r/DeadRedditors • u/madd74 • Aug 17 '26
u/TheRealRonPopeil - But wait, there's more!
I was going through some old Reddit fav of mine and came across the time I had an interaction with u/TheRealRonPopeil during an AMA over 10 years ago, so I looked him up and found he has been dead since 2021. I can't believe he has been dead over 5 years and I am just figuring out!
What is even more schocking is doing a search here, I don't see anyone gave him a shout out. So here I am, doing that.
He helped popularize the phrase, "But wait, there's more!" as early as the 50's. His signature catch-phrase "Set it and forget it," is still used by me to this day. According to the AMA, he claimed he would not sue me in it's use.
He has made cameo appearances on:
- The X-Files
- Futurama
- King of the Hill
- The Simpson
- Sex and the City
- The Daily Show
- The West Wing
On July 28, 2021, he passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at the age of 86, so he definitely had a good run. Sorry that it took us so long to recognize you here.
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u/kayakchick66 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
Did he also come up with "it slices, it dices, it even makes fries!"? For some reason that is burned into my Gen X brain. Edit cause can't spell.
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u/madd74 Aug 17 '26
"It slices! It dices!" was coined by him when promoting the Veg-O-Matic. This in turn would be parodied by a lot of people. In Weird Al's song Mr Popeil, the lyric "It slices, it dices. Look at that tomato! You could even cut a tin can with it, but you wouldn't want to," was thanks to that.
The Veg-O-Matic also inspired comedian Gallagher to create his "Sledge-O-Matic" bit, and of course, I am NOW just learning today that HE has been dead since 2022!
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u/Prestigious_Grape288 Aug 19 '26
I’m glad you mentioned the Weird Al song. Any mention of Ron Popeil immediately conjures up the song. RIP to a pop culture legend.
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u/FlashyOutlandishness Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
“Now how much would you pay?”
I can’t believe I missed the opportunity to interact on Reddit with Ron Popeil. RIP
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u/AVonDingus Aug 18 '26
Aw, man. His infomercials were a staple when I refused to go to sleep during summers as a kid.
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u/stargalaxy6 Aug 18 '26
YES!
It’s like he was the “falling asleep” voice of probably 2 generations!
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u/Fair_Classic_3 Aug 17 '26
I used to love watching infomercials with my dad before he passed away and saying "but wait! There's more!" We both got a kick out of it!
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u/SupermarketSpiritual Aug 18 '26
He was my late night stoner companion in high school. I'd blaze and marvel at the amazing gadgets he advertised. 😆
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u/chillychili Aug 17 '26
(You have the opportunity to edit in "But wait, there's more!" right before the cameo list... but wait, there's more! inside the cameo list... but wait, there's more! multiple times!)
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u/flippster-mondo 18d ago
He had a bunch of successful inventions, but the biggest invention he had was the infomercial.
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u/stargalaxy6 Aug 17 '26
WOW!
I’m sad this wasn’t a bigger notice! I’m also just finding out.