Do you remember Dan Ackroyd pitching the Bass-o-Matic? He was sending up Ron Popeil, inventor, pitchman and founder of Ronco. Popeil’s brain children included the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone, the Veg-a-Matic and many other familiar “as seen on TV” products. Through his pioneering use of 30-minute infomercials, Popeil blazed the trail that eventually led to Mike the Sweater Guy.
He gave us so much.
Ron Popeil also gave us, albeit indirectly, the Bass-O-Matic.
He also had a record label – Ronco Records, a rival to K-Tel. From what I remember as a kid, he’d buy the rights to distribute hit songs of the day as compilation albums, such as “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)”, which I remember from a Ronco album named “In Concert”, despite that there were no live tracks. The guy had an iron in the fire in just about everything.