Ron Popeil

Popeil, who died July 28, was an infomercial pioneer whose products included the Chop-O-Matic, the Veg-O-Matic, the smokeless ashtray and many other household gadgets. Originally broadcast in 1996.

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).