He was also known for being convicted of crimes related to moonshining and illegal firearm possession. He will continue to teach distilling techniques to distillers in North Carolina, as well as his music, which will be featured at both the moonshiners reunion and the Mountain Music Festival. Urban drinks are featured. To start the business, Sutton borrowed money from Nick Price. Despite being on probation, Popcorn defiantly refused to give up his trade. Since his death, Popcorn's persona and work have only garnered more attention due to a whiskey company named after him, Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey, and as we said before, his posthumous appearances on Moonshiners. American moonshiner and bootlegger (19462009), "New Movie Focuses on WNC Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton", "Yesterday's Moonshiner, Today's Microdistiller", "Legendary Tennessee Moonshiner Plied His Trade to the End", "Widow: Moonshiner took his life to avoid prison", "Family of legendary moonshiner hoped his sentence would be reduced", "The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton | IndieBound.org", "Golden Moment: Bulletin: NC State University", "Cane In Hand, 'Popcorn' Sutton Is Sentenced To 18 Months", United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, "Waco 20 Years Later: The ATF Raid - Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com", "Daughter says independence likely led to moonshiner's suicide", "Estranged daughter remembers 'Popcorn' Sutton", "Hundreds honor memory of legendary moonshiner", "6 surprising facts about Popcorn Sutton and his moonshine", "16th Annual Winners | National Indie Excellence Awards | California", "Hank Williams, Jr. He said a Vending machine in a bar took his money and didnt give him his popcorn! He also appeared in the Western 'Ghost Town: The Movie.' His most recent conviction for selling over 650 gallons of moonshine resulted in him being placed on probation. After meeting at a New Year's Eve party in 1994 . However, she and her father were not very close. If he liked you he liked you, and if he didnt, you better stay away, recalled Carver. Read Also: Is Moonshiners real? She uses several glassmaking techniques to create decorative, as well as functional . Sutton, an infamous moonshiner, had been trying to outrun revenuers for more than three decades now. Join Facebook to connect with Pam Sutton and others you may know. Because of its high alcohol content, moonshine is not typically sold in stores, but instead is consumed at home or by bar patrons who want to imbibe in a spirit with a distinct flavor profile. The couple had been married for 25 years and had three children together. After Popcorn Suttons death in 2009, Pam Sutton took over the family business and has continued to produce moonshine using her husbands recipes and methods. At the center of it all was a guy who, right up until his bizarre death, defied his stereotype as much as he seemed to fulfill it. In January 2009, Sutton was charged with illegal distillation of spirits and firearm possession. Although he passed away a few years before the show premiered, the series used previous documentary footage shot by director Neal Hutcheson for his own films, allowing fans to see the legendary moonshiner in his natural habitat. "He tried every way in the world to get them (federal authorities) to leave him on house arrest," she said. This left Pam to raise their children largely on her own. After her death, Suttons business continued to operate, and he continued to produce moonshine until his own death in 2009. Here are six interesting facts about his life that might just surprise you. Surprisingly, this list doesnt include any states with the highest moonshiner rates per capita. He was walking down the driveway coming toward me and told me, Hey, hey, hey, dont tell nobody what you seen here, Fontes recalls. "[3] His daughter said he had told her in advance that he would die by suicide rather than go to jail, adding that he had "the strength to die the way he lived: according to his own wishes and no one else's. The company and whiskey brand associated with him have been renamed after him since he died. ", Maggie Valley, NC Mark, Digger and JB are close to completing the first run of liquor anyones made here since Popcorn Sutton did his last run 20 years ago #Moonshiners on @Discovery and @discoveryplus https://t.co/mJGWJuEHZO pic.twitter.com/RohfOaMOKq. He honed the perfection of the craft, much like his father and grandfather had before him. To distinguish himself from the competition, he took pride in quality. [18] The judge noted that Sutton was still under probation in Tennessee at the time of the federal raid, and said that putting a man on probation again after being convicted five times of various crimes would not serve the community interest. 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. . In a final twist, she can now make her papas booze in Tennessee legally if she wantsthe state passed a law shortly after his death authorizing moonshine production. Later he and Sutton even built stills together, and during my visit Moore shows me one of many he recently made. Crime, whiskey & homemade sex machines: The life, death and legacy of Popcorn Sutton, Americas greatest moonshiner. Aint nobody make it better than this, she cackles over a sip. Knoxville marveled at the wood-burned sign over the bedroom doorway inside that read this is a watch yourself fuck and eat pussy bedroom. Popcorns homemade cunnilingus contraption hangs in the doorway to this day, as I see when his widow, Pam Sutton, a heavyset, short-haired woman in a sleeveless brown shirt and jean shorts, gives me a tour of the cabin her husband built by hand. Sutton Popcorn Company retains their original use of this name. We have a lot of people come to Maggie Valley that want to meet Popcorn.. Reports vary on why he was exhumed and reburied. [39] Copper stills for the facility were made by Vendome Copper and Brass in Louisville, Kentucky. However, most believe it was either due to vandalism of the original site or a family dispute with his widow. Editors Note: Many thanks to Sucker Punch Pictures for allowing us to use their incredible photos of Popcorn Sutton and his still for this article. Neal Hutcheson, another filmmaker who worked with Sutton, is worth $30 million. 