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16 Facts About Victor Kiam

1.

Victor Kiam was well known for his turnaround of Remington's fortunes, as well as for his commercials written by his director of advertising and sales promotion at Benrus, Howard Shavelson, with whom he first worked on the Playtex Cross Your Heart Bra commercials.

2.

Victor Kiam was educated by his maternal grandfather at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, where he was a classmate of future US President George Herbert Walker Bush.

3.

Victor Kiam bought the Benrus Watch Company in 1968, selling his majority stake in 1977.

4.

Victor Kiam made a fortune as the President and CEO of Remington Products, which he famously purchased in 1979 after his wife bought him his first electric shaver.

5.

Victor Kiam became famous as the spokesman for the Remington shaver.

6.

Victor Kiam recorded each commercial in the native language of the country in which it was broadcast.

7.

Victor Kiam owned other companies, including PIC Industrial Design and TravelSmart.

8.

In 1988, Victor Kiam bought the NFL's New England Patriots from founder Billy Sullivan.

9.

The sale did not include Foxboro Stadium, which Sullivan lost in a bankruptcy sale to paper magnate Robert Kraft, and Victor Kiam lost money on the deal.

10.

Victor Kiam became the center of the controversy when he came to the defense of the players' actions.

11.

Victor Kiam is well known for "Lady Remington" jewelry, a direct sales jewelry company specializing in in-home parties.

12.

Victor Kiam was at one point the largest direct selling jewelry in the world and was listed among the top 20 largest direct sales companies by the Direct Selling Association.

13.

In 1956, Kiam married Ellen Lipscher, former wife of film producer Richard E Lyons.

14.

Victor Kiam resided in Stamford, Connecticut at the time of his death.

15.

Victor Kiam was 74 and had been suffering from a heart condition.

16.

Victor Kiam was survived by his wife, Ellen, and three children, Lisa Lyons Durkin, Victor "Tory" Kiam III, and Robin Kiam Aviv, and seven grandchildren, Jenny, Alexander, Sophia, Lia, Caleigh, Nikki, and Blake.