A senior Maine man who became an internet megastar after hilariously flubbing his lines during a 2013 commercial has died at age 86.
John “Jack” Palmer became a sensation after his failed commercial for a local restaurant’s chicken pot pie, in which he struggled to pronounce the phrase “buttery, flaky crust.”
He appeared alongside his 65-year-old wife, Sonya, in the Dysart restaurant commercial, and the couple were chosen to star in the hit because they were longtime customers of the restaurant, according to reports. Bangor Daily News.
Palmer’s death was announced Friday in a post on Dysart’s Facebook page, which said: “Our hearts go out to Sonja and her family.” No cause of death was given.
John ‘Jack’ Palmer, known for his hilarious advertising gaffes when he tried to say the phrase ‘flaky, buttery crust’, has died aged 86
Jack and his wife of 65 years, Sonya, became internet sensations after their gaffes went viral in 2013, but he once insisted that while “people say we’re famous… we’re just regular people.”
Local customers of the restaurant and truck stop said Jack and Sonya were seen at the location nearly every day for five decades, where they “made many friends, some of whom were like family,” she said. The obituary reads:.
When it came time to film a commercial for the restaurant, director Ric Tyler asked the couple to appear, leading to Jack making mistakes and jokes during filming.
Jack had only one line, where he attempted to say that Dysart’s famous chicken pie is “baked in a flaky, buttery crust.”
After several failed attempts, Sonya became visibly upset as he showed her how it was done, only to stumble over the words herself, while Jack howled with laughter.
While producing the ad, Tyler also cut a compilation of the bloopers and shared it on Dysart’s YouTube channel, and it quickly became a viral meme on social media.
In his own Facebook post following the news of Jack’s death, Tyler wrote: “Thank you Jack for making MILLIONS of people laugh and smile.”
“I have faith that God serves chicken pot pie in heaven,” she added.
The viral clip was even parodied by Saturday Night Live, where Jack was played by Will Ferrell and Sonya by Kate McKinnon.
Jack’s hilarious attempt at acting was even parodied by Saturday Night Live, where he was portrayed by Will Ferrell and Sonya by Kate McKinnon.
Before retiring in 2005, Jack worked for the Bangor Daily News for 37 years designing its pages for the print edition.
In an interview In 2016, when his former employer was telling him a love story, Jack joked about his viral fame, saying that people across Maine routinely saw him as the “buttery, flaky crust” guy.
“People say we’re famous and I don’t like that. We’re just ordinary people,” he said.
“Kids come up to me and say ‘baked in a buttery, flaky pastry crust’ and then say ‘Ha, got it!’ I say it in my sleep now. And I still mess it up.”
Mary Dysart Hartt, a longtime owner of Dysart’s, told the outlet that she remembered Jack visiting the restaurant since it first opened in 1967, when he was just 12 years old.
“He was the most loyal customer you could imagine,” Dysart Hartt said.
Jack and Sonya were almost daily visitors to the truck stop restaurant where they filmed the iconic blooper reel, with the diner describing him as “the most loyal customer you could ever imagine.”
“His laugh was contagious. He was always smiling. I remember right after the blooper video went viral, they didn’t notice anything. That fame didn’t change them one bit.”
In his obituary, Jack was described as a loving family man whose “presence on this earth will be missed by many.”
“He loved his family and the many pets they had over the years. Jack enjoyed collecting guns, target shooting and horse racing,” the obituary added.
He is survived by Sonya, his wife of 65 years, as well as several children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
