From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerry Thomas (1922 – 2005) was an American salesman
sometimes credited with inventing the TV Dinner in 1952.
Thomas, who worked for the Swanson food company in the 1950s and
went public with his account decades later, said he designed the
company's famous three-compartment aluminum tray after seeing a
similar tray used by Pan Am Airways.[1] He also
said he coined the name "TV Dinner," brainstormed the idea of
having the packaging resemble a TV set, and contributed the recipe
for the cornbread stuffing. Thomas later said he was uncomfortable
with being called the "Father" of the TV dinner, because he felt he
just built upon existing ideas. Thomas became a marketing and sales
executive after Swanson was acquired by Campbell Soup in
1955. He retired in 1970 after suffering a heart
attack, then did consultancy and directed Grand Central Art
Gallery in New York City. Thomas' wife described him as a gourmet
cook who "never ate TV dinners."[2]
In recent years, Thomas' TV Dinner role was disputed by former
Swanson and Campbell employees, frozen food industry officials, and
Swanson family heirs, who said the product was created by the
Swanson brothers, Clarke and Gilbert.[3] (M.
Crawford Pollock, who was Swanson's in-house marketing chief at the
time, was also said to have played a role.) After Thomas' death in
2005, a Los Angeles Times opinion article that labeled him a
"charlatan" spurred other newspapers to reexamine the TV Dinner's
origins.[4][5][6][7][8]. As a
result, dozens of publications printed retractions on obituaries
that had called Thomas the TV Dinner inventor. The New York Times
said that although Thomas was "widely reported to have had the
inspiration, there have been competing claims, including one from
the Swanson family that W. Clarke Swanson, an owner of the company
in the 1950's, had the idea."[9]
However, Pinnacle Foods, which currently owns Swanson, still
credits Thomas with proposing the TV Dinner concept.[10] And an
Arizona Republic editorial termed the debate over his TV Dinner
involvement "surprisingly vindictive."[11]
The Library of Congress says the history of the TV Dinner is murky,
but notes that frozen dinners existed several years before Swanson
made the idea famous.[12]
References
- ^
Hirsch, Arthur. "Tray chic," Baltimore Sun, Feb. 5, 2003
- ^
Associated Press, "Gerry Thomas, inventor of the TV Dinner, dies at
83," July 20, 2005
- ^
Rivenburg, Roy. "A landmark idea, yes, but whose?" Los Angeles
Times, Nov. 23, 2003, p. E1
- ^
Editor & Publisher, "Media Bites on Turkey of a Story," Aug. 1,
2005
- ^ Keeler, Janet. "Self
Promoter Heated, Served an Urban Legend," St. Petersburg Times,
Aug. 8, 2005
- ^
<Lee, Elizabeth, "Experts Weigh in on hot dispute over frozen
icon," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aug. 6, 2005
- ^
Roberts, Michelle, "Disputed Credit: Who Really Served Up the TV
Dinner?" Associated Press, Aug. 4, 2005
- ^
Philadelphia Inquirer, "Was the TV-dinner story overcooked?" Aug.
5, 2005
- ^
New York Times correction, Aug. 8, 2005
- ^
Pinnacle Foods web
site
- ^
Arizona Republic, "A TV Dinner Dust-up: Who Knew?" Aug. 13,
2005
- ^
Library of Congress - Who
“invented” the TV dinner?
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