Frank Bartles (in the fedora) did all of the talking while Ed Jaymes (in the baseball cap) listened quietly to his partner and the reasons why people should drink their wine coolers. At the conclusion of each commercial, Frank politely said, "And thank you for your support."

The Frank & Ed spots were created for Gallo Wines by Hal Riney & Partners (formerly Ogilvy & Mathers/SF). Hal Riney wrote 143 of the 230 TV spots. Directed by Joe Pytka, the commercials won an ANDY in 1986 for the best print and broadcast advertisement.

After the ad campaign finished Dave (the talker) and Dick (the quiet one) did some regional spots and became, for a time, spokespersons for Golf Digest.

Richard A. "Dick" Maugg, a former general contractor and Alpha Rho '53 alumni from the University of Washington, returned to his contracting business, Maugg Construction. David Rufkahr died of a heart attack in April 1996 at the age of 61.

"Hello there. My name is Fred Bartles and this is Ed Jaymes. You know, it occurred to Ed the other day that between his fruit orchard and my premium grade wine vineyard, we could make a truly superior premium-grade wine cooler. It sounded good to me. So Ed took out a second on his house, and wrote to Harvard for an MBA, and now we’re preparing to enter the wine cooler business. We will try to keep you posted on how it’s going. And thank you for your support."

The October 18, 1986 installment of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Phil Hartman as Fred Bartles and E. Whitney Brown (Ed Jaymes) did a spoof of the Bartles and James commercials. The sketch focused on a drug awareness spot about crack. An excerpt from the transcript follows:

Frank Bartles: Hello. I am Frank Bartles. And this is my partner, Ed Jaymes.

Ed Jaymes: Hello.

Frank Bartles: We hope you enjoyed the first game of the World Series, we are sorry the Mets lost. But what a slugfest that was. Ed and I have asked the National Broadcasting Company for this time to discuss something that you may heard about - crack. In case you do not get out as much as we do, crack is a drug. Now, Ed and I tried a lot of fool things when we were young, but fortunately we stopped before we suffered any.. permanent damage. Right, Ed?

Ed Jaymes: [ nods slowly ]

Frank Bartles: At least, I did. Why, one time, Ed put a penny on a railroad track, and it got real big.. [ Ed extends his arms ] But crack is a different matter. Even a little bit can cause you to become really stupid. That is what makes people do it a second time. Crack is a killer drug. Take it from us. It is nice to grow old. You can sit on the porch and stare at things all day. Or, you can wave at people as they drive by. Wave, Ed! [Ed nods] Wave, Ed! [Ed waves] These activities cannot be enjoyed when you are dead!

Once again, we thank you for your support, and now Ed would like to say a few words.

Ed Jaymes: "Live.. from New York.. it is Saturday Night."

TRIVIA NOTE: When President Bush's 19-year-old twin daughters Jenna and Barbara were cited for underage alcohol offenses at a Texas restaurant in 2001, Jay Leno, the host of NBC's THE TONIGHT SHOW, dubbed them Bartles & Jaymes, with an "Anheuser" Bush chaser.

An American Library Association "Libraries Change Lives" campaign revealed "Frank Bartles and Ed Jaymes, those lovable old guys who hawk wine coolers from their front porch in TV commercials, are patterned after the real entrepreneurs – two shrewd brothers who started a wine business at the repeal of prohibition. With $5,000 and a recipe found in a pamphlet borrowed from the Modesto (Calif.) Public Library, the two brothers – sons of an Italian immigrant – began their wine-making empire in 1923. Their names: Ernest and Julio Gallo."

• Bartles & Jaymes Website
• E. & J. Gallo Winery