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. Autopsy results may be weeks away. Through it all, there was just one thing that guided him: his likker (as he liked to spell it). Even when he came to federal court, he was wearing bib overalls. Stills are known to do that, despite Popcorns expert craftsmanship in making them. Pam St. Clement Birthday and Age. As the story goes, Fergusons body was found on the side of the road, left for dead after having his throat slit. . With all his knowledge about shine and his love for animals, especially cats, that makes him number one in my book. Assuming you have all of the necessary items and your climate is favorable for moonshine making, this is how much corn it will take to produce 5 gallons of liquor: 201 ounces of cracked corn 7 pounds of granulated sugar. I remember the blood gushing everywhere, she says. What does this report reveal about the states with the most moonshiners? Since his death, he has been honored with a new company and whiskey brand named after him. His health was failing. View Pam Sutton results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Sutton nicknamed "Popcorn" for smashing up a 10-cent popcorn machine in a bar with a pool cue in his 20s looked like a living caricature of a mountain moonshiner. Sutton was born Marvin Sutton, on October 5, 1946, in the tiny town of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, to Bonnie and Vader. Ever since the death of her former partner Jim, Pam gradually avoided appearance in the media. He received the nickname of Popcorn after he attacked a faulty popcorn vending machine with a pool cue out of frustration. Would loved to have known Popcorn. But this wasnt Santa Clausit was the towns most notorious outlaw, Popcorn Sutton, and he was passing out his annual present: a shiny silver dollar for each cop on the force. Irwin told Sutton to run nothing but water through it. He was 62 years old. The most notable thing about the grave? After he attacked a popcorn vending machine with a pool cue in the 1960s or 1970s, he was dubbed Popcorn by the media. However, prior to his death, she had not seen him in years. After separating from his second wife Heather Locklear, Tommy met Pam and the two fell hard and fast. On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. In March 2008, Sutton informed an undercover federal officer about the moonshine gallons in Tennessee and Maggie Valley, which he wanted to trade. Read on for all the details about her life now. moonshine was legal in the United States for the first time in a year shortly before Popcorn Sutton died of cancer. hates you. His wife reported that he had once told her that he would do this, rather than go to jail. However, on October 24, 2009, it was relocated to his property in Parrottsville, and a private memorial service was held. They dated for a month before getting married. Today, Sky Sutton is a published author, historian and genealogist. Moonshine is romanticized in folklore and in the movies, Cavanaugh declared. When he was sentenced to federal prison for possession of illegal firearms and moonshining, he chose to commit suicide rather than report to prison, at the age of 62. Pamela and Tommy had a whirlwind romance. Every time Sutton finished filling a barrel, he would give Nick a gallon and sell the rest to him. Stanley established The Starchild character for his Kiss persona. 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. She added that the prison sentence and a cancer diagnosis might have had influenced his decision. What finally brought him down, however, was a fire at his own home in April 2007 when a still exploded. This time, the local cops would be of no help. On November 9, 2010, Hank Williams Jr. partnered with 'J&M Concepts LLC' and Pam Sutton to distill and distribute a whiskey brand titled 'Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey.'. JB, who was best known for his role as Shin Shinshiners in the reality show, died late last year from a long illness. She was one of six children born to a sharecropper and a housewife. 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. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the estate of Kate Sutton is valued at around $500 thousand. [18][19] In January 2009, Sutton, who had used a public defender as his attorney in the case and had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison for illegally distilling spirits and possession of a firearm (a .38-caliber handgun) as a felon. Yes, I do, Grosser replied.Then come on in. As Popcorn once bragged, Im the only man I know of around here thats got a two-inch dick and a six-inch tongue and knows how to use both of em.[pagebreak] Famed Appalachian moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, whose incorrigible bootlegging ways were out of step with modern times, took his own life rather than go to prison, his widow says. Seussian contraptions of barrels and metal tubing, Popcorns stills could be set up and dismantled quickly at the riverside, just in case the cops screeched up. But the young cop, whod seen the ravaging effects of drugs and alcohol on the locals, didnt comply. Let us know in the comments. Its a phrase he cut into his headstone when he was still alive. