Famous people who have worn a Bulova

Submitted by mybulova_admin on December 15, 2012 - 6:53am

I'll start off with this gem.

Elvis presely - Accutron Space View

Elvis Presely Accutron Spaceview

Time Bandit
Posted March 9, 2013 - 8:58pm

                                         

Mr. & Mrs. Hoagy Carmichael

DarHin
Posted March 10, 2013 - 12:06am

Hoagy was a songwriter way back. While I can't name any songs off the top of my head I'm sure that we all know quite a few.

Time Bandit
Posted March 10, 2013 - 12:56pm

In reply to by DarHin

More than a "songwriter" was in films along with having many famous connections, and many awards including the "AA"s".

Time Bandit
Posted March 10, 2013 - 6:52am

"Google"

bobee, I think that tune was Hoagy's not so well know son, "Ruben" ....

William Smith
Posted March 10, 2013 - 7:20pm

There were many characatures of Hoagy, usually showing a cleft chin and large nose.  There were similar characatures of both Hoagy and Jimmy Durante.   The phrase "aha cha cha" comes to mind, but I think that is associated with Durante.  The Hanna-Barbarra cartoon "The Flintstones" (c 1963?) had "Hoagy" featured in a couple episodes.  He often had his hat almost on the back of his head rather than on top, a cigar hanging from his lip, doing some jazzy word play that was similar to "scat/jazz singing" like King Louie (Louie Prima) did in the Disney "Jungle Book" cartoon.

timerestoration
Posted June 25, 2013 - 12:45pm

In reply to by William Smith

FYI - the guy on the left above is Charles Krauthammer... not Hoagy Charmichael.

William Smith
Posted March 10, 2013 - 7:36pm

IMO, one of the true measures of fame and success for this period is a star appearing in the Flintstones, or the Beverly Hillbillys/Pettie Coat Junction/Green Acres.... Sorry Stephen....but if you aren't up on these things, your missing quite a snapshot of 1950/60's America.

mybulova_admin
Posted June 22, 2013 - 7:55pm

I know them all and spent many an hour sitting in front of the TV as a kid.

The good old golden days of television. So back to the watches :-)

JimDon5822
Posted July 24, 2020 - 10:50am

Another Elvis Bulova

Elvis Accutron

Elvis Accutron details

Geoff Baker
Posted July 24, 2020 - 7:40pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

I guess some of you have seen this photo I took a while back. It's Maria Ollman, Stephens wife wearing this very Elvis Presley  watch (she's a BIG fan of Elvis). Photo taken on October 1, 2019 in the Bulova Museum, which is located on the 29th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City. 

Maria Ollman wearing the famous Elvis Presley's Bulova Accutron watch

mybulova_admin
Posted February 8, 2021 - 5:02pm

In reply to by Geoff Baker

Here is a closer look at the certificate of authenticity and back of the watch showing the EP engraving.

Certificate of authenticity. Elvis Presley 521 Bulova Accutron watch

Back of Elvis Presley 521 Bulova Accutron watch

Reverend Rob
Posted July 24, 2020 - 10:03pm

And of course, Commander Dave Scott's Bulova Chronograph:

 

moon watch

JimDon5822
Posted September 13, 2020 - 11:29pm

Robert K German of the US State Department.

It is a 1942 President "E" and is engraved "Vadectorian Robert K. German Bonhi 1944".   I was able to research this on newspapers.com and found that Bonhi was short for Bonham High School.   I was then able to find Robert K German and his obituary.  Turns out he was a senior US State Department Officer who was at the forefront of the Cold War.   What an interesting man.  Here is his obituary.  The best part is there was a slide show with the obit and believe it or not I think found a picture of him with the watch.  

