Business: Willie Sutton, Bankers' Friend

IN a lifetime of crime, Willie ("the Actor") Sutton robbed banks of almost $2,000,000 and went through more disguises than the Scarlet Pimpernel. During the course of one bank heist or another, Sutton, 69, who served 35 years in prison before being paroled last Christmas Eve, popped up in a variety of roles that included a policeman, a window washer, a bank guard and a Western Union messenger. Last week the Actor was at it again —this time with star billing in a television commercial for Connecticut's New Britain Bank & Trust Co.

The commercial promotes the bank's new Master Charge credit cards, the first in the state to carry the holder's identifying photograph. "They call it the Face Card," says Sutton, peering out from the screen and holding a card with his photo on it. "Now when I say I'm Willie Sutton, people believe me." An announcer winds up the commercial: "Tell them Willie Sutton sent you."

The commercial is a product of necessity. In promoting its credit cards, the small New Britain bank, which has assets of $65 million, is competing against giants. "We had an advertising budget of only $30,000," explains Craig Kelly, the bank's 24-year-old marketing director. "Our problem, obviously, was to get maximum exposure for a minimum of money." The notion of grabbing attention by using a celebrated bank robber came from Louis van Leeuwen, president of a New Haven agency, Van Leeuwen Advertising. "The bank people nearly collapsed when I suggested it," he says. "Then they said yes —just like that."

The commercial was shot two weeks ago in Miami, near where Sutton is living while he finishes writing his memoirs. "He's a very charming, amusing and interesting man," remarked Banker Kelly. Said Willie: "It's an unusual relationship, all right, but it's a very pleasant way to make money." Willie wrapped up his role in front of the cameras in half a day and earned $1,500 for it. That is a lot easier than serving 17 years for robbing a bank of $63,000.