Art Ginsburg, the delightfully dorky television chef known as Mr. Food, died at his home in Weston, Fla., Wednesday following a struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.

‘Unlikely formula for success’

Ginsburg — who enticed viewers for decades with a can-do focus on easy weeknight cooking and the tagline “Ooh! It’s so good!” — was diagnosed just over a year ago. The cancer had gone into remission following early treatments and surgery, but returned earlier this month.

Ginsburg had an unlikely formula for success in this era of reality cooking shows, flashy chefs and artisanal foods. With a pleasantly goofy, grandfatherly manner and a willingness to embrace processed foods, Ginsburg endeared himself to millions of home cooks via 90-second segments syndicated to 125 local television stations around the country. And though he published 52 Mr. Food-related cookbooks, selling more than 8 million copies, he was little known to the nation’s foodies and mostly ignored by the glossy magazines. That was the way he liked it.

‘Always the hometown guy’

“They’re on the Food Network. They’re getting a lot of national publicity. And they’re getting big money,” he said of fellow food celebrities during a 2010 interview with The Associated Press. “I was always the hometown guy. I don’t want to be the super celebrity. When you need bodyguards, that’s not my deal.”

In recent years, Ginsburg eased his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company he founded, Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated, which produces the television segments and oversees his many other ventures, including a line of housewares. The company also produced television segments that did not star Ginsburg, billing them as the “Mr. Food Test Kitchen.” It plans to continue producing and syndicating those segments.

Are you one of Mr. Food’s loyal fans? Tell us about your favorite dish by Art Ginsburg!

Source: Yahoo TV

Image: ABC Local