This left Pam to raise their children largely on her own. Popcorn Sutton's wife, Pam, died in 2009 after a long battle with cancer. Pam St. Clement Birthday. People in the community didnt know how close we was, and I wouldnt tell em, Moore admits. The life and persona of Marvin Popcorn Sutton, a world-famous moonshiner and North Carolina native, are known to all. The couple had been married for 25 years and had three children together. Distractify is a registered trademark. Sky Sutton, Suttons daughter, is the daughter of Sky and Betty. Two of Suttons other documentaries, 'Popcorn Sutton: A Hell of a Life' and 'Squzz Corn N' Ole Scratch' (short), were released in 2014 and 2012, respectively, after his death. So there my personal opinion. Don Sundquist, visiting for an annual homecoming event, Sutton decided to cook up some real sour mash and dispense it to the crowd in little paper cups. However, she and her father were not very close. To collect Popcorns original bottles, you can purchase them from eBay. If you are going to produce moonshine, you must carefully follow his recipe and instructions. JB, who was best known for his role as Shin Shinshiners in the reality show, died late last year from a long illness. The pulley consists of two ropes attached to a pair of Timberland boots, so that Pams legs could be more easily hoisted in the air. The suit asked that all current existing bottles be taken off the market and that all profits from the sales of those bottles be handed over to Jack Daniel's. "It was beyond surreal," she said Wednesday. The wife of Hall of Fame coach Eddie Sutton died Tuesday at a Tulsa hospital after suffering a stroke in December, according to officials at Ninde Brookside Chapel. His money was running out, and many of his friends, he lamented, had stopped coming around. Join Facebook to connect with Pamela Sutton and others you may know. When I heard how Popcorn was treated and that he wanted me to be involved in carrying on his legacy, I was immediately in. In a cabin Popcorn built in the woods, I swill from an old jar of his cinnamon and cider apple pie moonshine with Ernestine Upchurch, a bawdy older woman in white pants and a polka-dot shirt, who dated Popcorn prior to his marriage and describes herself as the love of his life. [41], In December 2016, the Popcorn Sutton Distillery was sold to the Sazerac Company. Copyright 2023 Distractify. "Popcorn is getting everybody drunk," the governor's Highway Patrol escorts complained and when Irwin told him to stop, Sutton packed up and left, Irwin recalled. Suttons will stated that the money was to be used to support the continuance of my lifes work. This work includes the production of moonshine, which is illegal in the United States. On March 16, 2009, Sutton committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. On October 25, 2013, Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. filed suit against the distiller of Popcorn Sutton's whiskey, claiming that the newly redesigned bottle, with its square shape, beveled shoulders, and white-on-black label, too closely resembled their own. His recipe, on the other hand, still lives on and is produced at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Kentucky. It was done so the state could finally cash in (in addition to tax payments, starting a moonshine operation requires a half-million-dollar tax bond). Sutton said he considered moonshine production a legitimate part of his heritage, as he was a Scots-Irish American and descended from a long line of moonshiners. Click here to find personal data about Pamela Sutton including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. But while the cops may not have pursued his bootlegging aggressively, Popcorn got himself in hot water nonetheless. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Sutton was in a live-in relationship with Ernestine Upchurch, who later helped him write his autobiography. Kobe Bryant's Parents: Where Are They Now? | Heavy.com The couple had three children together, but Popcorn Suttons moonshining operation often took him away from home for long periods of time. Released in 2008 and broadcast on 'CBS,' the documentary received a 'Southeast Emmy Award' in 2009. Crime, whiskey & homemade sex machines: The life, death and legacy of Popcorn Sutton, Americas greatest moonshiner. He later paid him back with liquor. To start the business, Sutton borrowed money from Nick Price. Pam Grier is the undisputed queen of the 1970s Blaxploitation films. She suspected even then that her daddy might be responsible. We have found 168 people in the UK with the name Pamela Sutton. The company that sold Popcorn Sutton branded products, on the other hand, continues to sell them directly to consumers. Popcorn Suttons legal fight to legalize moonshine resulted in his suicide and subsequent criminal prosecution, but it was his legal fight to legalize the spirit that led to his death. To the fans and celebs who came from around the world to buy his booze, Popcorn was the banjo-picking cracker with the long beard, grimy