There was the time that inspiration for a radio commercial struck as Jerry Carroll was walking down Third Avenue. He explained it to the advertising executive he was with, who said, “Sounds like a good idea.” They stopped for a moment, just long enough for Mr. Carroll to write out the commercial, using the top of a trash can as a desk.

Now that was insa-a-a-a-ane.

Mr. Carroll was the high-energy, high-volume pitchman in the commercials for Crazy Eddie, the Brooklyn-based chain of electronics stores that flourished in the days when videocassette recorders and answering machines were innovations. Arms flailing, eyes bulging, he promised prices so low they were — well, you know.

There was a real Eddie — Eddie Antar, who was one of the founders of the chain and who died on Saturday at 68. But the public face was Mr. Carroll, three years older and a New York radio personality who caught Mr. Antar’s ear with the way he stretched out the long A in “insane.” The result was zany but startlingly effective. The chain claimed that among consumers in the New York area, Crazy Eddie’s name recognition was higher than Coca-Cola’s.

In all, Mr. Carroll appeared in more than 7,500 commercials on radio and television that were sly attention-getters. He dressed as Santa in winter and again in summer (after Mr. Antar dreamed up “Christmas in August”). He put on a beard and a stovepipe hat, and a moment later, a white wig to “honor three great Americans — Lincoln, Washington and Crazy Eddie.” He flew like Superman, “who, disguised as this annoying television announcer, fights a never-ending battle for service, selection and prices that are insa-a-a-ane,” as the voice-over bellowed in one commercial.