Uh oh: SpaghettiOs creator dies

Donald Goerke, creator of SpaghettiOs, has died of heart failure at 83. R.I.P. to the salty wind beneath the wings of millions of deliciously sludge-y meals, and thank you, sir, for going with the O instead of baseballs or stars. I think that worked out well. Below is a 1986 SpaghettiOs commercial featuring TV’s Urkel, Jaleel White, and a particularly rage-inducing smaller “cherub” with a penchant for mischief. That sing-songy punk thought it’d be cute to yank a tablecloth topped with bowls of piping hot SpaghettiOs onto the floor? In what universe? Who invited him to the family-style dinner sans parents? (Casting director.)

I was always kind of fascinated by the tagline “Uh oh, SpaghettiOs” — it made sense in the “Bloopers!” context of the commercials, but not in my head as I fantasized about the Os themselves. It sounded like whoever was eating SpaghettiOs was disappointed, or that the decision to have SpaghettiOs for dinner had been accidental — neither of which seemed plausible to me. I have two cans in my apartment and will be eating one tonight while watching Will Arnett attempt to woo his real-life lover on Parks and Recreation. Uh oh! Justin Theroux is in the episode, too! (See, it doesn’t make sense.) What about you? PopWatchers, I need to know when is the next time you will be eating SpaghettiOs.

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