overalls, and bawdy stories. I dont want moonshine to die with me, he told Grosser as they stood near the casket that Popcorn kept in his house for his final day. Buyers came from miles around to sample his goods, and Popcorns celebrity grew. Popcorn has never been secretive about his tendency for making moonshine. I can relate to that, as I am the same way. He gained fame as a moonshiner and bootlegger in the United States at a time when illicit businesses were the norm. This time, the local cops would be of no help. This led to yet another conviction on a number of charges. They had two daughters. Pam Sutton. On the day of his death, a fan wrote on Twitter, "Toasting the passing of the famous moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. As I discover over several sweltering days and clandestine jugs of moonshine, Popcorn left a twisted trail: scorned women, abandoned kids, complicit cops, even homemade sex machines, exploding stills, and the tale of a throat-slit fiddler on the side of the road. [3][4][5] He wrote a self-published autobiographical guide to moonshining production, self-produced a home video depicting his moonshining activities, was the subject of several documentaries, including one that received a Regional Emmy Award, and is the subject of the award-winning biography and photobook The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton.[6]. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of federal imprisonment. Almost everyone who grew up in and around Cocke County, Tennessee is familiar with the legend of Popcorn Sutton. Popcorn lives on but now in a rural mountain in northern Tennessee. It was an absolute honor to meet him. The lawsuit was settled in 2014 with undisclosed terms,[37] and as of May 2016, the Sutton brand's bottle design has been substantially changed. But the real question isnt what he did in 1983 its about the many bouts with the law throughout the 1970s, 1980s and early 2000s. As of 2022, she has not appeared in the media for a long time. Several seasons ago, Cutie Pie almost died after getting bit by a snake while exploring a possible still site with Josh, who had to rush her to the nearest veterinarian office. Whiskey production became ingrained in early Appalachian culture, thanks in part to the regions perfect climate for growing sweet corn. "He was a true moonshiner," his widow added. Spring 2023 enrollment at Western Carolina Univers Waynesville is Haywood Countys only municipal g Jake Tallent vividly remembers the impact that the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a v Book reading, film screening to commemorate Popcorn Sutton, As long as water runs downhill: The story of Popcorn Sutton, Hillbilly Jammers get high on the mountain, Pardon me? The story of the life of Popcorn Sutton shows that Americans are still not really free! by Loyola Martinez | Feb 25, 2023 | Popcorn. In the 90s he authored a ribald autobiography, Me and My Likker, which he sold on the Internet. Popcorn Sutton - Wikipedia If Suttons prison sentence seems light considering his many crimes, it was in part due to his age. Pamela Sutton - People Directory - 192.com Later that day his wife came home from work to find him dead. Fontes hadnt anticipated adding to Popcorns criminal record until April 24, 2007, when he spotted smoke billowing up from the woods. Previously, Pam was Chief Executive Officer at the University of Virginia Medical Center. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. They should of left him alone he was part of our great history, 2021 The Smoky Mountain News. moonshine was made from a recipe passed down through the generations and was sold in the back of his Ford Model A truck. However, he always received only probation sentences. Dean Sutton of 39 years and his wife, Christine Sutton; their son, Ian; mother, Bessie Wimer; and sister,Brenda Oswald, all of whom preceded her in death, are among those who have passed away. Spouse. In 2007, Sutton was caught with over 650 gallons of moonshine by local Cocke County authorities. These recipes were made with popcorn Sutton left behind, and they included a lot of instructions and instructions on how to make them. Sutton's widow said he'd just gotten a letter to report Friday to a medium-security federal prison in south Georgia to begin an 18-month sentence for illegally producing distilled spirits and. Back then, he lived on Snowbird Mountain. Fontes has just returned from raiding a local pot farm and is twirling a two-foot-long marijuana stalk in his hand like a billy club. Probably because its still illegal to make shine. pic.twitter.com/V7dUdlJWQ8. Popcorn Sutton was a moonshiner who was born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. She has a Netflix doc, 'Pamela, A Love Story,' and book out now. He was 62 years old. Hi my Name is Angel. In 2009, Sutton's estranged daughter Sky published a book titled 'Daddy Moonshine: The Story of Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton,' which gave a lot of details about her father's life. While we do our best to bring you the most up-to-date information, TheSmokies.com LLC makes no warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content contained within. 