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Product Developer And TV Pitchman Ron Popeil Dies At 86

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ron Popeil, the quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died.

Ron Popeil
Ron Popeil, the man behind those late-night, rapid-fire television commercials that sell everything from the Mr. Microphone to the Pocket Fisherman to the classic Veg-a-Matic, sits surrounded by his wares in his Beverly Hills office on Dec. 8, 1982. His Ronco Company accounts for $35 million in annual retail sales with its current line of 17 products. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Popeil's family says he died Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 86.

Popeil began hawking his inventions in the open-air markets of Chicago as a teenager. He would become a constant presence on television from the late 1950s into the 2000s, pushing products such as the Pocket Fisherman and Mr. Microphone. He popularized phrases like, "But wait — there's more," and "Now how much would you pay?"

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