Ron Popeil on Letterman, June 22, 1982

[@erichaynes7502]

82, I remember this as my greatest summer ever. I was 16 and after so many adventures during those summer days I'd come home and watch Letterman at 11:30PM Central Time. Now, watching again I can see how it was such a popular late, late show. The set lighting is a little dim, the audience is small, the tempo of the show is pretty relaxed..Dave's a little raw here but that was part of the charm.

[@animallover6193]

Eric, you nailed it! Letterman was on the air from 1982 to 2015. And I have always said that his best years were his, what I call, "NBC years"....1982-1993----a you mentioned several reasons why I have felt that way. Dave wearing pullover shirts and khaki pants. Letterman wearing tennis shoes. Larry "Bud" Melman (toast on a stick). The Russian psychic guy was hilarious. A young comic named Jay Leno---who was actually funnier than Letterman. In fact, whenever Letterman announced: "Tomorrow night, Jay Leno will be here!"---I made it a point to be home to see it....I was a huge fan of Jay Leno back in those days (1982-1986)..... Then there was the NBC librarian lady.....who came out on stage by way of a forklift. And Chris Elliot's frequent appearances---like "conspiracy guy"----were very funny! Yeah, without a doubt, Letterman's best years were "the NBC years". And while Letterman remained funny after jumping to CBS...something got lost....or was lost....when he went to CBS. Maybe it was the larger/more spacious Ed Sullivan Theatre....I don't know.

[@johnnymeyer4253]

1982 was a great year. While I was only 9 or 10 depending on the month, it was a great year to be alive. Didn't get into Letterman till like 87 or so.

[@frankrosemeck9898]

@@animallover6193 Remember Dave throwing random shit off the roof? I've been a fan of his since he had that local daytime show in the 70s.

[@animallover6193]

@@frankrosemeck9898 I remember the daytime show....1980....yeah, absolutely! And that was so weird too! Why the heck did NBC have him on in the middle of the day---when nobody's watching?....cuz, you know, people work or go to school.....

[@dansantarsiero1526]

My sister, brother and his wife were at this show. After the show we went to Momma Leoni's for dinner then went to the Mets game. My sister and I were on our way to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.

[@SFBenjaminK]

Cant believe 40 years pass , i was just started highschiool ..ahhh good ole days & youth was..RIP buddy, still using ur Showtime Rotatories👍

[@NFL1976]

Ron Popeil was always laughing...All the way to the damn bank! RIP Sir.

[@p.g.8138]

Ron was more of a salesman than he was an inventor.

[@user-ed4fv9nd3b]

It's weird seeing him so soft spoken.

[@pbfoley]

Ron was such a professional. Dave over there fumbling around with his innovations one after another. Ron accustomed to just owning the pitch and Dave ruining each one somehow. Stays cool as a cucumber.

[@chronicawareness9986]

dude totally did cocaine before coming out

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

If my father was here, id ask him, but there werent a lot of guys doing the direct to order, before Ron Popeil. Yes, some of his products were a lil shiaty, but he was a marketing genius, and a real trailblazer. God bless him. I didnt know he had passed.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@TheKitchenerLeslie Thats a TV show. Hello?

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@TheKitchenerLeslie Lmao. Are you crazy buddy? Elevator not going to the top floor? Be honest.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@TheKitchenerLeslie Why dont we meet up and talk about it tough guy? Where do you live?

[@anandguruji83]

R.I.P RON POPEIL FROM 1982 ON DAVID LETTERMAN

[@preesi1403]

I still have my Pocket Fisherman and Vegematic. The egg scrambler worked, but died

[@memohdfromwwe_]

He was a good looking man.

[@timdailey2690]

“Set it and forget it”

[@williamgrantham4481]

Set In & Forget It.

[@tvtimetravel]

RIP "Mr. Ronco".

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Damn, he died?

[@tvtimetravel]

@@chocolatetownforever7537 Yes he did.

[@robertarnold9676]

"Hey good looking I'll be back to pick you up later"...

[@jeffrey-k5y]

Yes!!!!

[@williamgrantham4481]

RIP Ron Popeil

[@kaylinbrennan5618]

Dave didn’t come right out and laugh, but you could tell he thought most of these things were ridiculous. Always being mindful of the sales potential, Ron didn’t let on how insulted he was

[@christopherreed2694]

He is all things crap I love Dave's contempt for a maker of crap !so funny

[@oldironsides4107]

One of his products was like a giant air mattess the length of your car to protect from door dings.

[@Buskieboy]

I had a Pocket Fisherman. It was OK. I caught a large mouth Bass with it. The fish jammed one of it's fin spikes under my thumb nail and THAT hurt like Hell! Revenge: I ate him later that day for dinner!!

[@MrStrictlykush]

Imagine how much a vego matic would be worth today?

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

I think you have his last name misspelled...wasn't it "Popeil"?

[@AndySalinger33]

Right you are, Chris! Long Live Don Giller!

[@dongiller]

You’re right. Sloppiness on my part. Fixed. And thanks!

[@AndySalinger33]

@@dongiller wow, that was fast! Prolific AND attentive to comments! 👏👏👏👏

[@dongiller]

@@AndySalinger33 When I make a bonehead mistake like that…

[@AndySalinger33]

@@dongiller ha! Turns out you’re human!

[@wiedep]

@ 4:14 what's with the fire backstage?

[@dongiller]

That was a flaming hoop prepared for Who Asked for It in Act 1 and later in the show.

[@chrisspathelf2310]

He reminds me of John Malkovich a little bit.

[@DarthSidious]

I think he invented a table top miniature shashmortion machine

[@paolamura3497]

I mean...his good lucks had nothing to do with his success?? He looks like Marlon Brando!

[@bonjournaste]

Is Ron Popeil the 80s Elon Musk?

[@cactaceous]

No

[@cobramcjingleballs959]

Yes

[@redshiftexperiment]

Ahh .. to have his bank account.

[@kenh3015]

pompous look to him. RIP

[@davidpalmer7175]

He reminds me of Elon Musk.