Robert K. German passed away peacefully on March 11, 2018 with his daughter by his side. In his words, the cause was a matter of “too many birthdays”. His wife of 57 years, Jean Wesley German, passed away in 2012. Robert (Bob) was born on August 27, 1927 in Sherman, Texas, and lived on the family farm near Whitewright until moving to Bonham for third grade. He graduated from Bonham High School in 1944, then took the train to Austin and enrolled in the University of Texas where he completed a BA in 1947 an LLB in 1952. Before completing law school, from 1948 – 1950 (Stalinist years), Bob worked at the United States Embassy in Moscow, U.S.S.R.. After finishing law school and passing the Bar exam, Bob began a 35 year career as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State, interrupted by four years’ service in the USAF from 1952-1956. He served in Moscow twice more, from 1962-64 (during the Cuban Missile Crisis) and from 1978 to 1980 (during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan) when he served as Counselor of Embassy for Political Affairs and periodically as Charge d ’Affaires. Other assignments included tours in Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan; the U.S. Army Russian Language School in Oberammergau, Germany; Oslo, Norway; Berlin & Bonn Germany and Washington, D.C.. In Washington, he served as Director of the Office of Soviet Union Affairs (the "Soviet Desk"), Director of the Office of Analysis for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and as Dean of the School of Area Studies at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute and graduated from the U.S. Naval War College. Bob also had short assignments with travel throughout Eastern Europe, and to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. After retiring as a Minister Counselor from the Foreign Service, he worked for a year with the Carnegie Endowment for World Peace and twice held a visiting professorship at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at U.T. (1985-86 and 1989). He and Jean retired in her hometown of Austin. Throughout his life, Bob was active in many community organizations. As a UT student, he was a member of Delta Tau Delta, the Cowboys and the Longhorn Band. After retirement, he remained active with the Delt Foundation, the Austin Rotary Club, and Town and Gown. Despite the serious nature of his career, Bob had a wonderful sense of humor and was a gracious and kind friend and man of faith. He is survived by his daughter Elizabeth (Beth) German of San Pedro and Albuquerque, New Mexico and by many friends all over the world from all walks of life. He and Beth are especially grateful for the help and friendship given to him by Nicholas Daly during the past five years, and for the care provided by those at Brookdale Parmer Lane and Brookdale Hospice.

1942 President1942 President

Robert German

mybulova_admin
Posted November 26, 2020 - 4:33am

In reply to by JimDon5822

Dave Scott's Bulova moon watch sold for $1.625 million......I think that will hold the record for some time, unless Lindbergh's watch that he 'wore' on his historic flight can be found :-)

JimDon5822
Posted November 26, 2020 - 10:00pm

Joe DiMaggio's Bulova Accutron

The baseball Hall of Famer who married Marilyn Monroe owned this technologically advanced (for its time) electronic wristwatch and kept it in mint condition. It sold for $20,000 at Antiquorum in 2013. 

Joe DiMaggios Accutron

RAYBAN-USA
Posted November 27, 2020 - 12:02am

JFK 1941 BULOVA         

JFK'S BULOVA

https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/just-because/watches-legendary-j…

The first watch that Kennedy was ever photographed wearing was an Art Deco style gold Bulova, on a stretch gold link bracelet with a plate at the bottom engraved “JFK 1941.” With a pink dial and gold numerals, the watch was attractive but not that rugged, and the active Kennedy cracked the crystal several times. The story goes that a female admirer gave him the watch at a Washington, DC function. 1941 was the year Kennedy joined United States Naval Reserve and the staff of the Office of Naval Intelligence, prior to his famed assignment commanding PT boats in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The watch was put up for auction in 2013 but its current whereabouts are unknown.

The first watch that Kennedy was ever photographed wearing was an Art Deco style gold Bulova. (credit: Rings for Women)

 

RAYBAN-USA
Posted November 27, 2020 - 12:24am

Bugsy Siegel's Bulova

Bugsy Siegel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muh6TJmgPbA

1940's Gangster Bugsy Siegel, 18K gold Bulova Wristwatch

Credited as the man who brought gambling to the desert, Las Vegas mobster Bugsy Siegel was a man who lived on the edge, having built influence within the Jewish Mob, New York Mafia and Jewish-Italian National Crime Syndicate. Beginning his life of crime as a bootlegger during prohibition, Siegel later turned to gambling after alcohol was legalised in 1933. On display at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas is Siegel’s 18K gold Bulova watch.

