Ron Popeil: Celebrating the Life of an Iconic TV Inventor & Salesman

[BillTre]

Ron Popeil, well know seller of TV gadgets, died Wednesday at the age of 84.

In 1959 he appeared in his first TV commercial, hawking the Ronco Chop-o-Matic food dicer. Debuting the earnestly dramatic style that became his trademark, Popeil said, "I'm going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made."

Popeil followed with a flurry of other made-for-TV inventions, dizzying in both their number and variety. They included the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Electric Food Dehydrator. Popeil said he was not just a salesman, but also an inventor who designed many of the products himself.Although his company Ronco was already a household name in the 1970s, Popeil's fame exploded in the 80s when looser federal regulations on TV ads allowed him to go from brief commercials to 30-minute self-contained "infomercials," which soon dominated late night and weekend schedules.

Popeil developed a formula that became dominant in infomercials: Present an invention that addressed a minor problem as "revolutionary" technology, throw in "free" bonus products to the delight of an in-studio audience and warn viewers that supplies are low, so they have to "call now!"

He was quite the TV character and was imitated (and spoofed) by many:

 

[DaveE]

If you understand the words in this song, then you must be old, like me.

 

[diogenesNY]

I remember all of those products. As a kid in the 1970s I was really captivated by those RonCo TV ads... some of them were as long as 60 seconds occasionally a bit more... Ron Popiel really pioneered the long-form (60-120 second) TV spot, which was largely believed to be too long to hold the audience attention.

I actually loved the ads more than the products, although I always did want a Pocket Fisherman.

--diogenesNY

 

[JT Smith]

I was just talking about this guy with a friend the other day. When I was kid my dad bought me and brothers each a Pocket Fisherman. A pretty neat gift to get as a little kid, and it's kind of a cool idea. It was a complete piece of junk though, didn't really work that well. Still, I have fond memories of it. Kind of wish I'd kept it.

I searched online and the original versions (they re-released it later) are going for like $100.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I had no idea he was still alive.

And "Wow, that's terrific bass!"

 

[Klystron]

I watched the original TV commercials as a child. Laughed at Dan Aykroyd's hilarious spoofs on 1970's SNL.

 

[BillTre]

I read somewhere that the pocket-fisherman was a product best purchased as a gift, not for use.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It slices, it dices, it cuts three different ways...and boy, does it catch fish!