Fuccillo car ad sidekick dies
Commercial whiz known for his pitch, “Hey, folks, Tom Park here”
The man who came into upstate New York living rooms for years with his catchphrase, “Hey, folks, Tom Park here,” in car sales giant Billy Fuccillo’s television ads has died.
Park, a Texas resident who had a broadcasting production company that placed him in car sales ads across the country, was a TV and radio commercial sidekick of Fuccillo’s in the 2000s. He also often appeared alongside actress Caroline Renfro, who simply went by “Caroline” in the ads.
Park’s wife of 48 years, Jenny Park, posted about his death on June 19, CNY Central reported Tuesday. The television station said he was 69.
“My man, Tom Park, married to for 48 years, rock and rolled for our best youngest years, had two sons who brought him the most joy in life, a proud Papa to his 5 granddaughters, car commercial G.O.A.T., hottest guitarist, puppy to his kitty, lover of fishing and golf, passed away today from cancer at 6:21pm surrounded by family,” she posted on Facebook. “Thank you, babe, for the laughs, music, love and the wildest trip of a marriage ever! ‘In a sea of people, my eyes will always search for you.’”
In an Associated Press profile on Park two decades ago, it noted that he would tape commercials for car markets all over the country one after the other in a day, noting he would “rip through 21 commercials in an hour without a flub.”
“In my resume I put 50,000, but I know it’s over 100,000,” Park said in the 2002 story about how many spots he taped over the years. “Nobody ever believes it, so I don’t put it in there.”
Park played in a band as a young man (his wife was the lead singer) and was trying to
break into broadcasting when he first got the offer to do a car commercial in 1981.
Park posted that he was doing Fuccillo commercials until at least 2019, the latest date he uploaded a commercial to his Youtube channel Tom Park Media.
Fuccillo, the larger-than-life personality who was also known for his philanthropy, died in June 2021 at age 65. Fuccillo Automotive Group, based in Syracuse, was the largest privately owned dealership in the state, and had locations across upstate New York and in Florida. Last year the group began splitting off and selling the company.