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All the failing banks in the news lately remind so many around here of Washington Mutual (WaMu), and that seemed like a good reason to revisit one of the Northwest鈥檚 most memorable 鈥� indelible, even 鈥� ad campaigns of all time.

, a long-beloved local company around here, failed on Sep. 25, 2008. In spite of those recent bank problems in California and elsewhere, WaMu still qualifies as the largest such collapse of a financial institution in American history.

Yes, rest assured that your giant foam hand is still valid: We鈥檙e still Number One!

Long before the subprime mortgage crisis of 15 years ago, Washington Mutual was founded in the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire way back in 1889. In the late 1960s, the Seattle-based savings and loan was on the rise, adding branches and looking to expand its customer base. That鈥檚 when Seattle ad agency Kraft, Smith, and Lowe were hired to raise the beloved institution鈥檚 profile.

The campaign that resulted featured a friendly and familiar looking 鈥� yet hard-to-name 鈥� character actor as Washington Mutual鈥檚 spokesman. In one particular preserved by longtime local ad guy David Horsfall, that familiar man can be seen in a wide shot, standing at the base of the Space Needle. He鈥檚 the embodiment of avuncular and seems like someone you could trust with all of your cash 鈥� like a living, breathing FDIC.

鈥淟ook closely at an exciting idea, and you鈥檒l see that it鈥檚 founded on a simple, sturdy base,鈥� the man says as a zoom shot of the Space Needle dissolves. 鈥淪teel and concrete . . . same kind of base you need when you design your future. A safe, sturdy foundation, like money in a savings account, can support your tallest dreams.鈥�

As the 30-second commercial reaches its conclusion, it鈥檚 a close-up shot now. The familiar spokesman is in full-on 鈥渢rust me鈥� mode, his hand patting one of the concrete footings and giant bolts holding the Space Needle in place.

鈥淟ay your financial foundation at Washington Mutual,鈥� he says with a gentle smile. 鈥淭he friend of the family.鈥�

Similar, locally shot commercials with the same actor and same slogan played seemingly all the time on Northwest TV and radio stations in the 1970s, and variations 鈥� at least with the same actor 鈥� were produced as late as the early 1990s.

That ridiculously resilient slogan 鈥� 鈥淲ashington Mutual, the friend of the family鈥� 鈥� is credited to a local man named Dean Tonkin.

Tonkin is in his early 80s, retired after a decades-long career in advertising, and now managing a skiing program at Snoqualmie Pass. Tonkin grew up in Portland. He moved to Seattle as a child and graduated from Queen Anne High School. After a stint in New York working for advertising giant J. Walter Thompson, he took a job in the late 1960s with Seattle ad agency Kraft, Smith, and Lowe.

Tonkin told 成人X站 Newsradio that the inspiration for 鈥渢he friend of the family鈥� was more like frustration and came from a popular Broadway musical and film in the 1960s.

It seems that the composers of 鈥淥liver!,鈥� the musical based on Charles Dickens鈥� 鈥淥liver Twist,鈥� 鈥渨ould not release the music from the play 鈥� 鈥楥onsider yourself at home, consider yourself one of the family,鈥欌�� Tonkin said, quoting lyrics from one of the shows more memorable tunes.

鈥淎nd so I came up with 鈥榝riend of the family,鈥欌�� he said.

With slogan in hand, it was time for Tonkin to choose a spokesman.

The actor who would become the Washington Mutual spokesman was born in Portland in 1923 and grew up in the neighborhood known as Northeast Portland. He attended acting classes at the University of Washington, though it鈥檚 not clear if he graduated, and he served in the military in World War II. The man鈥檚 Northwest roots did not play a part in his getting the Washington Mutual gig.

Over a decades-long career, this actor ultimately appeared in hundreds of plays, radio shows, movies, and TV programs starting in the 1940s 鈥� with notable roles on TV programs such as 鈥淧lanet of the Apes鈥� and 鈥淕eneral Hospital,鈥� in movies such as 鈥淣orma Rae,鈥� and in plays such as 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� 鈥� and yet, he was never a household name.

And that, Tonkin says, was a big part of the appeal of .

鈥淗e was a genuine gentleman who personified some of the characteristics that I wanted for Washington Mutual,鈥� Tonkin said. 鈥淎nd he also had a good film background as not somebody who is going to 鈥榲ampire鈥� the story by being overriding in his popularity.鈥�

By not 鈥榲ampiring’ the ad campaign, Tonkin means that it would never be about Booth Colman; it would always be about Washington Mutual 鈥� unlike, say, recent campaigns for cryptocurrency companies featuring celebrities like Matt Damon.

Tonkin says Colman was chosen in Los Angeles through a 鈥渃attle-call audition鈥� process and then at least one 鈥渃all-back鈥� to confirm he was, indeed, the one.

It鈥檚 hard to believe now, but Tonkin also says that the choice of Colman to be the spokesman and the adoption of the 鈥渇riend of the family鈥� slogan were not subjected to any of the kind of preliminary vetting which is commonplace in major advertising campaigns these days.

鈥淚t wasn’t put through any rigors of focus groups or convoluted marketing research,鈥� Tonkin said. 鈥淚t was just because it felt right.鈥�

And how quickly did Washington Mutual management love the 鈥渇riend of the family鈥� slogan?

鈥淎s soon as it came out of my mouth,鈥� Tonkin said.

in Los Angeles in 2014 at age 91. It鈥檚 unclear if anyone ever asked him how he felt about the 2008 collapse of the 鈥渇riend of the family.鈥� Tonkin says he was pretty disappointed to see the local institution, which he鈥檇 had a hand in building, fall so dramatically fast.

While the WaMu bank branches and Booth Colman are no longer with us, at least one 鈥渁lternate universe鈥� geographic reference to Washington Mutual remains on the map in Seattle in the form of WaMu Theater at Lumen Field.

The theatre was officially called that in 2006 as part of a 10-year naming rights deal with the savings and loan. At some point in the past 14 years, First & Goal, the entity which operates Lumen Field, quietly swapped out the 鈥淲ashington Mutual鈥� roots of the facility鈥檚 name, so it鈥檚 now formally called 鈥淲ashington Music Theater,鈥� though its nickname remains WaMu Theater. See what they did there?

In one other 鈥渁lternate universe鈥� moment, Tonkin says there was always a small chance that Colman wouldn鈥檛 get the gig.

Tonkin told 成人X站 Newsradio that there was at least one other actor in the running for the spokesman job, but the group making the decision at the audition in Los Angeles 鈥� Tonkin, a Washington Mutual representative, and the creative director and art director from Evans, Kraft, and Lowe 鈥� just couldn鈥檛 get past one aspect of the man鈥檚 appearance.

Tonkin says he can鈥檛 remember the other man鈥檚 name 鈥� this was more than 50 years ago, after all 鈥� but describes him as 鈥渁 very droll character actor.鈥�

And why, exactly, did they choose Booth Colman instead of that other guy?

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 like his hairdo,鈥� Tonkin said.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.