Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

Does anyone still own an old Ronco product?

I just found my mom's old Buttoneer! Is Ronco still in business? They always flooded the market with goofy gadgets around Christmas time. I remember seeing commercials for a 'pocket fisherman' .

by Anonymousreply 47September 6, 2020 4:57 PM

I don't know, but my favorite was GLH the spray on hair. I also liked the pasta maker. Every review I've seen of it said it was made of the cheapest plastic.

by Anonymousreply 1August 21, 2020 4:38 PM

We have the Ronco Rotisserie, and my partner uses it often for cooking.

The food always turns out spectacularly looking and tasting.

by Anonymousreply 2August 21, 2020 4:39 PM

I think he wen't bankrupt. I still remember the Mr. Microphone (showing my age).

by Anonymousreply 3August 21, 2020 4:54 PM

Hey good lookin whatcha you got cooking! ^

by Anonymousreply 4August 21, 2020 4:58 PM

My sister had either a Chop-o-Matic or a Veg-o-Matic, I can't remember which. It turned tomatoes and cucumbers to mush and splattered juice all over the countertop. And if you tried chopping hard vegies like potatoes or onions, you needed the strength of a lumberjack to use it.

by Anonymousreply 5August 21, 2020 5:00 PM

R3 Mr Microphone! I remember the ad with the stud riding in the convertible trying to pick up chicks.

R1 The spray-on hair fascinated me. What was it made of? I was a kid when that was being sold and I wondered if I could give myself some chest hair with it!

by Anonymousreply 6August 21, 2020 5:06 PM

[quote]I think he wen't bankrupt

I think he bought a new toupee reinvented himself as the My Pillow guy...

by Anonymousreply 7August 21, 2020 5:13 PM

R2 = Ron Popeil

by Anonymousreply 8August 21, 2020 6:03 PM

R2 I'm with you on the rotisserie

by Anonymousreply 9August 21, 2020 6:07 PM

Regarding the 2018 bankruptcy:

[quote]Ronco’s founder and TV pitchman Ron Popeil, who sold the company in 2005 for nearly $60 million, said Friday he has an inkling about what led to the most recent demise of the brand he launched in 1969.

[quote]“The Showtime Rotisserie did over $1 billion in sales over its lifetime, and the current owner changed it,” Popeil, 82, told The Post. “They retooled and started over in China. They had a winner. Why would you take your best product and change it?”

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 10August 21, 2020 7:26 PM

I used to watch the infomercial for the rotisserie ("set it and forget it"). Before getting started, he'd whip out his GLH and cover up his bald spot. IMO, he could never shake the demeanor of a snake oil salesman. Something to do with his lips, maybe.

by Anonymousreply 11August 21, 2020 8:49 PM

I've heard mixed opinions on the rotisserie. I think it's one of those "you either love it or hate it" things. The biggest criticism I've heard -- and I don't know if this is true -- is that it comes with a warning to NOT set it and forget it! If that's true, and you're expected to sit next to it while it works it's magic, why would he use it as a slogan?

Personally, my favorite ad was for the Bedazzler. I think that was my first inkling that I was 'special.'

by Anonymousreply 12August 21, 2020 9:25 PM

R12, the Bedazzler commercial was a good commercial. "Be-DAZZLE your _____ !"

One night at work, a long time ago, a coworker told me that his friend invented something and lived off the money she made from her invention. I said, "What did she invent?" Turns out, it was the Bedazzler.

I think David Chase (Sopranos creator) was an appreciator of infomercials.

by Anonymousreply 13August 21, 2020 9:41 PM

I remember on the original Ozzie Osborne reality show they had a Ronco Rotisserie on the counter in their kitchen in that huge mansion.

by Anonymousreply 14August 21, 2020 9:43 PM

The Pocket Fisherman was by Popeil.

by Anonymousreply 15August 21, 2020 9:43 PM

R15 Yes, Popeil = Ron Popeil = Ronco.

by Anonymousreply 16August 21, 2020 9:45 PM

A friend of mine had two of those rotisseries. But I don't really trust her taste, food-wise. Seems like they might be good for small poultry, like Cornish game hens.

by Anonymousreply 17August 21, 2020 9:45 PM

idiot proof chickens every time and i do set it and forget it. usually put the oven outside

by Anonymousreply 18August 21, 2020 9:46 PM

R13 Holy shit! She must have made a fortune! I always wondered if whoever invented the George Foreman grill made a ton of money or sold off the idea...

by Anonymousreply 19August 21, 2020 9:48 PM

[quote] [R15] Yes, Popeil = Ron Popeil = Ronco.

