Ron Popeil

Ronald M. Popeil (born May 3, 1935, New York, New York) is a millionaire inventor well-known for his company Ronco [1]. His television sales techniques might be considered the origin of infomercials.

Some of his better-known products, and their original sale pitch, include:

• Veg-O-Matic food slicer. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made... All your onions chopped to perfection without shedding a single tear."
• Dial-O-Matic successor to the Vegomatic. "Slice a tomato so thin it only has one side."
• Popeil Pocket Fisherman "The biggest fishing invention since the hook...and still only $19.95!"
• Mr. Microphone "Hey, good looking, I'll be back to pick you up later. Broadcast your voice on any FM radio!!!"
• Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler "Gets rid of those slimy egg whites in your scrambled eggs."
• Six Star 20 Piece Cutlery Set
• Solid Flavor Injector
• GLH-9 Hair in a Can Spray (Good Looking Hair Formula #9)
• Drain Buster
• Smokeless Ashtray "Does cigar and cigarette smoke irritate your eyes?"
• Electric Food Dehydrator "Instead of giving kids candy, give them apple snacks or banana chips. And it's great if you're a hunter, fisherman, backpacker, or camper. Makes beef jerky for around $3 a pound, and you know what went in it, because you made it yourself!"
• Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue "Set it, and forget it!"

Popeil learned his trade from his father Samuel who was also an inventor and carney salesman of kitchen-related gadgets such as the Chop-o-matic (later called the Vegomatic - "It slices, it dices, it makes julienne fries!"). It retailed for $2.98 and sold over 2 million units. The invention of the Vegomatic caused a problem which marked the entrance of Ron Popeil into television. It turned out that the Vegomatic was too efficient at chopping vegetables, and that it was impractical for salesmen to carry the vegetables they needed to chop. The solution was to tape the demonstration. Once the demonstration was taped, it was a short step to broadcasting the demonstration as a commercial.

In August 2005, he sold his company, Ronco, to Fi-Tek VII, a Denver holding company, for $55 million. He said he plans to continue serving as the spokesman and inventor, but wanted to spend more time with his family.

Although many people associate the phrase "It slices! it dices!" with the Veg-O-Matic, Popiel has always denied that he ever said it. He claims to have the video tape to prove it.

Impact on popular culture

• In Futurama, Popeil is said to be the inventor of the technology that allows heads to be kept alive in jars indefinitely and Ronco is named as the maker of the safe in which Fry keeps his lucky seven-leaf-clover.
• "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded the song "Mr. Popeil" from album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D.
• "Dodge Veg-O-Matic" is a song by Jonathan Richman from the album Rock N Roll With The Modern Lovers (1977).
• The "Veg-O-Matic" was parodied by Dan Aykroyd in an episode of Saturday Night Live as the "Super Bass-O-Matic '76".
• The "Veg-O-Matic" also provided the inspiration for the "Sledge-O-Matic" routine used by comedian Gallagher for the last quarter-century.
• The Ronco Showtime infomercial plays in the background of a scene in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia.

External links

• A short biography of Ron Popeil
• Ronco.com
• But Wait, There's More from FreeEnterpriseLand.com
• Slide show of Ronco products
• He Invents! Markets! Makes Millions!
• All Things Popeil gallery at IDFuel.com