FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: RON POPEIL OF RONCO FAME , INFOMERCIAL PIONEER DIES AT 86!

Pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil dies at age 86, HE COINED THE CATCHPHRASE......SET IT AND FORGET IT!......Infomercial king Ron Popeil died "suddenly and peacefully" Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a statement by Popeil representative Eric Ortner.

He was 86.

Popeil started his sales career in Chicago-area flea markets at the age of 16, according to his official biography.

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...