Thomas Russell Rogers

Thomas Russell Rogers, a retired advertising copywriter who created Charlie the Tuna and other colorful television icons, died suddenly at his home in Charlottesville on June 24, 2005, at the age of 87.

He was born April 29, 1918, in Minneapolis, Minn., the son of the late Donald Davis and Margaret Massengale. He grew up and attended schools in Winnipeg, Canada, and Minneapolis. He worked as an errand boy at a Minneapolis speakeasy in the heyday of Prohibition.

During the Depression he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, doing forestry work in the woods of northern Minnesota, and during World War II he worked as a welder for Northrop Aircraft in southern California, assembling B-17's (the Flying Fortress) and P-61's (the Black Widow).

After the war he found work as a "script doctor" in Hollywood, writing and fixing dialogue in screenplays. He later wrote for nightclub comedians and for the stage and radio while hanging out in the New York beat scene.

He was an advertising copywriter for 25 years. For most of that time, he was employed at the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago. He invented Charlie the Tuna, a character modeled on the streetwise hustlers and rogues he encountered over the years, and he directed and produced the commercials that showcased the scheming StarKist spokesfish. His other creations included the Keebler Elves and 9 Lives' Morris the Cat.

Although he never finished high school, he was a gifted wordsmith who was especially talented at writing dialogue. He was also an accomplished raconteur who loved to share anecdotes about his misadventures on the mean streets of New York and the Twin Cities. His main hobby was crafting short stories and novels; he sold his first story to a pulp magazine for $20 when he was a teenager. He was an avid reader and lifelong bibliophile, and took pleasure in listening to books on tape when his vision became impaired in later years.

A gymnast in his teens, he enjoyed weightlifting and remained physically active throughout his life, taking up cross-country skiing when he retired to rural Wisconsin in 1980.

He married Ardyce Lind in 1953, and they raised three children in Northbrook, Ill. The marriage ended in divorce in 1992.

After moving to Charlottesville in 1997, he became a fixture on the downtown mall, where he enjoyed working out at ACAC, eating lunch at Sal's Caffé Italia, and browsing the shelves of Read it Again, Sam.

Tom is survived by his three children and their spouses, a son Lance Rogers and his wife, Joan, of Charlottesville; and his daughters Valerie Rogers Ewing and her husband, Rich, of Viroqua, Wis., and Sara Rogers DeVito and her husband, David, of Salem, Wis. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Edward Mathein, Jeremie Mathein, Damian Bonham, Ashly Devito, Colin Rogers, Erik Rogers, and William Thomas Rogers. He was preceded in death by his sister, Jeanette Norton.

In lieu of a memorial service, Lance and Joan will receive friends at their home at 11 a.m. on July 16.