Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman most often associated with the brand of
popcornPopcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
that bears his nameOrville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn is a brand of popcorn made originally by Chester Inc. which was owned by Charles F. Bowman and Orville Redenbacher . The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to Hunt-Wesson, a division of Norton Simon Inc. in 1976...
.
Early life
Redenbacher was born in
Brazil, IndianaBrazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and grew up on his family's farm where he sometimes sold
popcornPopcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
in town from a roadside stand. He graduated from Brazil High School in 1924 and was in the top 5% of his class. He attended
Purdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, joining the
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
-oriented
Alpha Gamma RhoAlpha Gamma Rho is a social-professional fraternity in the United States, with 75 university chapters including chapter in Mindanao State University, Philippines...
fraternity and the
Purdue All-American Marching BandThe Purdue "All-American" Marching Band is the marching band of Purdue University. The Purdue "All-American" Marching Band is the primary source of auxiliary entertainment for Purdue University football games...
. He graduated with a degree in
agronomyAgronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
in 1928. He spent most of his life in the agriculture industry, serving as a
Vigo CountyVigo County is a county located along the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Terre Haute....
Farm Bureau extension agent in
Terre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, and at Princeton Farms in
Princeton, IndianaThe median income for a household in the city was $26,689, and the median income for a family was $37,308. Males had a median income of $28,076 versus $19,825 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,049...
.
Business career
He earned a small fortune in
fertilizerFertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
, but in his spare time, he indulged in his obsession. In 1951, he and partner
Charlie BowmanCharles F. "Charlie" Bowman was an American businessman who partnered with Orville Redenbacher to create a gourmet popping corn which won a third of the US market for unpopped popcorn by the mid-1970s. The corn was marketed as Orville Redenbacher's.Charlie Bowman graduated from Purdue University...
bought the George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant near
Valparaiso, IndianaValparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
. Naming the company "Chester Hybrids," they tried tens of thousands of hybrid strains of popcorn before achieving success. Redenbacher and Bowman initially named the hybrid "RedBow," but were advised by an
advertising agencyAn advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
to use the name Orville Redenbacher to market the corn. They adopted the advice, launching their popping corn in 1970, and Orville was suddenly everywhere. Redenbacher could be first seen on national
televisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in 1973, long before his well-known commercial appearances as himself promoting his kernels. In an episode of the game show,
To Tell the TruthTo Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, he stumped the panelists (
Kitty Carlisle HartKitty Carlisle was an American singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She served 20 years on the New York State Council on the Arts. In 1991, she received the National Medal of Arts from President...
,
Bill CullenWilliam Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, Joe Garagiola, and
Peggy CassMary Margaret “Peggy” Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Cass became interested in acting as a member of the drama club at Cambridge Latin School; however, she attended all of high school without a speaking part...
), all of whom were shown enjoying samples of Redenbacher's then-new novelty popping corn flavors including
chiliChili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
and
curryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
. Orville stayed original and stuck to the basic crayon colors of red, white, black, and yellow for his label so it would have a clean classy look.
By the mid 1970s, Redenbacher and Bowman had captured a third of the market for unpopped popcorn. In 1976, Redenbacher sold the company to
HuntHunt's is the name of a brand of preserved tomato products owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. The company was founded in 1888, in Sebastopol, California, as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co. by Joseph and William Hunt. The brothers relocated to nearby Santa Rosa in 1890, and then to Hayward in 1895...
-
WessonWesson cooking oil is a brand of vegetable oil manufactured in Memphis, Tennessee and sold by ConAgra Foods. Historically, Wesson was cottonseed oil, but as of 2009 the products currently sold under the Wesson brand are oil mixtures that may include canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil or sunflower...
Foods, which was a division of Norton Simon, Inc. In 1983, Esmark purchased Norton Simon, and the next year (1984),
Beatrice FoodsBeatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company. In 1987, its smaller international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of its domestic brands and assets were acquired by Kohlberg,...
acquired Esmark. In 1985, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired Beatrice with the goal of selling off businesses. The popcorn business and other old Hunt-Wesson businesses were sold in 1990 to
agribusinessIn agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
giant ConAgra. Redenbacher then moved to
Coronado, CaliforniaCoronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
. He followed in the footsteps of KFC founder Harlan Sanders by serving as the company's official spokesman, which (just like Sanders) involved wearing a trademark outfit in public, in his case horn-rimmed glasses and a bowtie. Sometime Redenbacher appeared in commercials with his grandson. His wholesome image and folksy name confused many consumers, some even writing the company to ask if Redenbacher was a real person, and not an actor. He responded to this by appearing on various talk shows, professing his identity.
After the initial sale to Hunt-Wesson, the city of
Valparaiso, IndianaValparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
, started their first
Popcorn FestivalThe Valparaiso Popcorn Festival began in 1979 as a way to salute Valparaiso, Indiana-native Orville Redenbacher and popcorn.Scheduled annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day, the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival is an all day event held in the downtown area of Valparaiso.Included in the...
in 1979. Celebrating Redenbacher’s development of his popcorn in Valparaiso, the festival featured Orville and Gary appearing several times as
grand marshalGrand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...
of the signature event, the Popcorn Parade.
Purdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
granted him an
honorary doctorateAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
degree in the College of Agriculture in 1988.
Redenbacher hosted the
SFM Holiday NetworkThe SFM Holiday Network was a syndicated movie broadcast package from SFM Entertainment which aired on holiday weekends from 1978 until 1991.-Origins:...
syndicated movie broadcast package along with his grandson.
Death and legacy
On September 19, 1995 Redenbacher was found dead in the
JacuzziJacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
of his
condominiumA condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
in
Coronado, CaliforniaCoronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
. He had suffered a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and drowned. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea.
His brand of popcorn continues to be among the most popular in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
2005 marked the 40th anniversary of
Orville Redenbacher'sOrville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn is a brand of popcorn made originally by Chester Inc. which was owned by Charles F. Bowman and Orville Redenbacher . The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to Hunt-Wesson, a division of Norton Simon Inc. in 1976...
, still the #1 selling brand in the United States. To celebrate the man behind the popping corn, ConAgra developed a special website that highlights some of the classic Orville Redenbacher television commercials. One of his most famous and recognizable commercials states, "My gourmet popping corn pops up lighter and fluffier than ordinary popping corn. Mine is blowing the top right off of the popper. Mine eats better too. Try my gourmet popping corn. You'll taste the difference or my name isn't Orville Redenbacher".
Since 2006, several of Orville’s commercials from the 1970s and 1980s have aired on many channels across the country during commercial breaks. The advertisements for the brand’s "natural" popcorn snacks were introduced in 2008, 13 years after Redenbacher's death, and feature a clip of him at the end.
In January 2007, an advertisement featuring a digital re-creation of Redenbacher appeared on television. Redenbacher's grandson, Gary Redenbacher, responded to questions about how he felt about the advertisement by saying: "Grandpa would go for it. He was a cutting-edge guy. This was a way to honor his legacy."
External links