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News. DK. An hour after Grosser left the cabin with his paperwork, Popcorn built his final contraption. Sutton was convicted of tax evasion after his property was damaged by fire in 2007. The lawsuit was settled in 2014. Popcorn Sutton, a moonshiner and bootlegger from 1946 to 2009, is regarded as an American legend. View the web story version of this article here. pic.twitter.com/V7dUdlJWQ8. Popcorn began making whiskey in his youth near what he called the Bend of the River, a leafy spot where, decades later, his empty grave would sit. There were so many doctors just jotting shit down on a piece of paper making herion legal in a pill form and they already new this. His moonshine was made from a recipe passed down through his family and sold in the back of his Ford Model A truck. Popcorns stuff wasnt just cleanit was so tasty that locals treasure their last mason jars of it to this day. "Nobody was going to tell him what to do," Sky told Knox News in 2009. People had to make a living somehow back then I guess. "I think most people have a warm feeling for him, but he bragged so much about it (moonshining)," Irwin said. gotta love popcorns sarcastic wit. He was 62 years old. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate and a partner of other affiliate programs including Booking.com, CJ and Tripster, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases via links found in this article. 33 Years old foodie & cookie lover. In 1982, Memphis Popcorn Sutton helped to found the industrys first terminal. Is Pam Sutton Still Alive Photo by - wp On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. The charges also included tax evasion and transportation of an illegal substance. , Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Dangers Of Popcorn Lung: E-Cigarette Use Linked To Fatal Respiratory Illness, How To Prepare Your Airless Sprayer For Spraying Popcorn Ceilings, Adding Subtitles To A Movie On Popcorn Time, Popcorners: A Healthier Alternative To Traditional Snacks, Hoyts Offers Delicious Gluten-Free Popcorn For Movie-Goers With Dietary Restrictions, Sorghum Popcorn: A Delicious And Healthy Snack, The Shulmans Skinny Popcorn Is A Healthier Alternative To Traditional Popcorn, How Much Salt In Orville Redenbacker Popcorn. From back rooms to barrooms, locals tell me sordid tales of Popcorns violent temper. But while the cops may not have pursued his bootlegging aggressively, Popcorn got himself in hot water nonetheless. Pams early years were spent working on her familys tobacco farm. If the strangers seemed trustworthy, Popcorn would take their cash, about $40 per gallon at his peak, and tell them to pick up their moonshine from one of his secret drop boxes hidden in the woods: a baby casket or an old toilet. The couple had been married for over 50 years and had three children together. [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. So its no surprise that the law eventually caught up with him. To make a 5 gallon batch of moonshine, 201 pounds of corn must be used. is pam sutton still alive. As only a legend would be, Popcorn Sutton was actually buried twice. It is also critical to use the proper amount of sugar in each batch of moonshine to make it safe to drink. 4 mos. That man went out in a blaze of glory, and flipping his finger as we went," she said. 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). Others view him as a criminal. He wasn't just a poor old moonshiner trying to make a few dollars.". His archive footages were featured in the 2016 docuseries 'Moonshiners.'. He gained fame as a moonshiner and bootlegger in the United States at a time when illicit businesses were the norm. We can conclude from this that moonshine culture is still thriving in the southern United States. DE, Popcorn Suttons XXX Tennessee White Whiskey can also be purchased in a mason jar. Pam Sutton is a much loved and valued member with the Inner West Police Area Command. Almost everyone who grew up in and around Cocke County, Tennessee is familiar with the legend of Popcorn Sutton. Lunn and Henley and the other employees of the distillery became employees of the Sazerac Company. However, in what has become a Sutton civil war, Regina and her supporters, including Popcorns former girlfriend Ernestine Upchurch, are fighting to get his remains back to his empty grave at the Bend of the River and reclaim his brand name. The Feds killed him. Sutton learned to make moonshine at an early age. Hutchesons coffee table book style biography, The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton is a glimpse into Popcorns wit, jokes and hillbilly way of life. [41], In December 2016, the Popcorn Sutton Distillery was sold to the Sazerac Company. He had got the footstone made in advance and had kept for years by his front porch. On March 16, 2009, Sutton committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Additionally, Sutton had had a mental breakdown after being diagnosed with cancer. They were not invited. [2] (A woman named Ernestine Upchurch, with whom Sutton had been living in the 1990s, later said she helped write the book. Pam Suttons moonshine is still highly sought-after, and she has won multiple awards for her products. 