Pam Suttons moonshine is still highly sought-after, and she has won multiple awards for her products. In 1985, he was convicted again for a felony assault with a weapon with intent, for which he received another three-year sentence. moonshine was legal in the United States for the first time in a year shortly before Popcorn Sutton died of cancer. 1. Pam St. Clement Death Fact Check, Birthday & Age - Dead or Kicking Even though technically he wasn't a member of "Moonshiners," his life and work inspired the series, which later kept his memory alive throughout its run. Sutton was born Marvin Sutton, on October 5, 1946, in the tiny town of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, to Bonnie and Vader. . Pam Sutton married Popcorn Sutton just two years before his death in 2007. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. But with thousands of people, including then-Gov. Popcorn lives on but now in a rural mountain in northern Tennessee. Either way, months later, his wife Pam held a large public memorial service, which Hank Williams Jr. famously attended. Angel Sutton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Glen Sutton. 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. During a fire in one of Suttons properties in 2007, firefighters discovered a large cache of untaxed liquor hidden in the attic. Whiskey is a great beverage to try if youre looking for something different. Word soon spread that Popcorn and another man cut him after a fight and took his fiddle. Widow: Moonshiner took his life to avoid jail He seemed kind and good, not perfect but who is? On October 24, 2009, his body was moved to his Parrottsville estate. is pam sutton still alive - Nftcollectionlab.com View the profiles of people named Pamela Sutton. "He couldn't go to prison. His archive footages were featured in the 2016 docuseries 'Moonshiners.'. Every time Sutton finished filling a barrel, he would give Nick a gallon and sell the rest to him. Stanley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of . Read Also: Is Moonshiners real? Since 2011, the show has followed the lives of individuals who produce moonshine in the Appalachian Mountains. In 2009, he committed suicide to avoid going to jail, and because of his cancer diagnosis, he died. His body was carried to its new resting spot by horse and carriage. However, prior to his death, she had not seen him in years. They were not invited. In January 2009, Sutton was charged with illegal distillation of spirits and firearm possession. However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) raided the spots. Suttons money has been used to fund the production of moonshine and to support the people who make it. He also appeared in the Western 'Ghost Town: The Movie.' She suspected even then that her daddy might be responsible. Join Facebook to connect with Pam Sutton and others you may know. Marvin was a kind of cultural icon and an embodiment of moonshine yore when it comes to producing the liquor. Pam Sutton - Lions Automobilia Foundation Jim Tom, his moonshine, was estimated to be worth more than $20 million. Sutton was found at the age of 62 in his parked green Ford Fairmont with the engine running. 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. The book also offers a better understanding of how the people of the region survived. 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. So there my personal opinion. Sutton was first interred at a family graveyard in Mount Sterling, North Carolina. 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. His thick shaggy beard and slight frame completed the prototypical image of a backwoods mountaineer. Popcorn Sutton was married to Pam Sutton. Is Pam Sutton Still Alive Photo by - wp On December 1, 2021, a long illness claimed the life of a dear friend. Most of it happened in the last 20 years, if not longer. Following this, he was put on probation by Cocke County authorities. moonshine is still a popular drink in the region, and visitors can still taste it. Pam St. Clement was born on May 21, 1942 and is 80 years old now. Authorities began to investigate him without his consent. Others view him as a criminal. Pam has worked for NSW Police for 11 years as a General Administrative Support Officer. "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. When I heard how Popcorn was treated and that he wanted me to be involved in carrying on his legacy, I was immediately in. 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. Pam Sutton. Both his father and grandfather were police officers and his career has . His wife, Pam Sutton, whom he married just two years prior, had returned from running errands when she found him. Though Popcorn left no suicide note, his dramatic exit has transformed him into a martyr for his cause and solidified his legacy as the little guy whod rather die than let the Feds beat him. My mother-in-law Pam Sutton suffered a massive stroke on 9/15/22. Soon after Sutton's demise, there were rumors that suggested his grave had been vandalized. But Popcorn, who seemed unusually sullen to Grosser, had other plans. He wore a long gray beard, faded overalls, checkered shirt and feathered fedora. Moreover, there were several petitions made to reduce his sentence. Aint nobody make it better than this, she cackles over a sip. To start the business, Sutton borrowed money from Nick Price. [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. The company that sold Popcorn Sutton branded products, on the other hand, continues to sell them directly to consumers. Popcorn Sutton was a moonshiner who was born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. [12][13]) At around the same time, Sutton produced a home video of the same title and released it on VHS tape. The boy's mother's boyfriend has admitted to beating the child and is expected to face additional charges If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News. View the profiles of people named Pam Sutton. 