King Stahlman Dies at 85

"It's better to know me and not need me than to need me and not know me"
You have a King Stahlman matchbook laying SOMEWHERE around your house and if you ever needed a bail bond he is probs the first guy you'd call. It just seemed like this loved San Diego icon always had my back in case I needed him, even though I didn't know him.George Stahlman died of emphysema (with a WW II Purple Heart and a history mention on the 1976 SD Mayor Election ranking (5th)) on Friday the 13th, 2009.

Rest In Peace King Stahlhman


George 'King' Stahlman dies at 85; well-known bail bondsman, San Diego icon
By Dana Littlefield
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
February 13, 2009

SAN DIEGO — George “King” Stahlman, a bail bondsman and fixture in the community for more than 60 years, died Friday morning of emphysema, his family announced.

Stahlman, 85, was known for his gregarious personality and propensity for self-promotion in a highly competitive business. He is widely recognizable from his television, radio and print advertising, many of which featured the jingle: “It's better to know me and not need me than to need me and not know me.”

According to his family, Stahlman's longtime motto was: “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.”

Stahlman was born in Los Angeles County in the Hollywood/Glendale area on June 26, 1923. He served in the Navy from 1941 to 1946 and was awarded a Purple Heart after he was injured in the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.

His son-in-law, Mike Hardwick, noted Stahlman's ship was torpedoed and sunk in November 1942 on Friday the 13th. He died on Friday the 13th, surrounded by family at his Del Cerro home.

Stahlman started his business in Oceanside in 1946, Hardwick said. Stahlman had the oldest bail bond license in the state, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune profile in 2004.

He had operated King Stahlman Bail Bonds from its current downtown San Diego location since December 1960 and later expanded to storefronts near jails in Chula Vista, Santee and Vista.

He ran for mayor of San Diego in 1967 and finished a distant fifth with 4 percent of the vote.

“He's always been a person who did whatever he could to help our clients out,” said Michael L. Crowley, a veteran attorney and president of the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association.

“He's always served the community honorably,” Crowley said.

Stahlman is survived by his three children, George, Cara Mia and Cindy, and his four grandchildren. His wife, Beverly Ann, died in August 2003.