William Jefferson Blythe Jr. lost control of his 1942 Buick on U.S. Route 60 outside of Sikeston, Missouri, after one of his car's tires blew out. He survived the accident after being thrown from the car, but drowned in a drainage ditch as he tried to pull his way out of the three feet (1 meter) of water in the ditch. Three months later, Blythe's widow, Virginia, gave birth to their son, whom she named William Jefferson Blythe III in honor of his father and grandfather. In 1950, Blythe's widow married Roger Clinton Sr.; 12 years later, Blythe's posthumous son legally adopted his stepfather's
Bob Blythe rack jobbers. On board with Blythe was stockholder Manny Kopelman and sales vice-president Danny Weston. Bob Blythe Bob Blythe was a ball point pen manufacturer and owner of BB pens. Later he was president of a record company, Tops Records, as well as founder of budget record label Sutton Records. Blythe was a former vaudevillian who drove around in a yellow convertible. He would hire actors to work in his pen factory. He partnered up with Jack Stein, a Los Angeles surgeon. They began the pen operation in Mrs. Stein's kitchen, but as a result of making a mess in