33 Years old foodie & cookie lover. Sutton began his moonshining and bootlegging empire with just one barrel, that too, at a time when they were considered illicit businesses in the US. We have a lot of people come to Maggie Valley that want to meet Popcorn.. This led the firefighters to discover 650 gallons of untaxed alcohol. But Popcorn, who seemed unusually sullen to Grosser, had other plans. At several points in my interviews, people would slip away and return with dusty jugs of Popcorns concoctions. He was a part of the 2002 Neal Hutcheson film Moon moonshine, which focused on the illegal moonshine trade. Lunn and Henley and the other employees of the distillery became employees of the Sazerac Company. He went to his grave in a pine casket he bought years ago and kept in a bedroom. Stanley established The Starchild character for his Kiss persona. As Hank Williams Jr. says of Popcorn, This guy was real Appalachian Americana. He said Nobody else could be that handsome We both laughed and he proceeded to tell me how he got his Name. He often bragged that he ran more whiskey than Jack Daniel. He detailed his brew-making exploits in the book Me and My Likker, and in a self-produced video The Last Run of Likker Ill Ever Make. Hes even been known to autograph Mason jars of moonshine. Regina has plans to release her own moonshine based on her dads secret recipe with a local microdistillery near her home in Anchorage, where she now works as a trauma surgeon (a job that was inspired by the day she saw the guy at her daddys house with a knife in his neck). As part of his undercover investigation, an undercover federal officer discovered that Sutton had 500 gallons of moonshine in his possession. One night I sit outside the Cocke County fire station, near Popcorns home in Parrotsville, Tennessee, swigging apricot moonshine with the fire chiefs stout, gray-haired wife. [3] In the 1960s or 1970s, Sutton was given the nickname of "Popcorn" after his frustrated attack on a bar's faulty popcorn vending machine with a pool cue. Lawlessness around here still persists, with poverty, crystal meth, and alcoholism rampant. He committed suicide in 2009 as a result of cancer treatment. What To Know About the Shows Creatures, Is the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Worth It? Pamela and Tommy had a whirlwind romance. She has shown her strength and resilience in the face of adversity, and she is a deserving recipient of the money her husband left behind. [24] He had also prepared a footstone in advance for his gravesite, and for years he had kept it by his front porch and had kept his casket ready in his living room. Pam Sutton Portfolio | northtahoearts Authorities suspect carbon monoxide poisoning. We can conclude from this that moonshine culture is still thriving in the southern United States. He comes from the old era, said Maggie Valley Police Chief Scott Sutton, describing Popcorn Sutton as the last of his breed. I walked over and asked if he was the man on the Postcard. The total weight of the ingredients is 143 pounds (65.2 kilograms), with cracked corn accounting for 65.1 kilograms and granulated sugar accounting for 76 kilograms. Cutie Pie survived a snake bite in 2017. When Popcorn Sutton was sentenced to jail in 2009 for moonshining, Pam stood by her husband. Pamela Sutton's passing has been publicly announced by Good Sipler Funeral & Cremation Centre, Inc. in Reamstown, PA.Legacy invites you to offer condolences and share memories of Pamela in the Gue "I just hope and pray they don't send me off (to prison).". In 2009, he chose suicide in order to avoid going to prison, and he was diagnosed with cancer the following year. However, most believe it was either due to vandalism of the original site or a family dispute with his widow. The grave of the last American outlaw sits off a dirt road in the backwoods of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, the hillbilly haven where Marvin Popcorn Sutton, the most notorious moonshiner ever, lived and died in the wildest of ways. [37], In March 2015, it was announced that John Lunn, who had until then been master distiller of George Dickel Tennessee whiskey since 2005, would be joining Popcorn Sutton Distilling as its new master distiller. "And then he got into it in such a big way. He was selling some stuff. Pass the Mountain Dew! I met Popcorn in a restaurant in Maggie Valley around 1997. Popcorn Sutton married Pam Sutton in 2007 just two years prior to his death. Showed how to make moonshineHe wrote a paperback called "Me and My Likker" and recorded videos on how to make moonshine. Sky Moonshine, the estranged daughter of Sutton, published Daddy: The Story of Marvin Popcorn Sutton. Sutton was arrested by an undercover police officer in 2008 after he admitted to storing large amounts of illegal alcohol in another location. Pam St. Clement was born on May 21, 1942 and is 80 years old now. