Art Ginsburg Dies: Mr. Food Dead At 81

Art Ginsburg died in his home in Weston, Florida, depriving the world of the man known as Mr. Food on the eve of the national holiday devoted to food.

Just a day before Thanksgiving, word comes that Art Ginsburg dies after a battle with pancreatic cancer, The Associated Press reported. The television chef for decades helped entice viewers to try his easy to follow recipes, helping them along with his enthusiasm and trademark tagline, “Ooh! It’s so good.”

Ginsburg was diagnosed with cancer a little more than a year ago, but it had gone into remission after surgery and early treatment. But, as The Associated Press noted, it recently came back.

As Art Ginsburg dies, he leaves a strong legacy on the world of television cooking. Though there is now an era of reality cooking shows and competitions that favor colorful characters and over-the-top settings, Ginsburg achieved his success with a down home style that at times was goofy. His 90-second segments syndicated to 125 television stations nationwide embraced processed foods and made recipes easy for viewers.

Art Ginsburg said he never wanted the fame that came to other chefs on television.

“They’re on the Food Network. They’re getting a lot of national publicity. And they’re getting big money,” he said of fellow food celebrities in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press. “I was always the hometown guy. I don’t want to be the super celebrity. When you need bodyguards, that’s not my deal.”

At the time Art Ginsburg died, he had stepped back in the day-to-day operations of the company he founded, KABC reported. The company, Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated, produces the television segments and oversees his other ventures including houseware and kitchen products.