Bernard Castro

Bernard Castro (August 11, 1904 – August 24, 1991) was the inventor of the modern convertible couch. Born in Sicily, Castro emigrated to the U.S. in 1919. He never finished high school but went to work as an upholsterer’s apprentice. In 1931 with $400 in capital he opened his first store, which eventually became a chain he named Castro Convertibles. At his death in 1991, he had sold over 5 million of his convertible sofas through 48 retail showrooms in 12 states, becoming a multimillionaire in the process.In the 1959 novel Epitaph for a tramp by David Markson, the main character Harry Fannin, in chapter six, says: "She was staring at the Castro they’d squeezed in against a far wall", referring to the Castro Convertibles. Bernard Castro married Theresa Barabas on Valentine’s Day 1942. Their two children were Bernard, Jr. and Bernadette. Bernadette became locally famous in the New York area as the company’s official four-year-old spokesperson. Theresa died at 85 in March 2002. Castro Convertibles was acquired in 1993 by Krause Furniture.Bernard was involved with every aspect of the product’s development, production and sale. Bernard brought the sofa bed into the living room, formerly that category of product was not thought of as a living room piece of furniture. With Bernard’s interior design background, he was able to introduce a more fashion forward concept for convertible furniture. Bernard was a genius at advertising, using all 3 mediums at once: television, radio, and print in all markets where Castro Convertibles had showrooms. Bernard’s legacy of innovation was key to the company’s success. He believed strongly in creating new and inventive products to propel the brand. A favorite innovation includes the ‘Scotch n Sofa,’ a sofa that converted into a bar with built in turntable, unlike anything else out in the marketplace. Products like this made Castro Convertibles the leader and innovator in convertible furniture. Bernard believed in making his showrooms a de