Pam creates handmade art glass and jewelry. Sutton was found at the age of 62 in his parked green Ford Fairmont with the engine running. "All the rest of them that I know are dead," Sutton said in the profane, not-for-primetime clip. However, there is no doubt that Pam is a hard-working woman who has been through a lot in her life. He made his first film appearance in 2002, with Neal Hutcheson's documentary 'Mountain Talk.' Pam Grier is the undisputed queen of the 1970s Blaxploitation films. Popcorn grew up in Maggie Valley and called it home for most of his life, but had largely taken up residence in his later years in Parrrotsville, Tenn., the rural and sparsely populated country around Newport. View the profiles of people named Pam Sutton. 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. In March 2008, they raided his home and seized 800 gallons of the illegal liquor, three stills with 1,000-gallon capacities, hundreds of gallons of moonshine-making ingredients such as mash and many guns. She told the Associated Press (per NBC): "He couldn't go to prison. by Loyola Martinez | Feb 25, 2023 | Popcorn. 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. Sutton followed her husband to coaching stops at College of Southern Idaho, Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and . In March 2009, Sutton, 62, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Irwin told Sutton to run nothing but water through it. Sky Moonshine, the estranged daughter of Sutton, published Daddy: The Story of Marvin Popcorn Sutton. Bell Mary. (February 10, 1944 - December 22, 2010) We were fortunate to have a woman at Lions Dragstrip who was so dedicated that she wanted to preserve the performance of every car that raced down the strip. During a fire in one of Suttons properties in 2007, firefighters discovered a large cache of untaxed liquor hidden in the attic. A long illness claimed the life of a beloved son on December 1, 2021. Sutton was arrested by an undercover police officer in 2008 after he admitted to storing large amounts of illegal alcohol in another location. In 2009, an accidental carbon monoxide overdose claimed the life of the actor. 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. "Nobody was going to tell him what to do," Sky told Knox News in 2009. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has released a report ranking the top moonshine states. Facebook gives people the power to share. Popcorn Sutton grew up in the South-Eastern Appalachian region of the United States, and he was born in Scotland. When she was just sixteen, Pam married Popcorn Sutton, a man eighteen years her senior. Months before his conviction, Sutton reportedly had a mental breakdown after being diagnosed with cancer. he seemed to be a kind old soul. Someone of means is going to have to step up. Hi my Name is Angel. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. "He tried every way in the world to get them (federal authorities) to leave him on house arrest," she said. They dated for a month before getting married. 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. It was composed by photographer Don Dudenbostel. The exact amount is unknown, but it is thought to be in the millions. Where Is Jungle Pam Hardy Now? There is no doubt that JB and Bill will be fondly remembered as two exceptional individuals. He gained fame as a moonshiner and bootlegger in the United States at a time when illicit businesses were the norm. "He did it his way. 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. Marvin " Popcorn " Sutton (October 5, 1946 - March 16, 2009) was an American Appalachian moonshiner and bootlegger. Still, Popcorn has retained close ties to Maggie Valley, and the town is often viewed as the main stomping ground of the mountains most infamous shiner. His daughter claimed that he had told her in advance that he would kill himself rather than go to jail. He ran a PVC pipe from the exhaust of his Ford Fairlane into his window and sealed it up with duct tape. He came from a long line of moonshiners, so bootlegging and moonshining have been his calling since he arrived on Earth. Pam Sutton, who became Sutton's fourth wife in 2007, said carbon monoxide may be the method but that's not what killed him. His gravesite footstone reads "Popcorn Said Fuck You.'' His white lightning wasnt just potent and sweetit was illegal. And the skirmishes continue: After his daughter Regina fulfilled his lifelong wish by burying him next to his parents at the Bend of the River, Pam Sutton exhumed his remains and buried him back in her own front yard at an elaborate ceremony attended by many, including Hank Williams Jr. Over a jar of moonshine at Popcorns cabin, Pam tells me with tearful eyes that his grave site had been getting desecrated, and she wanted him close to home. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the life and persona of Marvin Popcorn Sutton, a legendary moonshiner and North Carolina native who died in an automobile accident. Pam Sutton sits down with Rick to discuss Popcorn Sutton The Rick Dollar Show 836 subscribers Subscribe 913 Share 124K views 7 years ago Pam Sutton discusses Popcorn Sutton and her. Glass and Silversmithing Arts. If you want to find legendary moonshiners, you should look for Popcorn Sutton, also known as Marvin. I met him once at his little shack in Cherokee. When Popcorn Sutton died in 2009, he left behind a large sum of money. 