In the North Shore neighborhood where Dr. E. James Best lived much of his life, he could walk down his block without drawing much notice from a stranger.
But in Germany, Dr. Best was nothing short of a celebrity.
To television viewers there, he was a familiar face as the pitchman for GlaxoSmithKline’s oral hygiene products marketed under the name “Dr. Best.” A national German magazine once conducted a survey that showed 80 percent of Germans could identify him.
Back home in Evanston, the unassuming but distinguished-looking man made his living as an endodontist–a dentist who specializes in root canal treatments.
Dr. Best, 78, who built a strong and well-regarded practice before achieving fame on German television commercials, died Wednesday, June 26, at his son’s home in Northfield after a long illness.
When he walked through airports, hotels and restaurants in German cities like Dusseldorf and Munich, strangers who thought they recognized him would stare or stop him to ask if he was, indeed, the Dr. Best, his son Robert said.
“They often ask for my autograph too,” Dr. Best said in a 1994 interview.
Germany has a tough truth-in-advertising law that governs the promotion of consumer products bearing someone’s name and face. The law requires that if someone pitching a product is said to have a special title, such as doctor, that person has to actually have that title.
So when the original Dr. Best became elderly, the manufacturers of Dr. Best products came looking for a new spokesman to sell their wares.
Dr. Best from Evanston won the job in 1987. His son-in-law, Peter Greene, had a brother who worked for the advertising agency that made commercials for Dr. Best products. The brother wrote to Dr. Best to see if he would be interested in becoming the spokesman.
Soon Dr. Best, who had a certain gravitas when he wore his lab coat, was not only praising the wonders of his namesake toothpaste and toothbrushes, but also helping develop new products for the company.
His son said his father had already built a practice in the North Shore and was recognized as an instrumental player in making endodontics a dental specialty in the mid-1960s.
While maintaining a private practice his whole career, Dr. Best taught in the dentistry schools at Loyola University and Northwestern University. He also served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and the Air Force during the Korean War.
He also is survived by four daughters, Anne Greene, Susan, Barbara and Margaret Falter; three other sons, Richard, John and Paul; a brother, John; and 16 grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church, 1615 Lincoln St., Evanston.
