Bernard Castro

Bernard Castro, who immigrated from Italy and founded Castro Convertibles, died of heart failure in his sleep on Saturday at his Ocala home. Mr. Castro immigrated to New York in 1919 at age 15. He learned English in night school, apprenticed himself to an upholsterer and studied the furniture industry for 10 years. During the Depression, he borrowed $300 to start an interior design business. He and his wife, Teresa, nursed their fledgling business for 15 years before making a television commercial in the 1940s that catapulted them to fame. The spot featured their daughter, Bernadette, 4, demonstrating how to unfold a Castro Convertible sofa. Founded in 1931, Castro Convertibles has grown to 33 showrooms in New York, New Jersey and Florida. When the Castros moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1951 to retire, Mr. Castro could not remain still. The Long Island-based company developed a manufacturing center in Ocala and a warehouse in Boca Raton.