WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The marketing mastermind and infomercial pioneer best known for introducing American TV viewers to Ginsu knives, the miracle kitchen tool that sliced through tin cans and chopped wood, has died. Barry Becher was 71.
But as Becher’s commercials promised, “Wait, there’s more!”
Becher also brought viewers the Miracle Slicer, Armourcote Cookware and a bevy of other products he pitched with his business partner Ed Valenti. The duo’s signature style of advertising coaxed consumers to act fast because supplies were limited. Satisfaction was always guaranteed.
Becher, who had been suffering from kidney cancer, died Friday at a hospital of complications from surgery, his stepdaughter Stacy Paradise said Wednesday. He had lived in Parkland.
Becher, who was born in Brooklyn, was running two AAMCO franchises near Warwick, R.I., when he met Valenti, an account executive for a local TV station who was handling the auto shops’ advertising.
In the course of a decade, the men said they amassed more than $500 million in sales. Armourcote was the most profitable, but Ginsu remains the most widely known. Millions were sold from the commercial’s debut in 1978. The infomercial promised a 50-year guarantee and “much, much more.”
