• Direct, Friday, September 8, 2006 12 PM

Arthur Schiff, who said the name Ginsu came to him in his sleep in a flash of inspiration, died late last month of lung cancer at his home in Coral Springs, Fla. He was 66. During his career, Schiff reportedly wrote an astounding 1,800 DRTV short-form commercials, pitching everything from the amazing Steakhouse Onion Machine to Tripledge Windshield Wipers. Among the other well-known products Schiff developed scripts for were the Betty Crocker Bake N Fill, the Audubon Singing Bird Clock, GS 27 Scratch Remover, Auri Car Polish, D-Snore and Duzzit Handy Hangars. Schiff took credit for writing the phrase: "But Wait! There's More!" Ed Valenti--who in 1975 co-founded Dial Media, the company that launched Ginsu knives--said that shortly after hiring Schiff, he confronted him about his tendency to sit in his chair, hands behind his head, smoking a pipe and staring off into space. "You pay me to think," Schiff replied. "What do you suppose thinking looks like?" Valenti never bothered him again.

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