The George Foreman grill, endorsed by the heavyweight champion, became a cultural phenomenon — and earned the boxer hundreds of millions of dollars.
George Foreman, whose death at the age of 76 was announced on Friday, was first and foremost a heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medalist who won numerous titles over the course of his long boxing career.
But outside the ring, Foreman came to be associated with a game-changing kitchen appliance.
First introduced more than 30 years ago, the George Foreman grill — officially the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine — became a cultural phenomenon thanks to its innovative design, which introduced fast, smokeless, indoor grilling to health-conscious consumers in the 1990s.
Foreman’s own impressive physique and affable personality made him the perfect pitchman to sell the grills — and sell they did.The grills became synonymous with the boxing star as well as healthy eating
Foreman signed an endorsement deal with manufacturers Salton Inc. (later known as Russell Hobbs, Inc., and now merged with Spectrum Brands) for an undisclosed sum in 1994. That’s the same year he regained the world heavyweight title at the age of 45.
The following year, he began appearing in infomercials promoting the product in which Foreman enthusiastically declared: « It’s so good, I put my name on it! »
The grills were a hit with consumers, including members of the Trump family, The New York Times reported in 2002 when it described the grill as « the chicest household appliance on the Upper East Side and certainly the trendiest gift item.
