her a parka. Sue asked if this gentleman’s name happened to be “Goodie,” and the girl shrieked, “His name was Goodie?” Goodie’s pattern of extreme generosity was easy to recognize.
    Goodie met his wife, Dorothy, in the early 1950s. Dorothy had worked with producer John Guedel for 12 years on the “Art Linkletter Show” and Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life” show. Goodie and Dorothy spent over 43 wonderful years together.
    Goodie was a great promoter and advocate for Sun Valley. He touched the lives of many and will be dearly missed.




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