A little History on Cortland S. Fox, the man

Cortland S. Fox was born in 1904 and died in 1993, at the age of 89 in Newport Beach, California. Cort Fox was 42 years old when he opened his dealership with Budge Boyle. He was 53 years old when this picture at left was taken. He was 68 when the dealership signage went from Cort Fox Ford to Castle Ford. Cort said he sold the dealership in the 1960’s, but his name remained on the building until 1972. Perhaps it was run by his son and grandson. See below for more information.

Cort has a son named Warren Cortland Fox. Warren also had a son named Warren Cortland Fox, but he prefers to go by the name W.C.

The automotive business still runs in the family. I have spoken to W.C. and he owns Fox Auto Consultants in Huntington Beach, California. See the logo for his business shown below. W.C. was fortunate enough to acquire many of the items from the Cort Fox Ford dealership in Hollywood.

On September 11, 1961 the Cort Fox Leasing business opened. Over the years three locations were listed. One was located at 1221 W. Coast Highway #121, Newport Beach, California 92663. Another at 2586 Newport Boulevard, Costa Mesa and at address of 1545 Hillhurst Avenue. The Hillhurst leasing lot is shown on the Boom Town Map.

The people that I have spoken to all mention how popular the dealership was. There was something special about that Fox and the ears protruding that high. The signs at the dealership and the license plate frames all carried that Fox and was very recognizable. You did not have to see the words Cort Fox or Ford to know what dealership the Fox represented. David Hurst told me he grew up on Hillhurst Avenue not far from the dealership. He used to ride his bicycle to Cort Fox to look at the new cars in the late 1940’s.

As stated in Cort Fox’s bio, he focused on leasing which appears to be in the mid-1960’s. The conversations I had with W.C. Fox shown above on the right, he worked with his father Warren (center) at the dealership. Warren managed Cort Fox Ford for several years.

Shown below are photos advertising the leasing business and a photo of the Costa Mesa leasing building located at 2586 Newport Boulevard.

A former employee told me that Cort Fox was a quiet man and liked to remain in the background. Cort was not bashful when it came to putting his name in lights on the dealership and leasing business.
Warren Fox was a people person and was very approachable. He knew the business and always had a smile. He still lives in Southern California W.C. Fox gave me the impression that he is very proud of his years associated with the dealership. He has moved on with his own business and happy to carry on the Fox automotive tradition, the 3rd generation.