But the Pocket Fisherman was his father’s product.

by Anonymousreply 20August 21, 2020 9:52 PM

..and yes R17 Cornish game hens are wondaful on these rotissiers

by Anonymousreply 21August 21, 2020 9:53 PM

R18, thank you for your input. How many pounds (or grams) is the heaviest chicken you cook in that rotisserie? TIA.

by Anonymousreply 22August 21, 2020 9:54 PM

R18 Putting the rotisserie outside is a great idea. We're going through some nasty heat here. I put the toaster oven outside once in awhile.

by Anonymousreply 23August 21, 2020 10:00 PM

Loved the rotisserie, especially the tray you could put frozen veggies on top of it and cook them at the same time.

by Anonymousreply 24August 21, 2020 10:16 PM

i get as large a chicken as i want but i bind it up with string so the wings and legs don't flop around while spiining. When you put it outside, though, EVERYONE wants to know whats cooking and wants to come for dinner!

by Anonymousreply 25August 21, 2020 10:30 PM

R24 i forgot about that feature. i have moved it around so much probably lost the tray that goes up there!

by Anonymousreply 26August 21, 2020 10:34 PM

[quote] i get as large a chicken as i want but i bind it up with string

Truss, not bind.

by Anonymousreply 27August 21, 2020 10:44 PM

Remember this lady, his sidekick? She was always exclaiming, "Wow, Ron ..." He'd basically ignore her.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 28August 22, 2020 2:31 AM

I considered getting the Ronco Rotisserie Oven, but instead splurged and got a Cuisinart vertical rotisserie oven instead, for like $250.

What a waste of money, very poorly designed (the grease tray was too shallow and would leak all over the counter). It was impossible to keep clean, especially the reflector plate in the back. The attachments were pointless - why would you want to cook burgers or steaks in a rotisserie oven? The metal kebab attachments were also dumb because everything would just slide off them as they were cooking, since they were hanging vertically.

I could have bought like 50 cooked rotisserie chickens from Costco for what I paid for that thing.

by Anonymousreply 29August 22, 2020 10:50 AM

veg o matic still in the box circa 73.

by Anonymousreply 30August 22, 2020 11:02 AM

Random Fact: Ron Popeil is the cousin of actress Ashley Tisdale's grandfather.

by Anonymousreply 31August 22, 2020 11:22 AM

Another fan of the rotisserie, it wss great. I also put it outside. With salt and pepper the chicken always came out tender anf juicy.

by Anonymousreply 32August 22, 2020 11:34 AM

I always wanted the record cleaner. You insert the record vertically and it would spin, with a brush cleaning off the dust.

Looked so cool!

by Anonymousreply 33August 22, 2020 12:12 PM

I remember the Smokeless Ashtray but I never owned one. it was supposed to protect your family and office mates from the dangers of second hand smoke. Never mind that YOU were still smoking and would die a slow and painful death.

by Anonymousreply 34August 23, 2020 10:56 PM

My mother bought me a pocket fisherman for christmas one year. I think it was in the vain hope Id be more interested in "manly" pursuits . The very first time I used it,it snapped in half ,and the fish was the size of a carrot !

by Anonymousreply 35August 23, 2020 11:02 PM

I bought my mom a Bedazzler for her birthday just because I wanted one. She never asked for it or showed any interest in wanting one. Mom was baffled when she opened her gift but was very gracious. She later allowed me to 'find it' in her sewing room.

by Anonymousreply 36August 23, 2020 11:14 PM

r4, it's actually "Hey good looking we'll be back to pick you up later!"

by Anonymousreply 37August 23, 2020 11:14 PM

What did you Bedazzle, R36?

by Anonymousreply 38August 23, 2020 11:28 PM

R38 Yes, I did. My first project was a sweatshirt that I wore only in my bedroom. When I modeled it for my friend, Tim, he loved it and I gave it to him. I then Bedazzled another for myself and we would wear them whenever we visited each other.

by Anonymousreply 39August 23, 2020 11:48 PM

I still use my Vadgomatic for those pesky labial growths.

Like grated Romano.

by Anonymousreply 40August 24, 2020 12:15 AM

The Ronco Inside the Egg Scrambler. You can buy a vintage for about $40 on ebay!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 41September 6, 2020 12:57 PM

We had a Veg-O-Matic. I remember my mother using it for potatoes. Seemed to work okay. Like most things, she forgot about it and put it away in the cupboard. Next to me.

by Anonymousreply 42September 6, 2020 1:32 PM

That Ronco Rotisserie looks fucking dangerous a shit.

by Anonymousreply 43September 6, 2020 1:33 PM

R43 Lots of comments upthread about how great it is. I still think it looks like a fire trap.

by Anonymousreply 44September 6, 2020 1:56 PM

r37 Don't say that to Hank Williams.

"Hey sweet baby, doncha' think maybe, we could find us a brand new recipe ....."

by Anonymousreply 45September 6, 2020 2:44 PM

The Rotisserie is great but instead of set it and forget it, you should watch it like a Helicopter Karen clinging to a fire extinguisher at a Girl Scout campfire.

by Anonymousreply 46September 6, 2020 4:24 PM

Celebrity Net Worth pegs Ron Popeill at $200M so I guess he did ok with all that schlock?

by Anonymousreply 47September 6, 2020 4:57 PM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!