4 mos. An incident report filed by the Cocke County Sheriffs Department says that Sutton was discovered dead in his 1982 Ford Fairmont when his wife, Pam Sutton, returned from running errands. [2] (A woman named Ernestine Upchurch, with whom Sutton had been living in the 1990s, later said she helped write the book. Over the course of his infamous career, Sutton faced a number of criminal complaints and convictions for moonshine-related crimes. They dated for a month before getting married. Pam was a loving wife and mother who was always there for her family. When the federal government tried to tax the stuff in the late 1700s, the mountainside distillers violently fought back in what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Heres What You Should Know, 29 Best Restaurants in Pigeon Forge, Ranked [2023], Great Smoky Mountains National Park Entrance Fees, What You Should Know, Smoky Mountains in March: Events in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge [2023], A Simple Guide to Smoky Mountain Parking Passes, Park it Forward. To elude the cops, he switched up the cars oftenit was a 46 Willis Jeep one trip, a 53 Ford convertible the next. The nickname "Popcorn" was given to him in the 1960s or the 1970s, after Sutton attacked a broken popcorn vending machine with a pool cue. However, Sutton continued producing liquor barrels, and the business eventually grew more prominent. Dean Sutton of 39 years and his wife, Christine Sutton; their son, Ian; mother, Bessie Wimer; and sister,Brenda Oswald, all of whom preceded her in death, are among those who have passed away. Who died on Moonshiners? - Biography Research 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. Popcorns nickname dates to a barroom brawl between himself and a popcorn machine. Sutton committed suicide 2 years after their marriage. His self-published autobiography, Me and My Likker, described the amazing journey of moonshine production. The two made a deal to open Popcorn Sutton Distilling and sell his whiskey on the open market, taxes and all. He received the nickname of Popcorn after he attacked a faulty popcorn vending machine with a pool cue out of frustration. So credit the federal government for my husband being dead, I really do," she said. Join Facebook to connect with Pamela Sutton and others you may know. Sutton was sentenced to 18 months in prison in January 2009 for tax evasion. Pam Sutton: The Wife Of A Moonshining Legend | Popcorn Carnival [3][4] Before his rise to fame at around 60 years of age, he had been in trouble with the law several times, but had avoided prison sentences. He honed the perfection of the craft, much like his father and grandfather had before him. Whatever he earned from trading the barrels to Nick would go back into the next batch of products, and he would leave with little to spend on his household. In 2007, a fire on Sutton's property in Parrottsville led to firefighters discovering 650 gallons of untaxed alcohol there, for which he was convicted and put on probation again by Cocke County authorities. Each piece is handmade in Pam's studio in Reno, Nevada. Popcorn Sutton, an American moonshiner and bootlegger, lived in the United States from 1946 to 2009. 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. Pamela Sutton-Wallace Net Worth (2023) | wallmine Sutton also had a daughter by the name of Sky Sutton. Released in 2008 and broadcast on 'CBS,' the documentary received a 'Southeast Emmy Award' in 2009. "I think most people have a warm feeling for him, but he bragged so much about it (moonshining)," Irwin said. . Sutton said he considered moonshine production a legitimate part of his heritage, as he was a Scots-Irish American and descended from a long line of moonshiners. His white lightning wasnt just potent and sweetit was illegal. Damian Sutton, 2, has died at a Detroit hospital after being taken off life support. The best way to make Popcorn Suttons recipe was discovered in a large quantity of instructions and tips. "She's stiff as a board. Is Pam St. Clement Dead or Still Alive? The new law wasnt enacted to honor Popcorns legend, though. Stills are known to do that, despite Popcorns expert craftsmanship in making them. Famed Appalachian moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, whose incorrigible bootlegging ways were out of step with modern times, took his own life rather than go to prison, his widow says. His mind would just not accept it. By deadorkicking.com Editorial Team. In December 2016, Popcorn Sutton Distillery was sold to the alcoholic beverage company 'Sazerac Company.'. He used the freshest white corn for his mash and the coldest, cleanest stream water. As part of his undercover investigation, an undercover federal officer discovered that Sutton had 500 gallons of moonshine in his possession. Popcorn Sutton Whiskey, Once Moonshine, Is Now Legal - The New York Times [7], Sutton was featured in the 2007 documentary Hillbilly: The Real Story on The History Channel. [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. We were deeply saddened to learn of JB Raders and Bill Owens deaths. However, in what has become a Sutton civil war, Regina and her supporters, including Popcorns former girlfriend Ernestine Upchurch, are fighting to get his remains back to his empty grave at the Bend of the River and reclaim his brand name. He was well-known in the entertainment industry for his stage name and custom copper stills, and he made a name for himself. Though he looked like Snuffy Smith, he had the mind of a mountain Edison and evolved his family still into an ingenious underground moonshine machine. 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. Making likker. He was eating a piece of Blueberry pie. The exact amount is unknown, but it is thought to be in the millions. How Old Is Pam St. Clement? Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton killed himself in 2009 after being sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling nearly a thousand gallons of moonshine to an undercover agent. He seemed interesting and came out with some funny one liners. I can brag about one thing, Popcorn once said in his thick Southern drawl. This charge would eventually cause him to fall. Filmed in one week in June, 2002, less than seven years before infamous moonshiner Marvin, People have been making moonshine almost since the day water started running downhill,, Attendees of this years Hillbilly Winter Jam kicked off the annual fest with a special, On a frosty Appalachian mountain morning in 1962, 22-year-old Waynesville man Charles. I can't be the only one that misses Popcorn Sutton.I would have loved to pick his brain. But to those who knew him, he was something more: a brilliant self-promoter and chemist who ultimately despised the persona he had crafted as expertly as his booze. Read Also: Legend or lawbreaker: The real story of Popcorn Sutton. Unfortunately, Sutton was not making enough money back then. It received a 2009 Southeast Emmy Award. [8][16][17], In March 2008, Sutton told an undercover federal officer that he had 500 gallons of moonshine in Tennessee and another 400 gallons in Maggie Valley that he was ready to sell.