The most notable thing about the grave? [12][13]) At around the same time, Sutton produced a home video of the same title and released it on VHS tape. As of 2022, she has not appeared in the media for a long time. While the series typically follows current moonshiners, part of the show features the late Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton. He was a moonshine maker as well as Popcorn Sutton Moonshines creator, collaborating with his father. In 2010, she began distilling and distributing Hank Williams Jr.s whiskey with him. The states with the most moonshiners, on the other hand, are not among the top five for per capita moonshine production. Autopsy results may be weeks away. After her death, Suttons business continued to operate, and he continued to produce moonshine until his own death in 2009. The revised version of the book includes details of his death. Marvin was a kind of cultural icon and an embodiment of moonshine yore when it comes to producing the liquor. 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. Sutton was found at the age of 62 in his parked green Ford Fairmont with the engine running. 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. His first appearance in a feature film (that was not self-published) was in Neal Hutcheson's 2002 documentary, Mountain Talk, as one of various people of southern Appalachia featured in this film focused on the "mountain dialect" of the area. On October 25, 2013, Tennessee whiskey brand Jack Daniel's Properties sued Popcorn Sutton's whiskey brand for copying their newly redesigned bottle. Shit that kills a whole other generation. This is the Last Dam Run of Likker Ill Ever Make, The Greenbrier Gatlinburg: The best and most haunted restaurant in town, Dign Zone construction theme park coming soon to Sevierville TN, Is Mountain Monsters Real? JB, who was best known for his role as Shin Shinshiners in the reality show, died late last year from a long illness. It received a 2009 Southeast Emmy Award. Stanley established The Starchild character for his Kiss persona. Pamela and Tommy had a whirlwind romance. What did his Mom put in the moonshine to make medicine, that Popcorn got addicted to? [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. She has no doubt Sutton died on his own terms. His mind would just not accept it. Glass and Silversmithing Arts. Pam Sutton, the wife of the late moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, has been left with a large sum of money following her husbands death. Pretty dam sad if you ask me. He was placed on probation. What finally brought him down, however, was a fire at his own home in April 2007 when a still exploded. 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 This left Pam to raise their children largely on her own. 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. Popcorn Sutton, a moonshiner and bootlegger from 1946 to 2009, is regarded as an American legend. I remember the blood gushing everywhere, she says. He made his first film appearance in 2002, with Neal Hutcheson's documentary 'Mountain Talk.' The Feds killed him. That man went out in a blaze of glory, and flipping his finger as we went," she said. He also had a coffin ready in his living room. There arent any more not in his form or fashion, thats for sure., Julia Merchant contributed to this article. As one legislator put it, The law is not making legal someone who wants to open a distillery in their barn. According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, she and her father spoke on the phone occasionally. 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. after being convicted of offenses related to moonshining and illegal firearm possession. 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. On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. [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. [36] The lawsuit said that the design "is likely to cause purchasers and prospective purchasers of the product to believe mistakenly that it is a new Tennessee white whiskey product in the Jack Daniel's line." But this shit right here goes right back to the crooked shit that's been going on before I was born. We can conclude from this that moonshine culture is still thriving in the southern United States. $50. We dont plan to change that model. 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. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the estate of Kate Sutton is valued at around $500 thousand. I walked over and asked if he was the man on the Postcard. 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. He ran a PVC pipe from the exhaust of his Ford Fairlane into his window and sealed it up with duct tape. Jack Daniels claimed they copied the label and design of their product in violation of its intellectual property. Sutton was sentenced to 18 months in prison in January 2009 for tax evasion. She hadn't seen him since she was 2, though they had talked on the phone. As a result, the judge had reason to show him leniency. Popcorn Sutton's wife, Pam, died in 2009 after a long battle with cancer. 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. Pams early years were spent working on her familys tobacco farm. Is Pam Sutton Still Alive Photo by - wp On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. 1. Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton. Urban drinks are featured. When Popcorn Sutton was sentenced to jail in 2009 for moonshining, Pam stood by her husband. "He was a true moonshiner," his widow added. moonshine was made from a recipe passed down through the generations and was sold in the back of his Ford Model A truck. And Popcorn, who refused to pay taxes and considered moonshine part of his dont tread on me heritage, wore his rebel badge with pride. No bootlegger, however, would become as enigmatic as Popcorn. Neal used footages from 'Mountain Talk' in his next documentary, 'The Last One.' He was a whole lot smarter than people gave him credit for. Grosser returned on March 16, 2009 to finalize the deal with Popcorn, who was scheduled to go to prison four days later. View the web story version of this article here. Fontes arrived to find Popcorn Sutton fanning the flames of a still, which had exploded from a gas leak. "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. But the young cop, whod seen the ravaging effects of drugs and alcohol on the locals, didnt comply. Pam St. Clement Birthday. I met Popcorn in a restaurant in Maggie Valley around 1997. We were deeply saddened to learn of JB Raders and Bill Owens deaths. As industrious about marketing his booze as he was about making it, Popcorn spent decades traveling the South, stealthily pawning jars from the back of his vintage rides. 