(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Dig into the attic or back into the kitchen cabinet of any home in America, and you'll probably find a gadget that was sold on TV by Ron Popeil.
In the early ‘50s, he used the new medium of television to hawk gadgets produced at his father's Chicago's factory.
That led to infomercials for everything from the Veg-O-Matic and the Showtime Rotisserie to Mister Microphone, the Pocket Fisherman and the productions of Ronco Records.
“Selling has always been easy for me,” Popeil told WTTW in 2004 for a profile. “If you have a product that works well and you price it right, people are going to buy your products.”
Along the way, he became a pop culture fixture. Dan Aykroyd famously spoofed him on "Saturday Night Live” in a faux commercial for the Super Bass-O-Matic (blender that liquified all parts of a fish).
His family confirmed Popeil died Wednesday at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 86.