Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn Partner Dies
April 12, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Business
Charlie Bowman, who was Orville Redenbacher’s business partner, has died at age 89 in Michigan. At the time of his death, he was living in the city of Holland. Orville Redenbacher died at the age of 88 in 1995.
Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn (Image: Flickr)
Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn is the company the two men were partners in. Founded in 1965, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn didn’t become available to the public until 1969. Over time, the brand become the best selling popcorn brand in the United States and many other countries around the world.
Eventually, Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn was sold to Hunt-Wesson in the mid-1970s. In 1990, the popcorn came under the ownership of ConAgra Foods.
Even though Redenbacher has long since passed, the popcorn brand still features him in advertising campaigns both online and on television. Bowman was the company’s president until 2006, when he retired.