RAYBAN-USA
Posted December 10, 2020 - 12:23am

Loretta Young Bulova Loretta Young Bulova

Loretta Young Bulova

https://www.chrono24.com/bulova/bulova-1953-vintage-ladies-10k-gold-fil…

1940s-50s Actress Loretta Young's 1953 Bulova

It has a wonderful vintage style and both bracelet and watch are signed Bulova. It was made and presumably subsequently used by her near the peak of her career in 1953, the year she made her last film and transitioned to starring in television, a relatively new medium at the time, in her dramatic anthology series, "The Loretta Young Show.

The series earned three Emmy Awards, and was re-run successfully on daytime TV and later in syndication. The program ran in prime time on NBC for eight years, the longest-running primetime network program hosted by a woman up to that time. In the 1980s, Young returned to the small screen and won a Golden Globe for her role in Christmas Eve in 1986.

A successful child star who began her career at only four years old, Ms. Young had a long a varied career in film from 1917 to 1953.

In 1934 she co-starred with Cary Grant in Born to Be Bad and in 1935 was cast with Clark Gable and Jack Oakie in the film version of Jack London's The Call of the Wild, directed by William Wellman.

Young made as many as eight movies a year. In 1947, she won an Oscar for her performance in The Farmer's Daughter. That same year, she co-starred with Cary Grant and David Niven in The Bishop's Wife, a perennial favorite. In 1949, she received another Academy Award nomination for Come to the Stable. In 1953, she appeared in her last theatrical film, It Happens Every Thursday, a Universal comedy about a New York couple who move to California to take over a struggling weekly newspaper; her co-star was John Forsythe.

In 1988, Young received the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who through their endurance and the excellence of their work helped expand the role of women in the entertainment industry.

Young has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for her work in television, at 6135 Hollywood Boulevard, and the other for her work in motion pictures, at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2011, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars, in Palm Springs, California, was dedicated to her.
 

JimDon5822
Posted January 16, 2021 - 10:39pm

Joe Dimaggio's 1944 Chronograph.

Dimaggio Bulova chronograph

Dimaggio Watch

JimDon5822
Posted January 16, 2021 - 10:50pm

Clyde Barrow's Bulova worn on the day he was killed with Bonnie of the Bonnie and Clyde infamy.

Clyde Barrow Watch

JimDon5822
Posted January 21, 2021 - 8:35pm

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  Bulova Accutron Watch. 

Timepiece personally owned by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Fob watch by Bulova Accutron is gold plated, featuring gold hands and plain numeral markers on a brushed nickel tone dial. Measures 1.5''. Near fine condition. Provenance from Sotheby's auction of The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor, held in Geneva, Friday 3rd April 1987, Lot 249.

Duke and Duchess of WindsorDuchess of Windsor Sotheby's Catalog Cover

JimDon5822
Posted January 21, 2021 - 10:51pm

Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), also known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers" and inventor of the  "terrible towel".  He was the first football announcer inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. The Accutron watch features “Super Bowl X” printed on the face in black and gold along with the Steelers’ three asteroid logo. Engraved on the back “Myron Cope / Jan 18, 1976 / Miami.” Watch is in working order, with only minor wear. Sold at Auction for $1,500.  (way to low for this watch IMO)Myron Cope Super Bowl Accutron

Geoff Baker
Posted January 28, 2021 - 10:16pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

I saw those Steelers play in Super Bowl XL, I had one of those towels........

RAYBAN-USA
Posted January 28, 2021 - 12:28am

Gordon Cooper 

Gordon Cooper (1927-2004)

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States.

