Orville Redenbacher

Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name.

Early life

Redenbacher was born in Brazil, Indiana, on July 16, 1907, to William Joseph Redenbacher (1873-1921), a farmer, and Julia Magdalena Dierdorff (1874-1944). He grew up on his family's farm where he sometimes sold popcorn from the back of his car. He graduated from Brazil High School in 1924 in the top 5% of his class. He attended Purdue University, where he joined the agriculture-oriented Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and the Purdue All-American Marching Band. He also joined the Purdue University track team. He graduated in 1928 with a degree in agronomy. He spent most of his life in the agriculture industry, serving as a Vigo County Farm Bureau extension agent in Terre Haute, Indiana, and at Princeton Farms in Princeton, Indiana.

Business career

He started his career selling fertilizer, but spent his spare time working with popcorn. In 1951, he and partner Charlie Bowman bought the George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant near Valparaiso, Indiana. Naming the company "Chester Hybrids", they tried tens of thousands of hybrid strains of popcorn before settling on a hybrid they named "RedBow". This name was used due to neither Redenbacher nor Bowman wanting all the publicity. An advertising agency, however, advised them to use "Orville Redenbacher" as the brand name, advice that cost them $13,000. They launched their popping corn in 1970, and Orville was suddenly everywhere. Redenbacher first appeared on national television in 1973—long before the commercials that featured him promoting popcorn. In an episode of the game show, To Tell the Truth, he stumped the panelists (Kitty Carlisle Hart, Bill Cullen, Joe Garagiola, and Peggy Cass), all of whom were shown enjoying samples of Redenbacher's then-new novelty popping corn flavors, including chili and curry.

Orville Redenbacher's

Orville 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 (who starred in nearly all the commercials up to his death in 1995). The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to Hunt-Wesson, a division of Norton Simon Inc. in 1976. In 1983, Esmark purchased Norton Simon, and the next year (1984), Beatrice Foods 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 agribusiness giant ConAgra Foods.

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Orville

Orville may refer to:

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Popup

Popup or pop-up could refer to:

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