Robert G. Whitehead

Robert George Whitehead (October 31, 1916 – February 22, 2007) was a businessman in Texas who created Quaker House Products, Inc., which produces and markets the first-aid ointment known as "Blue Star". Some 50 million jars are sold annually in the United States. Whitehead was a marketing maverick who used powerful innovative 10-second television advertisements to sell Blue Star. The shorter ads cost much less than the traditional 30-second commercials, and Whitehead learned to pack the needed information to attract customers within the reduced time frame.

Whitehead was born in Fort Morgan, in northeastern Colorado. His mother's family traced its roots to the pre-Revolutionary War period, and Whitehead's daughters are affiliated with the Daughters of the American Revolution. Whitehead's father, Dan Whitehead, was a third-generation cattle broker and auctioneer. Robert said that much of his business success came from his father's direction. In 1882, Dan Whitehead's family established the town of Oakland in Pottawattamie County in western Iowa.

Whitehead began his sales career with the Gail Borden Company in Houston and then was sales director for Amalie Oil in Corpus Christi. He founded Quaker Products from his home in Houston and obtained the rights to distribute Blue Star, which became the primary product of his firm. He also offered a cleaner for steam irons. He claimed that Blue Star successfully treated the painful psoriasis from which he had suffered since his teenage years. The product claims to offer relief from various types of itching, ringworm, and athlete's foot.

Blue Star was first produced by the German immigrant chemist Adolf Gottlieb in the farming community of Plantersville in Grimes County in southeastern Texas. Gottlieb sold the Blue Star formula in the 1930s to the traveling salesman Jim Bourland of Fort Worth. When Bourland died, his housekeeper inherited Blue Star. The Whiteheads acquired marketing rights thereafter, and sales skyrocketed. Whitehead's older son and a daughter assisted him in the family-owned and operated business.

Whitehead was largely self-educated but developed a great interest and talent for scholarship and art. From 1955 to 1967, he was associated with the Great Book Council of Houston and led Great Books discussion clubs associated with Rice University there. His art work was displayed in the Museum of Art in Houston and in commercial galleries throughout Texas. He used watercolor, acrylic, and oil to develop a unique abstract style.

Whitehead spent his later years in Laredo in south Texas, where he died peacefully at home. Whitehead was survived by his wife, Persis P. Whitehead, and 7 children, June Whitehead, Patricia Whitehead, Gail Whitehead, Danielle Whitehead, Henry Whitehead, and Kathryn Whitehead.

References

Whithead obituary, "Laredo Morning Times", February 24, 2007

http://www.bluestarointment.com/