Ron Popeil, an American original who died this week at 86, thrived in the world of infomercials and home-shopping channels. From roots as an open-air salesman in Chicago, he became a pop-culture icon in the late 20th century by inventing and selling various consumer gadgets from the Popeil Pocket Fisherman to food dehydrators to hair in a can. But his ability to be a connecting thread between old-time salesmen and the video age was his real superpower. For millions of Gen Xers, he occupied a space somewhere between comedy and smart, homespun business. How he built and spun that image created his immense appeal. Ron Popeil, dead at 86.
Ron Popeil was the sizzle of American ingenuity, personified
