Appliance Giant A.J. 'Tony' Campo Dies
Times Picayune 12-29-1996

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A.J. "Tony" Campo, the gravelly voiced appliance maven who grew a regional
chain of electronics stores from a cinder-block storefront on Claiborne
Avenue, died after an extended illness in Covington Saturday. He was 71.

A plain-speaking entrepreneur with a penchant for offbeat showmanship, Mr.
Campo was probably best known for the splashy color newspaper advertisements
and booming television commercials in which he described himself as "The
Appliance Giant." The claim was much more than simple bravado. Not only a
market leader in New Orleans, Campo Appliances, Inc. is now a publicly traded
corporation with 31 outlets in six states.

The son of Sicilian immigrants, Mr. Campo got his start working for his
family's Irish Channel hardware store. Profits were thin and in the hot summer
of 1951, Campo and his brother convinced 1,500 customers that what they really
needed were window air conditioners. So intent were the Campo brothers on
developing a customer base that when they ran out of air conditioners to sell,
they bought more from the competition.

Eventually the side business in appliances became a full-time one for Mr.
Campo, who opened the Claiborne Avenue store in 1967. Mr. Campo's brother
dropped out of the business early on. And while Mr. Campo had not been
involved in the corporation for several years, the original Claiborne store
continues to operate.

Mr. Campo turned over control of the corporation to his children in the early
1990s.

He said he coined his popular moniker after deciding that "nothing was bigger
than a giant."

Asked once about his success, Mr. Campo said there was no real trick to it. "I
don't like to cuss in front of children," he said, "but this is the most
important thing I've got to tell you: You've got to bust your ass. You've got
to break your back and never stop driving. Find something you like and give it
a try."

Campo's son, Paul, said his father was in real life much as he appeared on
television.

"Very charismatic. Vibrant. He was a very dynamic guy. He spoke Italian
fluently. He's always worn a beard.

"He used to compare his voice to Wolfman Jack, the old disc jockey," Paul
Campo said.

Although he was born in Kansas City, Mo. Mr. Campo lived nearly all of his
life in the New Orleans area, most recently on the north shore in Beau Chene.
He served as an infantry officer in World War II. He attended S.J. Peters High
School and Louisiana State University.

Mr. Campo is survived by his seven children, Chuck, Joann, Joseph, Anthony,
Gina, Paul and Carol Campo; 19 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

A wake will be held Monday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Lakelawn Metairie Funeral
Home. Visitation will be at Lakelawn Cemetery Tuesday at 9 a.m. A Mass will be
said at noon.