According to the San Jose Mercury News, Gerry Thomas, the inventor of the TV dinner, died Monday at a hospice in Phoenix. Thomas, who had liver cancer, was 83.
When Thomas joined Omaha-based Swanson in 1948, the business sold fowl, eggs and other commodities in bulk to restaurants and large processors. Executives grew alarmed when about 520,000 pounds of unsold birds crisscrossed the rails in refrigerated boxcars. Thomas approached Swanson’s owners and suggested an idea that would solve their turkey problems. While visiting a distributor in Pittsburgh, he told them, he had seen a hot-meal tray that Pan American Airways was working on. Thomas transformed the concept into a three-compartment tray, based on his World War II service. The rest was pure marketing, capitalizing on the new craze of television. The Swanson company summoned the turkeys back to headquarters, cooked them and placed them in the three-compartment aluminum trays amid cornbread dressing and gravy, sweet potatoes and buttered peas. The retail price was about $1 each.
Swanson even has a FAQ on TV Dinners. The 50th anniversary of the TV Dinner was celebrated in 2003. About.Com even has a page on the history of the TV Dinner.
So, what are your memories of the TV Dinner?
P.S.: Ask Me A Question Meme
