Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

"The Salesman of the Century" Ron Popeil

The inventor has been called "the greatest marketer/salesman of the television era." Popeil sold everything from the Veg-O-Matic to the Pocket Fisherman on television, amassing over one billion dollars in sales. He's written a book about how he did it, "Ron Popeil: The Salesman of the Century." (REBROADCAST from 2/7/96)

13:04
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on November 28, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 28, 1996: Interview with Larry Gelbart; Interview with Ron Popeil; Review of Cecilia Bartoli's album "Chant d'Amour."
Queue
31:33

Television Comedy Writer Larry Gelbart

In the 1950s, Gelbart was part of a team of television writers that included Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and others who wrote for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Gelbart went on to develop and write for the television version of "M*A*S*H.

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
12:46

"The Salesman of the Century."

Inventor and the man called "the greatest marketer/salesman of the television era," Ron Popeil. He's sold everything from the Veg-O-Matic to the Pocket Fisherman on television, amassing over one billion dollars in sales. He's written a new book about how he did it, Ron Popeil: The Salesman of the Century, (Delacorte Press, with Jefferson Graham).

Interview
Queue
18:42

Inventor David Levy.

Inventor and ex-magician David Levy. His inventions include a tiny keypad - the size of a credit card, a tattoo whose design can be changed at will, and a devise that seals severed arteries in one minute. In 1996, at MIT, he won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, which acknowledged him as one of the nation's premier young inventors.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue