Ron Popeil, the quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died. Popeil's family says he died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 86.
Popeil died “suddenly and peacefully” Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his family said in a statement. He was 86. No cause of death was given.
He would take the product-slinging style previously done at state fairs and Woolworth stores to television starting in the late 1950s, offering viewers a chance to skip stores and buy straight from the source with a simple phone call. He seemed always to have new products at the ready: the Ronco Electric Food Dehydrator, Popeil’s Pasta & Sausage Maker, the Inside the Eggshell Egg Scrambler, the Bagel Cutter, the Hav-A-Maid Mop, the Speed Tufting Kit, The Whip-O-Matic.When home shopping networks arose, he found a natural home, and he sold Showtime Rotisseries in droves on QVC.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ron Popeil Dies: Infomercial Pioneer, Pocket Fisherman Pitchman Was 86Ron Popeil, the Ronco founder who all but created the late-night infomercial and pitched such durable — in memory if not quality — items as the Pocket Fisherman, the Veg-O-Matic, the Be…
Read more »
Infomercial Icon Ron Popeil Dies at 86Ron Popeil, the infomercial icon behind products like the Pocket Fisherman and Hair in a Can, died on Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to multiple media reports. H…
Read more »
Ron Popeil Infomercial King Dead at 86Ron Popeil has died at 86.
Read more »
Ron Popeil Dies: Infomercial Pioneer, Pocket Fisherman Pitchman Was 86Ron Popeil, the Ronco founder who all but created the late-night infomercial and pitched such durable — in memory if not quality — items as the Pocket Fisherman, the Veg-O-Matic, the Be…
Read more »