Ron Popeil

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Ronald M. Popeil (born May 3, 1935 in New York City) is a multi-millionaire inventor, well-known for his company Ronco ([[1]]).

His television sales techniques might be considered the origin of infomercials.

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Famous inventions

Some of his better-known products, and their original sale pitches, 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. "Set it, and forget it!"

The Cap Snaffler. "Snaffles caps off any size jug, bottle, or jar… and it really, really works."

Popeil learned his trade from his father Samuel who was also an inventor and carny salesman of kitchen-related gadgets such as the Chop-o-matic (later called the Veg-O-Matic - "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.

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Impact on popular culture

On Saturday Night Live (September 25, 1982), Eddie Murphy did a satirical ad for the "Popeil Galactic Prophylactic" [2].

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" on his second studio album, "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D. The song was a "style parody" (i.e., not a direct parody of a specific song, but emulating a performer's specific style) of the early music of the B-52's (and bore a striking resemblance to their first hit single, "Rock Lobster"). The verses are structured as pitches for unnamed but easily recognizable Ronco products, and draws upon all the cliches associated with the Ronco infomercials, including the phrases "It slices! It dices!", "Take advantage of this amazing TV offer!", and "Now how much would you pay?".

"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.

In the film Major League, while hazing rookie Ricky Vaughan, Roger Dorn asks if he had cut his hair using a "Veg-O-Matic".

In the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Radio Bart", Bart Simpson receives a "Superstar Celebrity Microphone" for his birthday. The toy and the tv advertisments for it were modeled after Ronco's "Mr. Microphone".

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