Victor Kiam

 ( 1926 Births ) 

Kiam became famous as the spokesman for the Remington shaver. His catchphrase, "I liked it so much, I bought the company", made him a household name. He recorded each commercial in the native language of the country in which it was broadcast. In the United Kingdom he became a celebrity, appearing on such television shows as Wogan, The Tube, and Through the Keyhole. He also owned other companies, including PIC Industrial Design and TravelSmart.

In 1988, Kiam bought the NFL's New England Patriots from founder Billy Sullivan. Billy Sullivan, 86 [sic], Founder Of Football Patriots, Dies The New York Times. Accessed October 20, 2007. The sale did not include Foxboro Stadium, which Sullivan lost in a bankruptcy sale to paper magnate Robert Kraft, and Kiam lost money on the deal. In 1990, Lisa Olson, a Boston Herald reporter, sued Kiam and the Patriots when Zeke Mowatt allegedly exposed himself and made lewd comments to her in the team change room. The incident stirred debate over female reporters in the locker room. Kiam became the center of the controversy when he came to the defense of the players' actions. The episode helped inspire the 2013 ESPN documentary, Let Them Wear Towels.

In his later career, Kiam's business interests moved on from the Patriots, which he sold in 1992 to St. Louis businessman James Orthwein, and Remington, which he sold 50% of to Isaac Perlmutter that same year.

Kiam is also well known for "Lady Remington" jewelry, a direct sales jewelry company specializing in in-home parties. Later, it was renamed Lia Sophia, after his granddaughters, Lia and Sophia. The company was at one point the largest direct selling jewelry in the world and was listed among the top 20 largest direct sales companies by the Direct Selling Association. The direct sales division of the company was closed down in December 2014, when its 25,000 sales advisors in the United States and Canada were laid off. Lia Sophia Closing at chicagotribune.com, December 2014