 |
| Philadelphia's Cowboy Outfitter, Rodeo Ben |
His given name, Bernard Lichtenstein, rarely appeared in print. But if you search the national newspaper online archive, “Rodeo Ben” appears countless times.
The Polish-born, Jewish tailor was always known as Rodeo Ben, which was also the name of his business.
As a 1941 Miami newspaper article put it: “Strange that the conservative old Quaker City would be the locale for the most famous cowboy tailor in the world. Rodeo Ben has dressed all the big-time cowboy stars and swank dude ranchers.”
Yes, Rodeo Ben said he made western outfits for Gene Autry, Tom Mix, Roy Rodgers, Dale Evans, Hopalong Cassidy and many other Hollywood cowpokes. And in the late 1940s a clothing firm put out a pair of jeans called Wranglers and bragged in advertising that Wranglers were designed by Rodeo Ben.
The idea that a Jewish tailor in Philly produced the best in fancy Western wear intrigue many newspaper writers. Television’s Charles Kuralt spent two days filming Ben.
Once the Joe Palooka comic strip depicted a character entering a store with a Rodeo Ben sign.
A Polish publication did a piece on Rodeo Ben, who left Poland with his parents at age 14 and soon was working behind a sewing machine.
In his early 20s, Lichtenstein became a traveling salesman selling cloth.
Lichtenstein and his son told somewhat similar stories about how he became a cowboy tailor. They say there was a rodeo in our area and a cowgirl was looking for a certain color cloth to sew her own outfit. Lichtenstein produced the rarely-seen color and offered to make the outfit himself. One thing led to another, and sometime in the early 1930s he became Rodeo Ben employing a bunch of tailors and seamstresses churning out western clothes.
He once said business was good, even during the depression.
His first operation was on Colombia Avenue and later moved to Broad Street in Oak Lane. In the new store he sold everything western – boots, hats, saddles, leather jackets with fringes, clothes with rhinestones and sequins.
He was often asked why he didn’t open stores in Texas or other western states. He said he was doing fine in Philly and didn’t need the aggravation of starting a chain. “I have 10,000 measurements on file,” he declared.
He also put out a mail order catalogue.
Lichtenstein died in 1985 at age 90. His son had already closed the iconic Broad Street store in 1983. Today you’ll most likely to find an original Rodeo Ben outfit at an antiques auction