We just told you about Madge the Manicurist. How about our favorite, or possibly only, professional dishwasher?
Actor Eugene Roche became television’s Ajax Man in the early 1970s, playing a no-nonsense restaurant dishwasher who knew exactly how to make greasy dishes “squeaky clean.” After washing a plate with Ajax dishwashing liquid, he would run his fingers across it to produce that memorable squeak.
His familiar sales pitch was, “Professionally speaking, you’ve got to try Ajax.” Roche’s everyday appearance and serious delivery made him seem like a genuine restaurant employee offering advice from years behind the sink.
Colgate-Palmolive ran the campaign through the Norman, Craig & Kummel advertising agency. Roche appeared as the Ajax Man from around 1971 through at least 1977, making him one of the decade’s most familiar commercial characters.
Roche later became a successful character actor, appearing as Pinky Peterson on All in the Family and Luther Gillis on Magnum, P.I.
Do you remember the Ajax Man making that plate squeak?