Jim Johnson Hails Ron Robinson

Ron Robinson

Jim Johnson, the Little Rock artist who was a founding partner in Cranford Johnson and saw the ad agency blossom into Cranford Johnson Robinson and eventually into CJRW, recalled Ron Robinson last week for his prodigious memory.

Robinson, who joined Johnson and Wayne Cranford as a college intern in 1962 and eventually became CJRW’s chairman, died Tuesday at 75.

“He once told me all the mailroom assistants’ names and [hiring] dates in chronological order,” Johnson told Whispers. “I couldn’t remember what I had for lunch.”

Johnson said Robinson was a rare combination, larger-than-life but also thoughtful. “He was kind to senators and to street people. I would have trusted him with my wallet or my life.”

Robinson was a renaissance man, one of the state’s great collectors of Arkansas-related objects, and the namesake of the Central Arkansas Library System’s downtown theater. But Johnson recalled a gentle spirit who was a force of nature in public relations. “His creative talents will be missed by so many. What a guy.”

Gary Jones, the veteran filmmaker and another old colleague, sent along a video clip he called “Ron Has the Last Word.” In the 12-second snippet, Robinson waves and says, “God bless! See y’all!”

Video courtesy Gary Jones