Crown Books : Pitchman Fired in Family Feud : Retail: Robert Haft is ousted by his father, two weeks after he and his mother were given pink slips at the controlling firm.

Falling victim in the latest round of a corporate family’s feud, Robert Haft--known nationwide for his televised commercial pitches for Crown Books--was removed Thursday from the company’s board.

Dart Group, a Landover, Md.-based firm that has controlling interest in Crown Books, said Haft, 40, was removed “pursuant to the chairman’s authority to act by written consent under Delaware corporate law.”

Haft’s 72-year-old father, Herbert H. Haft, is chairman of Dart Group.

The move comes about two weeks after the elder Haft removed his son, wife Gloria and three other members from Dart Group’s board. That action followed two months of speculation over whether and when Herbert Haft, who controls 57% of the voting stock, would relinquish control of the retail and real estate empire to his son.

Dart Group holdings include the Crown Books, Trak Auto and Shoppers Food Warehouse chains. Crown, which operates 261 bookstores and 31 Super Crown outlets, is one of the nation’s largest bookstore chains.

It was unclear what position the younger Haft, who had been chairman of Crown Books, now maintains in the organization. He is still president of the Trak Auto auto parts supply stores.

A spokesman for Dart Group in New York, Stanley Rubenstein, declined comment beyond a terse statement announcing the younger Haft’s removal.

“No person connected with either Dart Group or Crown Books will have any further comments concerning this action,” the company’s written statement said.

Rubenstein said the company plans to hold its annual meeting Wednesday.

Robert Haft appeared frequently in newspaper and television ads for Crown. He would cite the titles of best-selling books and quote the Crown price--often closing the TV commercials by saying, “If you paid full price, you didn’t buy it at Crown Books.”

The father-son squabble may stem from Robert Haft’s brush with publicity earlier this year. He bragged in a Wall Street Journal article on April 23 that he, not his father, was charting Dart’s growth.

“My father and I are different personalities,” he said in the article. “We’re about as different as you can be.”

Robert Haft said one of the main differences was his willingness to “let people make mistakes” while he tried to expand the company’s earnings.

Dart’s shares climbed 50 cents Thursday to close at $81.50.