Another American Success Story
And I’m not just talking about the grill…
Foreman linked up with Salton in 1995 to promote the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine — a redesigned product that had been on the market without his name.
He didn’t expect much out of it other than 20 free grills for his various houses and one for his mother.
But within four years, 10 million grills had been sold and Salton paid Foreman $127.5 million and $10 million in stock to use his name for its product’s duration.
From this 
to this 
is like the American dream, huh?
Foreman, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1968 and was named the heavyweight champion in 1973, has long been a pitchman. Shortly after losing his heavyweight title to Muhammad Ali in 1974, he went to work swaying people to eat at McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Foreman’s marketing power shouldn’t be underestimated, industry experts said.
“People have positive associations with George Foreman,” said Edward Fox, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “Part of the value of having a good, positive brand image, like George Foreman does, is you can take that brand and you can put it on new products.”
August 17, 2005 9:19 am 
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I own one of those grills. A good product! The one set back is that it cooks so fast that the seasoning doesn’t a chance to permeate the meat. So it’s usually best to season the food ahead of cooking, and let it set for a while.
So, yep, George did good by this one!
I’ve loved this big lug ever since that itty bitty American flag in that massive mitt of his at the Olympics. For such a fearsome person to become the epitome of all that’s cuddly and jovial is AMAZING, bless his little bald pate.
I agree with Jeff: I actually found that it cooks too quickly to use it all that often. Excellent for fish in particular, which should be cooked-through but not overcooked.