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. In 1999, he launched his self-published autobiography, 'Me and My Likker,' which also chronicled the incredible journey of moonshine production. Beside his grave is a marker that reads, Popcorn said [f] you.. The man behind the raid was one of the countrys most infamous ATF agents, James Cavanaugh (a fellow Tennessean, who became known for leading the Waco and Unabomber raids), and he vowed to take Popcorn down. Popcorn Sutton poses with one of his moonshine stills (photo shared with permission from Sucker Punch Pictures). [12][13]) At around the same time, Sutton produced a home video of the same title and released it on VHS tape. Still, his name is synonymous with one of the countys greatest claims to fame: Real mountain moonshine. Famed Appalachian moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, whose incorrigible bootlegging ways were as out of step with modern times as his hillbilly beard and overalls, took his own life rather than go to prison for making white lightning, his widow says. He was a moonshine maker as well as Popcorn Sutton Moonshines creator, collaborating with his father. The states with the most moonshiners, on the other hand, are not among the top five for per capita moonshine production. In 1974, he was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and charged with multiple violations. He was well-known in the entertainment industry for his stage name and custom copper stills, and he made a name for himself. Did you know anything about Popcorn Sutton that we missed? "You might say he embodied a kind of Appalachian archetype, a character trait of fearlessness and fierce loyalty to regional identity even in the face of personal persecution and stereotyping," said Ted Olson, a regional writer and faculty member in East Tennessee State University's Department of Appalachian Studies. Its empty. The fire tipped authorities off that Popcorn was still at it, and wasnt merely producing the occasionall jar here and there but cranking out hundreds of gallons. 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. What To Know About the Shows Creatures, Is the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Worth It? There is no doubt that JB and Bill will be fondly remembered as two exceptional individuals. But even for this seasoned veteran of the force, Popcorn stood out. She even went so far as to testify on his behalf at his sentencing hearing. Interestingly, just a year after Sutton died, moonshining was legalized in the US. In 2009, an accidental carbon monoxide overdose claimed the life of the actor. Per NBC News, the famed moonshiner and bootlegger Popcorn Sutton died by suicide, possibly to avoid serving time in federal prison. One year later, while still on probation from the previous charge, an undercover agent working for the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission discovered 500 gallons of moonshine being housed and produced by Sutton. Sutton had a long career making moonshine and bootlegging. Angel Sutton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Glen Sutton. Sutton could have gotten as much as 15 years in prison, but got off with a surprisingly light relatively speaking with just 18 months. "All the rest of them that I know are dead," Sutton said in the profane, not-for-primetime clip. He made his home in Cocke County, where cockfighting and moonshining are legend. His parents lived in a wooden house in a mountain perched beside a tumbling stream. Join Facebook to connect with Pamela Sutton and others you may know. Sutton also had a daughter by the name of Sky Sutton. Later, in 1981, Sutton was convicted and sentenced in the Haywood County Superior Court in North Carolina for felony possession of a controlled substance. In 2010, Hank Williams, Jr. announced a partnership with J.M. Aside from his white lightening, Popcorn was known for his crass language and feisty manner. On the day of his death, a fan wrote on Twitter, "Toasting the passing of the famous moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. Son, he asked, do you eat pussy? Though distilling moonshine is illegal, that doesn't stop the Discovery Channel from glorifying the concept in its docudrama series Moonshiners. Sutton appeared in several documentaries including This is the Last Dam Run of Likker Ill Ever Make (featured below). When Popcorn Sutton was sentenced to jail in 2009 for moonshining, Pam stood by her husband. On Monday, she came home from running errands and found him dead in his old Ford. He was really just a back hill shiner. "I just hope and pray they don't send me off (to prison).". His self-published autobiography, Me and My Likker, described the amazing journey of moonshine production. Some people have questioned whether or not Pam Sutton is worthy of the money she has been left. 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. [20] Mrs. Sutton said, "He called it his three-jar car because he gave three jugs of liquor for it. 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. He seemed interesting and came out with some funny one liners. Popcorn Sutton was a well-known moonshiner in the Appalachian region of the United States, and his wife was often involved in his business. I can't be the only one that misses Popcorn Sutton.I would have loved to pick his brain. 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 But so did the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who launched a full-scale investigation, including undercover agents that struck deals to buy large quantities of moonshine from him. Pam Sutton married Popcorn Sutton just two years before his death in 2007. Most of it happened in the last 20 years, if not longer. Newport Plain Talk, Cocke Countys local newspaper, originally reported the following arrests and convictions. He considered moonshining his birth rite. [3][4] Before his rise to fame at around 60 years of age, he had been in trouble with the law several times, but had avoided prison sentences. It was an absolute honor to meet him. Sutton was convicted multiple times for selling moonshine without a license. But this shit right here goes right back to the crooked shit that's been going on before I was born. Popcorn Sutton did this in his capacity as the leader of Popcorn Sutton Inc. Local authorities allegedly looked the other way, chalking it up to Popcorn being a community fixture. He always stayed true to his craft, Upchurch tells me, which was making liquor. While Sutton made his career out of this illegal trade, his rise to massive fame didnt happen until he was about 60 years old. On October 24, 2009, his body was moved to his Parrottsville estate.