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But the young cop, whod seen the ravaging effects of drugs and alcohol on the locals, didnt comply. I met him once at his little shack in Cherokee. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 828.452.4251. Here are six interesting facts about his life that might just surprise you. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the estate of Kate Sutton is valued at around $500 thousand. Over the course of his infamous career, Sutton faced a number of criminal complaints and convictions for moonshine-related crimes. Fans Want to Know Why 'Moonshiners' Star Tickle Was in Jail Again! Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. Yale New Haven Health names Pamela Sutton-Wallace as COO - YNHHS In fact, he came from a long line of bootleggers. Someone of means is going to have to step up. Popcorn Sutton did this in his capacity as the leader of Popcorn Sutton Inc. The boy's mother's boyfriend has admitted to beating the child and is expected to face additional charges Willie Nelson had him onstage at a local show, and Johnny Knoxville taped a visit to Popcorns cabin. To Grosser it seemed less like a sellout than the last swift move of a sharp entrepreneur. DK. "He tried every way in the world to get them (federal authorities) to leave him on house arrest," she said. Surprisingly, this list doesnt include any states with the highest moonshiner rates per capita. If he liked you he liked you, and if he didnt, you better stay away, recalled Carver. He came from a long line of moonshiners, so bootlegging and moonshining have been his calling since he arrived on Earth. He had a wood burning stove inside. He was 62 years old. [35] According to press reports, Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey would be initially distributed in Tennessee and throughout the southeast. One Christmas at the Cocke County police department, deputy Armando Fontes got a gift from a mysterious man with a long white beard. Best Match Powered by Whitepages Premium AGE 50s Pamela L Sutton Brooklyn, NY (Central Brooklyn) View Full Report Addresses Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY E 9th St, Brooklyn, NY It took his money, but didnt produce popcorn, eliciting a few swift blows from Sutton to crack open the machine. 33 Years old foodie & cookie lover. Soon after Sutton's demise, there were rumors that suggested his grave had been vandalized. "He would tell you exactly what he thought, whether you wanted to hear it or not. Popcorns stuff wasnt just cleanit was so tasty that locals treasure their last mason jars of it to this day. I picked one up and realized the man sitting in the corner bye himself was the Legend ! Did you know anything about Popcorn Sutton that we missed? They should have been focused on crimes that out weighed hi. Irwin told Sutton to run nothing but water through it. In 1982, Memphis Popcorn Sutton helped to found the industrys first terminal. The states with the most moonshiners, on the other hand, are not among the top five for per capita moonshine production. Sutton then wrote a self-published autobiography and guide to moonshine production called Me and My Likker, and began selling copies of it in 1999 out of his junk shop in Maggie Valley. Popcorns nickname dates to a barroom brawl between himself and a popcorn machine. The money has also been used to support the families of those who have been killed or incarcerated because of their involvement in the moonshine business. He was convicted in 1974 of selling untaxed liquor[3][7] and in 1981 and 1985 on charges of possessing controlled substances and assault with a deadly weapon, but received only probation sentences until the 1985 arrest, after which he served time in the Craggy Correctional Center in Asheville. Moreover, she is also not on social media which makes it further difficult to track down her life at present. She has no doubt Sutton died on his own terms. Some Popcorn Sutton branded products can still be purchased directly from the original company. The two made a deal to open Popcorn Sutton Distilling and sell his whiskey on the open market, taxes and all. In January 2009, Sutton was charged with illegal distillation of spirits and firearm possession. Pam was diagnosed with Stage 3 Bowel Cancer in January 2014. This is likely the event that spurred the internets 1983 search. [4] The source footage from the 2002 documentary was also re-worked into another Hutcheson documentary, The Last One, which was released in 2008 and was broadcast on PBS. But with thousands of people, including then-Gov. The epitaph on his footstone reads "Popcorn Said Fuck You".