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Gerry Thomas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerry Thomas (1922-2005) was an American salesman who was credited -- over the objections of the Swanson family and former Swanson employees -- with inventing the TV dinner while working for Swanson in 1954, even though he did not own a television himself. It was claimed that he used his experience with mess kits from his military service to develop a 3 compartment design, which was similar to the in-flight meal trays used by the airlines of the day. Swanson sold 10 million dinners in the first year of production. He was uncomfortable with being called the "Father" of the TV dinner, however since in his mind he just built upon on existing ideas. Thomas became a sales manager after Swanson was acquired by Campbell Soup in 1955. He retired in 1970 after suffering a heart attack. Following his retirement he did consultancy and directed an art gallery. Ironically, Thomas is a gourmet cook and his wife Susan is quoted as saying, "He never ate the TV dinners".
It should be noted that Thomas' claim to have invented the TV dinner was largely debunked by the Los Angeles Times. And the Library of Congress notes that frozen dinners existed years before Swanson began marketing its TV Dinner idea.