On May 15, 1963 , Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final crewed mission of the U.S. Mercury Program, The spacecraft, named Faith 7 and piloted by Astronaut Gordon Cooper, was the victim of an electric incident in his capsule during a routine mission around the Earth. He used the chronometer function of his  Bulova Accutron "Astronaut" to time the restarting of the engines and was able to return to Earth. He praised the Bulova Accutron for helping to save his life.  (https://www.timesticking.com/the-history-of-the-accutron-spaceview-watc…)   

Gordon Cooper

Gordon Cooper

 

JimDon5822
Posted January 28, 2021 - 9:08am

Nice one!  Love in space photos of Bulova's!

JimDon5822
Posted February 1, 2021 - 8:26pm

The king of watches himself, Paul Newman, wore a Bulova Accutron Spaceview.

 

Newman Accutron

Geoff Baker
Posted February 1, 2021 - 9:48pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

I knew this man, in fact it might be more accurate to say he knew me. I worked with his racing team managers at many, many events over the 25 years I was involved in Champ Car, CART and IndyCar races. I honestly never, ever noticed the watch he wore. His drivers were always top notch as was his hospitality suite at the races!

JimDon5822
Posted February 1, 2021 - 10:28pm

Les Paul gifted by Frank Sinatra from the estate of Les Paul.  

Les PaulLess Paul 2

JimDon5822
Posted February 1, 2021 - 10:33pm

Jazz great Art Tatum gifted by Frank Sinatra

Art TatumArt Tatum 2

JimDon5822
Posted February 1, 2021 - 10:37pm

Bob Haymes (American, 1923-1989) gifted by Frank Sinatra (American, 1915-1998). A 14K yellow gold men's wrist watch circa 1950 presented to Bob Haymes by Frank Sinatra for co-writing the song "That's All" with Alan Brandt. Marked on the case back exterior "To Bob Haymes, From Frank Sinatra".

 

Bob HaymesBob Haymes 2

mybulova_admin
Posted February 1, 2021 - 10:59pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

Wow Frank was giving them away left, right and center wasn't he. Probably got a great discount on them :-)

That and could have had something to do with Bulova's involvement in the Frank Sinatra Show

RAYBAN-USA
Posted March 25, 2021 - 12:42am

Scott Carpenter  (1925-2013)

Malcolm Scott Carpenter was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. Scott Carpenter flew into space on May 24, 1962, watched by 40 million television viewers. Carpenter was the second American to orbit the Earth and the fourth American in space, after Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Glenn.  He prominently wore a Bulova Accutron Astronaut as an everyday watch in his personal life.

CarpenterACarpenter1Carpenter2

Carpenter3

JimDon5822
Posted April 19, 2021 - 10:22pm

American Actor William Holden.

William Holden

JimDon5822
Posted March 12, 2024 - 11:25pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

Officially named Golden Boy and featured in the movie Golden Boy.   This could be the first watch product placement in history and adds to the list of firsts by Bulova.

JimDon5822
Posted November 21, 2022 - 9:29pm

Emma Thompson in the movie Love Actually.  1930's American Clipper

Love Actually

JimDon5822
Posted November 21, 2022 - 9:35pm

Roger Moore in "The Saint" Bulova Regatta 23

Roger Moore

JimDon5822
Posted November 21, 2022 - 9:46pm

Joe DiMaggio's Bulova Accutron Spaceview

Joe Dimaggio

JimDon5822
Posted November 21, 2022 - 9:52pm

Elvis Presley's 1971 Bulova Accutron

Elvis

JimDon5822
Posted November 13, 2023 - 8:48pm

In a photo from the 1967 12 hours of Sebring (above), Carroll Shelby is seen wearing a Bulova Accutron Astronaut on a stainless steel bracelet. 

Carol Shelby

Geoff Baker
Posted November 13, 2023 - 9:34pm

In reply to by JimDon5822

I've been to that race - it is a CRAZY WILD DAY(and half the night). Those two guys are flat out American racing Royalty.  That's Dan Gurney on the right.

JimDon5822
Posted December 1, 2023 - 9:11pm

Betty Grable

 

Betty Grable

JimDon5822
Posted March 12, 2024 - 11:41pm

Kevin Spacey in LA Confidential circa 1965 Bulova Surf King

Surf King from LA Confidential