[14][25]. His wife Pam, whom he had married about two years before his death,[11][14] returned home from running errands and discovered her husband in his green Ford Fairmont (which was still running) at the rear of their property in Parrottsville, Tennessee. [39] Copper stills for the facility were made by Vendome Copper and Brass in Louisville, Kentucky. He wasn't just a poor old moonshiner trying to make a few dollars.". In 2009, an accidental carbon monoxide overdose claimed the life of the actor. Could it still be set up, as a shrine monument?? When the sugar content of the spirit is too high, the sugar content of the spirit will be too sweet, while too little sugar will cause the spirit to ferment poorly. Born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, [1] [2] he grew up, lived and died in the rural areas around Maggie Valley and nearby Cocke County, Tennessee. Join Facebook to connect with Pam Sutton and others you may know. Sutton was first interred at a family graveyard in Mount Sterling, North Carolina. Reports vary on why he was exhumed and reburied. Popcorn Suttons story is both tragic and a testament to the ravages of cancer that cancer can cause. He made his first film appearance in 2002, with Neal Hutcheson's documentary 'Mountain Talk.' Helps Continue Popcorn Sutton's Moonshine Legacy", "Popcorn Sutton's whiskey goes legit with Hank Williams Jr.'s stamp of approval", "Hank Williams, Jr. Gets into the Moonshine Business", "Jack Daniel's in legal fight with small distiller", Dickel master distiller leaving to head Popcorn Sutton, "Sazerac Expanding into Tennessee Whiskey with Distillery Purchase", "Hank Tips a Hat and a Glass To Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey", "Another Dickel Distiller, Alisa Henley, Leaves for Popcorn Sutton", Obituary Of Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, A Tennessee Moonshiner, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Popcorn_Sutton&oldid=1131948838, People from Maggie Valley, North Carolina, Articles with dead external links from October 2010, Articles with dead external links from May 2013, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from September 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Sutton's long-estranged daughter Sky Sutton wrote a self-published book in 2009 entitled, Some of the prior Hutcheson documentary footage of Sutton was used in the 201112 season of the, A brief photographic book about Sutton was released in 2012 , Another Hutcheson documentary about Sutton was released in 2014 called, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 15:01. Moreover, there were several petitions made to reduce his sentence. In 1974, he was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and charged with multiple violations. Local authorities allegedly looked the other way, chalking it up to Popcorn being a community fixture. The net worth of Andy Sutton is unknown, but some sources claim that he was worth as much as $13 million when he died in 1993. Children. Is Pam Sutton Still Alive Photo by - wp On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. But to those who knew him, he was something more: a brilliant self-promoter and chemist who ultimately despised the persona he had crafted as expertly as his booze. He was a friendly fellow, and of course every time you would talk to him, he would say, "Ray, I've run my last run of moonshine, I'm not gonna do it anymore, I'm just getting too old to be doing this stuff.". The couple had been married for 25 years and had three children together. His wife, Pam Sutton, whom he married just two years prior, had returned from running errands when she found him. We dont plan to change that model. How do you explain Bill and JB from Moonshiners? Per NBC News, the famed moonshiner and bootlegger Popcorn Sutton died by suicide, possibly to avoid serving time in federal prison. View the profiles of people named Pam Sutton. He'd gotten probation before, but U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer said he couldn't do that again, despite Sutton's age and physical infirmities. The company and whiskey brand associated with him have been renamed after him since he died. What does this report reveal about the states with the most moonshiners? Why not just leave it up in a shrine like ritual for all to see?? Whatever he earned from trading the barrels to Nick would go back into the next batch of products, and he would leave with little to spend on his household. Popcorn had just one question for the stranger. He received the nickname of Popcorn after he attacked a faulty popcorn vending machine with a pool cue out of frustration. His wife reported that he had once told her that he would do this, rather than go to jail. On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. They aint no damn body that can beat me making likker. And, in the end, he chose to die rather than get beat. Where Is Pamela Anderson Now? Latest News On The 'Baywatch' Star Then there was the alleged attack on Willie Ferguson, a local musician who reportedly made the mistake of crossing Popcorn. Neal used footages from 'Mountain Talk' in his next documentary, 'The Last One.' After separating from his second wife Heather Locklear, Tommy met Pam and the two fell hard and fast. So he Wooped the hell out of it with a pool stick. People had to make a living somehow back then I guess. An hour after Grosser left the cabin with his paperwork, Popcorn built his final contraption.