Tin Plate "Spiral Slicer" for cutting potatoes

Clever "Automatic Spatula" flips with a squeeze

The exhibit went on to describe the rise of the Popeil family from run of the mill street pitchmen to manufacturers and distributors throughout the entire midwest. Samuel J. and Raymond Popeil founded Popeil Brothers in 1945. They made products specifically to be re-sold by peddlers and pitchmen. Interestingly, they were some of the earliest advocates of plastics as better than traditional choices in house wares. At the time, plastics were seen as cheap and unreliable, but the Popeil Brothers changed that perception by presenting lower cost, well made plastic versions of common kitchen items, like this "Cooky Press".

"Cooky Press" dough extruder

In order to sell plastic dishes and serving utensils, they not only made them in innovative marbled plastics, but even sent artistic pitchmen and women to department stores to sell "Hand painted" dishes - painted while you wait!

The Rise of Ronco

Ron Popeil, Samuel J.’s son, Co-founded Ronco in 1964 with his former college roommate, and a hot new idea: Take the pitch to TV. The exhibit made it clear that Ron was by no means the first to use television for pitching, but he was, and is one of the best.

Ron Popeil and some of his products

The major portion of the exhibit was a collection of Ronco's products from 1964 until the present day. Here are images and descriptions of some of the best.

The Winners

Some of Ron's gadgets just shine a little brighter than others.

The Auto Cup

The auto cup was designed so that it sealed unless the drinking lever was depressed, thus keeping hot drinks from spilling. This was over 20 years before Starbucks.

Mr Microphone

Mr. Microphone allowed anyone to sing along with radio songs, or broadcast their political views on local radios who happened to be tuned in.

The Pocket Fisherman

The Tadpole

Tadpole Packaging

The Pocket Fisherman, and it's younger brother, the Tadpole, were released in 1972 and 1975, and were actually very well-made products. The Popeils were very proud of the quality of their products, and it is evident in many of their designs. Note the "As seen on TV" logo on box

Smokeless Ashtray, V1

Smokeless Ashtray, V3

The Smokeless Ashtrays were simple, novel designs that addressed a niche market - A trademark Ronco tactic

Record Vacuum

This is the only Ronco gadget that we still want. Motorized, it rotates the record automatically, while a vacuum pump and graphite fibers clean, dust, and discharge static. Completely wonderful. Ronco even released a "Stylish Pyramid" version, probably in response to people passing out from the bare-bones design of the first.

The O-Matics

Very early on, Ron hit on the utterly amazing idea that everyone loves automation. And nothing says automation more than putting "O-Matic" at the end of every item name. So, Ronco released a string of very successful kitchen appliances using this rule. Among them are some of their most memorable.

The Chop-O-Matic

It slices, it Dices, and it makes Julienne fries. Not much more to say than that. Definitely one of the most famous.

Peel-O-Matic

The Peel-O-Matic peeled tomatoes. and probably pears. The box is great. Especially the big red tomato-O.

The Mince-O-Matic

So, you can see the pattern developing...

Corn-O-Matic

And the pattern breaks down. the Corn-O-Matic seems like one of those "Lets push a good thing to see how far it will go" products. Although, without a doubt the most beautiful design out of all the Ronco pieces. Sadly, it was only used to scrape corn off the cob.

The Super Bass-O-Matic 76

Inevitably, such a successful run of products will attract attention from comedians, and the O-Matics are no exception. Regarded by most as the ultimate SNL parody commercial, Dan Aykroyd plays a speed talking TV pitchman hawking a quick and easy way to prepare your bass.

The Losers

Also inevitable, with so many successes, come many failures and wrong turns. Some of our favorite Ronco Bungles are:

Glass Froster

"Frost glasses for a touch of class in your own home" Says the packaging. Unfortunately, the can says "Contains internationally controlled chlorofluorocarbons" and the warning on the side is enough to make you wonder what the stuff is doing to your fertility. Luckily, this product sold in the 70s, when freon leaks were legal, and people didn't even know about fertility.

Beautify Plastic Foliage Kit

Mold your own ridiculous plastic plants. Bonus bright pink and yellow uranium glazed pottery included!

Trash Compacting Stool

This stool was a sitting-powered trash compactor. And, if the idea of sitting on garbage wasn't enough, the compactor came with stickers to "Customize" the look. Brown and green paisleys is a GREAT look.

The Egg Scrambler

The Egg scrambler scrambled the egg inside the shell by rotating a bent pin inside the egg after piercing the shell. If you didn't allow 10 seconds for the egg to stop spinning wildly inside the shell, it would splash out of the egg when you broke it. Weird.

GLH "Great Looking Hair" spray system

GLH was thick, hair colored paint. In a can. It was paint for your head. In a can. There is no explanation that will make this make sense.

The Pitchman behind it all

This exhibit would not have been possible, had it hot been for the amazing dedication of the exhibition curator, collector and author Tim Samuelson (left) who is also the Cultural Historian for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. He painstakingly assembled this collection from garage sales, flea markets, and online auctions. Tim gave us a great tour of the entire gallery, using a Mr. Microphone to help his voice reach the people in the back.

The Pitchman Tim Samuelson

Tim and whipping cream incident

Tim even showed off his favorite Ronco gadget, the Whip-O-Matic, by whipping up some fresh whipped cream, and then inverting it over his head with great confidence; unfortunately the proof was not in the whipping cream, and there was some spillage.

But minor mishaps aside, The Appeal and Spiel of Ronco and Popeil was a great event, and is still going on at the Chicago Cultural Center through May 16, 2004. Tim Samuelson has a book about the history of the Popeils available for purchase. What an incredible salesman, and incredible part of history.