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. Shit while they were focused on him how much herion coke pills ? While some revile the folkloric status Popcorn has achieved, denouncing him as a common criminal, few can argue that Popcorn was a bridge to the past, a window on a vanishing part of Appalachian culture. [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. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us. Singer-songwriter Hank Williams III attended Sutton's funeral and later sang 'Moonshiner's Life,' a song about Sutton, which is part of the singers 2010 album 'Rebel Within.'. A third-generation moonshiner, born in 1946, Popcorn spent his life distilling the secret recipe for corn whiskey that his Scotch-Irish forefathers brought over centuries ago. If you are going to produce moonshine, you must carefully follow his recipe and instructions. I can't be the only one that misses Popcorn Sutton.I would have loved to pick his brain. He was selling some stuff. 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's daughter later revealed that Sutton had once told her mother that he would prefer dying than going to jail. He wore a long gray beard, faded overalls, checkered shirt and feathered fedora. Popcorn was unique. Local authorities allegedly looked the other way, chalking it up to Popcorn being a community fixture. Maggie Valley lost a friend and an ambassador, said James Carver, a long-time friend of Popcorns and a Maggie Valley native. They had two daughters. "All the rest of them that I know are dead," Sutton said in the profane, not-for-primetime clip. In addition to being a wife and mother, Pam also worked as a waitress and a cook to help make ends meet. 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. An incident report filed by the Cocke County Sheriff's Department says that Sutton was discovered dead in his 1982 Ford Fairmont when his wife, Pam Sutton, returned from running errands. However, since he was diagnosed with cancer, Sutton requested US District Judge Ronnie Greer to grant him house arrest instead of sending him to prison. In this article we'll look back at her success and reveal what comes next for the hard-working Black actress. [7], Sutton died by suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning on March 16, 2009, apparently to avoid a federal prison term due to begin a few days later. See top. In 2009, he chose suicide in order to avoid going to prison, and he was diagnosed with cancer the following year. The story of the life of Popcorn Sutton shows that Americans are still not really free! Bills organizing of the Moonshiners Reunion and Mountain Music Festival will continue, and he will perform at R.J. Rockers Brewery in honor of his music and life. 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. Join Facebook to connect with Pamela Sutton and others you may know. View the profiles of people named Pam Sutton. This led the firefighters to discover 650 gallons of untaxed alcohol. Moreover, she is also not on social media which makes it further difficult to track down her life at present. He gained fame as a moonshiner and bootlegger in the United States at a time when illicit businesses were the norm. Sutton was convicted multiple times for selling moonshine without a license. The operating hours, policies and procedures of other businesses may change at any time without notice. They dated for a month before getting married. The exact amount is unknown, but it is thought to be in the millions. Pam St. Clement was born on May 21, 1942 and is 80 years old now. In 2009, he committed suicide to avoid going to jail, and because of his cancer diagnosis, he died. He was eating a piece of Blueberry pie. Popcorn was one of a kind, a man who told it like it was! says Williams. I sounded like absinthe. As a popcorn treat, a pound of moonshine is served. Its a phrase he cut into his headstone when he was still alive. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. While unscrupulous moonshiners distilled their booze through antifreeze-caked radiator pipes (capable of killing a drinker), Popcorn used only new copper tubing. Newport Plain Talk, Cocke Countys local newspaper, originally reported the following arrests and convictions. On February 7, 2008, a biker arrived at Popcorns house saying he wanted to buy more than 50 gallons of moonshine. I can brag about one thing, Popcorn once said in his thick Southern drawl. What does this report reveal about the states with the most moonshiners? Joe and Pam were not present for Kobe's final NBA game, nor were they in attendance for his jersey retirement ceremony in 2017. Cutie Pie survived a snake bite in 2017. All rights reserved. 33 Years old foodie & cookie lover. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of federal imprisonment. This led to yet another conviction on a number of charges. He seemed kind and good, not perfect but who is? "He tried every way in the world to get them (federal authorities) to leave him on house arrest," she said. Interestingly, just a year after Sutton died, moonshining was legalized in the US. Did Popcorn ever have a wife? RIP. TULSA, Okla. (AP) Patsy Sutton, the matriarch of a family of college basketball coaches, has died in Oklahoma at age 74. Did you know anything about Popcorn Sutton that we missed? View the profiles of people named Pamela Sutton. Popcorn Sutton poses with one of his moonshine stills (photo shared with permission from Sucker Punch Pictures). 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. She was one of six children born to a sharecropper and a housewife. If Suttons prison sentence seems light considering his many crimes, it was in part due to his age. The best way to make Popcorn Suttons recipe was discovered in a large quantity of instructions and tips. He had a wood burning stove inside. In January 2009, Sutton was charged with illegal distillation of spirits and firearm possession. Distractify is a registered trademark. 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. Sky Moonshine, the estranged daughter of Sutton, published Daddy: The Story of Marvin Popcorn Sutton. Angel Sutton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Glen Sutton. 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. Aside from being gluten-free, the whiskey is also popular among those who have dietary restrictions.