It manufactured its own brand of televisions in Athens, Texas, until July 31, 1982; ten years later, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganization which allowed it to stay in business and use future earnings to pay off creditors.

Leonard L. Northrup, Jr., became one of the leading distributors of Curtis Mathes Products including developing and selling an add-on air conditioning unit first used in Cadillacs.

He envisioned a TV that would never require costly repairs, and early on started offering a 4-year warranty on picture tube, parts and labor.

Curtis Mathes, Jr., became the chairman of the board and the company's public face, appearing in its television commercials until his 1983 death in the Air Canada Flight 797 fire at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

For a time, the company sold equipment sourced from Matsushita, Pioneer, Thomson, Samsung, Daewoo, Toshiba, and other manufacturers.

As of late 2007, Curtis Mathes had re-emerged with products marketed at several discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Meijer and Target.