Iconic moonshiner developed a public following

The suicide of Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton on March 16 may have signaled the end of an era. The famous moonshiner of western North Carolina was an iconic figure. He not only published books and DVDs on making liquor, to the surprise of many he continued the practice despite all the public attention.

In 2007 Sutton was arrested with 850 gallons of liquor and three 1,000-gallon stills. Despite his obvious violation, the aged moonshiner received tremendous public support. "There are, as of this writing, 14 pages on Facebook dedicated to Popcorn," writes Max Watman for Gourmet magazine. "Every blog post or news article on the Web is followed by a long thread of comments, mostly expressing that the government ought to find something else to do and stop bothering a poor old hillbilly who was just making a living the only way he knew how. ... In late January, the 62-year-old moonshiner was sentenced to 18 months in a federal penitentiary, and, according to his wife and daughter, chose to take his own life rather than face the time." (Gourmet photo)

Writing on Sutton's dichotomy, Watman adds, "To the end, his act was as clear as corn liquor and muddled as the hangover it gives you. Where shtick ended and reality began is impossible to tell, but one thing is for sure: Lots of people on the Tennessee border are going to go thirsty." (Read more)