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. Son, he asked, do you eat pussy? He was convicted of moonshining and illegal firearms possession as a result of his moonshining conviction. 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. This is likely the event that spurred the internets 1983 search. Aside from being gluten-free, the whiskey is also popular among those who have dietary restrictions. This left Pam to raise their children largely on her own. While unscrupulous moonshiners distilled their booze through antifreeze-caked radiator pipes (capable of killing a drinker), Popcorn used only new copper tubing. Lawlessness around here still persists, with poverty, crystal meth, and alcoholism rampant. While Popcorn was under house arrest, motocross star Jamey Grosser showed up unannounced at the cabin one day. "Those factors gave Marvin the strength to die the way he lived: according to his own wishes and no one else's," she stated. Pam Sutton had that steadfast determination and through her incredible penmanship, we can still see just how fast and who won and who . She suspected even then that her daddy might be responsible. He seemed kind and good, not perfect but who is? He always stayed true to his craft, Upchurch tells me, which was making liquor. Since his death, a new company, as well as an associated whiskey brand, has been launched in his memory. But as Popcorn discovered, the buyers were federal agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Americas most notorious moonshiner was under arrest. 'Moonshiner' Josh Owens Is Seemingly Prone to Injury, Here's Exactly How the 'Moonshiners' Avoid Getting Arrested. Sutton was in a live-in relationship with Ernestine Upchurch, who later helped him write his autobiography. He wore a long gray beard, faded overalls, checkered shirt and feathered fedora. His moonshine was made from a recipe passed down through his family and sold in the back of his Ford Model A truck. Is Pam Sutton Still Alive Here are six interesting facts about his life that might just surprise you. . In this article, we take a closer look at some of the most interesting monsters mentioned on Travel Channel's Mountain Monsters (media photo from Travel Channel, werewolf rendering from Adobe stock), The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is one of the main attractions in Bryson City, North Carolina (photo by Alaina O'Neal/TheSmokies.com), I would love to have drank some of his moonshine ll0, I wud love to have met Popcorn. He appeared in the Western film Ghost Town: The Movie, in addition to his roles in the films Ghost Town: The Movie and Ghost Town: The Movie. His archive footage was featured in a 2016 documentary series, Moonshiners. Word soon spread that Popcorn and another man cut him after a fight and took his fiddle. Crime, whiskey & homemade sex machines: The life, death and legacy of Popcorn Sutton, Americas greatest moonshiner. On November 9, 2010, Hank Williams Jr. announced his partnership with J&M Concepts LLC and widow Pam Sutton to distill and distribute a brand of whiskey named after Sutton that was asserted to follow his legacy. Popcorn Suttons wife, Maybelle, died in 2012 after a long illness. Sutton was convicted multiple times for selling moonshine without a license. 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. . After her death, Suttons business continued to operate, and he continued to produce moonshine until his own death in 2009. He was 62 years old. Angel Sutton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Glen Sutton. I said, Im sorry, Im not going to turn a blind eye like the others. He arrested Popcorn, who got two years probation for possession of untaxed liquor. A popcorn net worth of between one and seven million dollars is estimated for Sutton Popcorn. How Old - Age: 80. Sutton was first interred at a family graveyard in Mount Sterling, North Carolina. 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. They had two daughters. Despite being on probation, Popcorn defiantly refused to give up his trade. He apparently got right back to work. An hour after Grosser left the cabin with his paperwork, Popcorn built his final contraption. I bought a couple items and he talked to me. Probably because its still illegal to make shine. Neal Hutcheson, another filmmaker who worked with Sutton, is worth $30 million. Pam Sutton is the wife of the late Marvin Popcorn Sutton, who was a legendary moonshiner from the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. He became well-known as a liquor king well into his 60s. Filmed and released in 2002, the film quickly became a cult classic and over time drew the attention of television producers in Boston and New York. As the story goes, Fergusons body was found on the side of the road, left for dead after having his throat slit. , 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. He was handed down light charges at the time, netting nothing more than probation. Made a still for a museumJohn Rice Irwin, founder of the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn., recalled that Sutton made a still for the museum in the 1990s. Its empty. He made his home in Cocke County, where cockfighting and moonshining are legend. ", Popcorn's death remains a topic of discussion this year, as another supporter said, "Remember the Feds killed Popcorn Sutton just because he made his own whiskey on his own land.