Emmert Royer
Star of BHA's 'Right, Toby?' commercials dies
By Khalid Moss, Dayton Daily News Staff Writer
Updated 5:51 PM Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Emmert
Royer,
founder of BHA (Better Home Appliances), was a familiar
figure in most area households. His quirky, TV commercials
— often featuring the Maltese “Toby” — ran for five decades
and his showmanship and knack for promotion were part of a
well-calculated sales strategy that contributed to the
success of his company.
Royer, who was 89, died
Saturday, May 22 in Dayton. Emmert graduated from
Northridge High School and is in the Northridge Hall of
Fame.
Royer was a standout athlete at Northridge High School
before heading overseas to fight in WWII. After the war he
returned to Dayton and sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door.
His success with vacuum cleaners led him to include home
appliances. In 1953 Royer began selling pianos and organs
in addition to appliances from his Main St. store. Royer
moved BHA to its current location, 868 S. Patterson Blvd.,
in 1969. His son Bob joined the business in 1974 after
graduating from Miami University. He said his father was
not only an excellent businessman but also a great dad and
a wonderful local personality. “He personally knew all the
celebrities like Phil Donahue, Lou Emm, Don Wayne, Gil
Whitney and many others. He was an icon in the piano and
organ business for his promotion ability and free lesson
program. We were Kimball piano and Conn organ companies
largest dealer in the nation for a single store outlet.”
Royer said BHA, now in its 61st year of business, will
continue to operate and grow. He said the company now sells
more than $1 million of pianos online.
Mark DePaul of Huber Heights was among the Miami Valley
residents who remembered Royer, his dog and his jingle
fondly Tuesday. Now 57, DePaul said he first saw Royer in
person at the Montgomery County Fair at age 13. “It was a
big thing to meet Emmert Royer,” DePaul said, noting that
back then, Royer routinely gave kids who could recite the
jingle a dollar. DePaul’s wife worked for one of Royer’s
children. She was among those to share her condolences on
his family on Royer’s Legacy.com page. “May it help to know
that the legacy Emmert Royer left behind will always be
remembered,” she wrote. Amelia Robinson contributed to this
report.
Contact this reporter at (937)
225-2167 or kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.