Marvin Sutton or better known as Popcorn Sutton was a famous bootlegger and moonshiner. Sutton rose to fame much later in his life yet became well known in a short time.
Sutton resided in Maggie Valley, North Carolina where he was born on 5th October 1946. He considered his profession to be an integral part of his identity and his Scots-Irish heritage. He earned the Popcorn nickname after attacking a faulty popcorn vending machine.
Through his illegal line of work, he had often crossed paths with the police and been in trouble with the law. He was put on probation several times after being convicted of several crimes over the years. Each time he would somehow avoid a prison sentence.
Mostly, Sutton became known through his self-published autobiography Me and My Likker. The book was sold by himself from 1999 and held a guide to making moonshine. It was later recognized and commented upon in the New York Times. He even released a VHS Tape with the same name.
His first appearance in a film that wasn’t self-published, was a documentary named Mountain Talk. It was released in 2002 and from there Sutton went on to feature in multiple documentaries including one on The History Channel by the name of Hillbilly: The real story. The final documentary involving Sutton, The Last One was released in 2008 and won a Southeast Emmy Award in 2009.
In March of 2008, Sutton revealed the hundreds of gallons of alcohol in his possession to an undercover officer. This led to a raid on his property by officials and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
A few days before the start of his sentence, Sutton committed suicide through Carbon Monoxide poisoning. He preferred to die than be imprisoned in his life.
Marvin Sutton or better known as Popcorn Sutton was a famous bootlegger and moonshiner. Sutton rose to fame much later in his life yet became well known in a short time.
Sutton resided in Maggie Valley, North Carolina where he was born on 5th October 1946. He considered his profession to be an integral part of his identity and his Scots-Irish heritage. He earned the Popcorn nickname after attacking a faulty popcorn vending machine.
Through his illegal line of work, he had often crossed paths with the police and been in trouble with the law. He was put on probation several times after being convicted of several crimes over the years. Each time he would somehow avoid a prison sentence.
Mostly, Sutton became known through his self-published autobiography Me and My Likker. The book was sold by himself from 1999 and held a guide to making moonshine. It was later recognized and commented upon in the New York Times. He even released a VHS Tape with the same name.
His first appearance in a film that wasn’t self-published, was a documentary named Mountain Talk. It was released in 2002 and from there Sutton went on to feature in multiple documentaries including one on The History Channel by the name of Hillbilly: The real story. The final documentary involving Sutton, The Last One was released in 2008 and won a Southeast Emmy Award in 2009.
In March of 2008, Sutton revealed the hundreds of gallons of alcohol in his possession to an undercover officer. This led to a raid on his property by officials and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
A few days before the start of his sentence, Sutton committed suicide through Carbon Monoxide poisoning. He preferred to die than be imprisoned in his life.