Paul Kelley didn’t bring world peace but he turned a TV shopping channel into a multi-billion-dollar entertainment bonanza.
Kelley, one of the QVC network’s original program “hosts” 40 years ago, died earlier this week.
He worked as an on-air “host” and commentator from 1986 to 1993.
Kelley then took on a role as a QVC “ambassador” and “consultant” from 1994 to 2003.
The QVC brand has Kelley to thank for turning TV shopping into a virtual corporate gold mine, even though Amazon is now giving it a good run for its money.
He was called a “host,” the term shopping channels use to describe high-salaried salespeople who hawk crap you simply, absolutely can’t live without no matter what your credit card says.
The magic of shopping from the couch turned QVC into $10 billion in annual sales of everything from vacuums without cords to blouses with tassels.
The network beamed into 350 million homes takes live calls from pathetic, debt-ridden shoppers buying crap they neither need nor can afford.
The calls aren’t screened, which makes it must-watch TV just for the cheap entertainment, such as a woman who called in to Kim Gravel’s show last month.
“I wanted to tell you that I got that blouse with the tassels, and I used to wear the tassels on my pasties,” the caller said. “Do you know what pasties are? Well, I had tassels on my pasties.”
Gravel was caught literally speechless, but QVC made no apologies for the pasties, even going so far as to gladly promote the titillating call.
“I loved it!” Gravel, 54, told Us Weekly of the caller’s unconventional fashion confession. “That’s the fun of live TV. You never know what a caller is going to say.”
Amen to that, a Redditor posting as JustGalsBeingChicks commented after the call. “I need to watch more QVC.”
Paul Kelley made it all happen.
So maybe he didn’t bring world peace.
But you can’t beat tassels on pasties, no matter how much in debt your credit card is.
A big RIP to Paul Kelley.
QVC Shopping Addicts Mourn Original TV Hawker Who Taught Them How To Max Out Their Credit Cards
By Ted Cohen
