Who Was Popcorn Sutton? Life Story of the Last American Moonshiner

Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton (October 5, 1946 – March 16, 2009) was an American Appalachian moonshiner and bootlegger, famed for his traditional whiskey-making and defiant outlaw persona. He gained notoriety for preserving the craft of backwoods moonshine in the modern era, writing a memoir about his exploits, and starring in documentaries showcasing his methods. Sutton’s old-fashioned distilling techniques, colorful nickname, and brushes with the law made him a local legend and a folk hero to many. His life story – from a hardscrabble mountain childhood to national notoriety – ended in tragedy when he took his own life rather than go to prison, cementing his legacy as an icon of Appalachian moonshine culture.

Early Life and Background

Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton was born Marvin Sutton on October 5, 1946, in the rural community of Maggie Valley, North Carolina. He was raised near the Great Smoky Mountains, where his family’s roots ran deep – Sutton was of Scots-Irish descent and came from a long line of moonshiners, a tradition he viewed as part of his heritage. His upbringing was hardscrabble; the family lived a subsistence lifestyle, farming and scraping by in the Appalachian hills. As a boy, Sutton toiled on local farms – he later recalled pulling weeds to feed hogs and picking tomatoes for 15 cents an hour. Sutton’s father, Vader, was himself a moonshiner and taught young Marvin the secrets of distilling corn whiskey at an early age, making Sutton a third-generation moonshiner carrying on the family craft.

Sutton’s infamous nickname “Popcorn” has equally rustic origins. In the 1960s, after a bar’s faulty popcorn vending machine ate his money, the hot-tempered Sutton smashed the machine with a pool cue in frustration. The incident earned him the nickname “Popcorn,” which stuck to him “like a burr on overalls,” as one account described. From then on, Marvin Sutton was widely known as “Popcorn” – a fitting moniker for a larger-than-life character who would soon make a name for himself in moonshining lore.

Moonshining Career and Rise to Fame

Popcorn Sutton began illicitly distilling moonshine whiskey in his youth, learning time-honored techniques from his father and older mountain moonshiners. He handcrafted moonshine (corn liquor) in hidden still sites around the North Carolina/Tennessee border – one of the nation’s historic moonshining hotspots. Sutton embraced the profession wholeheartedly, considering it a “legitimate part of his heritage” and a skill passed down through generations. He prided himself on doing things the old way: using copper stills, open flames, and locally-sourced ingredients to produce authentic white whiskey.

Through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Sutton quietly plied his trade in the Appalachian hills, selling home-made moonshine out of the back of his Ford pickup and from his ramshackle roadside junk shop in Maggie Valley. Locals who visited his place recall that Popcorn was an affable storyteller with a quick wit – always ready with a joke and a mason jar of his “corn likker” for sale. He cultivated an image as the quintessential mountain moonshiner: a short, skinny fellow with a long scraggly beard, ever-present fedora hat, and bib overalls (which he even wore to court). This colorful persona, combined with his unabashed contempt for government “revenuers,” made Sutton a living embodiment of Appalachian moonshine culture.

Despite operating outside the law, Popcorn managed to avoid serious jail time for many years. He had a few run-ins with authorities – a 1974 conviction for selling untaxed liquor, and arrests in 1981 and 1985 on charges like assault and possessing controlled substances – but those earlier offenses resulted in probation or short stints behind bars at most. Sutton considered moonshining a way of life and was clever in evading law enforcement, so he continued making “shine” long after many contemporaries quit or went legal. By the late 1990s, his notoriety had grown beyond the mountains. In 1998, state agents raided his property and seized a large still and 60 gallons of moonshine; even then he received only a suspended sentence and kept on with his craft.

Media Attention and “Outlaw” Fame

Popcorn Sutton’s outlaw mystique and colorful character began attracting media attention around the turn of the millennium. In 1999, he self-published an autobiography and moonshine guide entitled Me and My Likker, selling copies out of his junk shop to curious tourists and locals alike. The book – essentially a rambling collection of recipes, tall tales, and profane jokes – captured Sutton’s crude humor and deep knowledge of traditional moonshining. Around the same time, Sutton produced and starred in an independent documentary film (shot on VHS) called This Is the Last Dam Run of Likker I’ll Ever Make. Released in 2002, the film followed Popcorn into the hills as he built a still from scratch and ran off a final batch of moonshine, all while imparting his whiskey-making wisdom on camera. Sutton’s raw charisma in the film, along with his willingness to reveal the labor-intensive process behind moonshining, won him a new level of fame. The documentary became a cult hit, earning a Regional Emmy Award and sealing Popcorn’s reputation as the “last of the true mountain moonshiners.”

By his 60s, Popcorn Sutton had become a folk hero of sorts – celebrated in books, films, and even songs for his refusal to abandon the old ways. He was featured in several television profiles and inspired a new generation of legal distillers who admired his independent spirit. However, with fame came increased law enforcement scrutiny, setting the stage for his final showdown with authorities.

Legal Issues and Final Conviction

Sutton’s growing notoriety in the 2000s put a target on his back for federal agents. In 2007, after decades of cat-and-mouse with the law, Sutton was caught in an undercover ATF sting when he agreed to sell nearly 300 gallons of illicit whiskey to an agent. This bust led to a full raid on his property in Parrottsville, Tennessee in early 2008. Investigators uncovered a massive moonshine operation: three 1,000-gallon stills, over 800 gallons of finished moonshine, hundreds of gallons of fermenting sour mash, and a stockpile of firearms and ammunition. Given Sutton’s prior felony record, the guns alone were a serious federal offense, in addition to the moonshining charges. In April 2008, Sutton pleaded guilty to illegal distilling and possession of a firearm as a felon, avoiding a trial.

In January 2009, 62-year-old Popcorn Sutton hobbled into federal court – cane in hand, dressed in his usual overalls – for sentencing. The judge, noting Sutton’s lifelong defiance of liquor laws, sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison. For Sutton, who was in declining health and had recently been diagnosed with cancer, the prospect of serving time was grim. Friends later said he was especially distraught at the thought of dying behind bars. His family had hoped for leniency due to his age and illness, but the sentence stood. Sutton’s outlaw luck had run out, and he was scheduled to report to prison by mid-March 2009.

Personal Life

Popcorn Sutton’s personal life was as eventful as his career. He was married multiple times and had a reputation for rocky relationships. For all his renegade image, Sutton “preferred his women legal” – meaning he married his long-term partners rather than just cohabiting. His second marriage (details of his first are less documented) produced a daughter, Sky Sutton. Sky was born in the 1970s and raised by her mother in New England, far from Popcorn’s Appalachian world. Sutton was largely estranged from his daughter; they never spent time together after her early childhood, and only occasionally spoke by phone. In 2009, Sky Sutton self-published a book about her father titled Daddy Moonshine, hoping to preserve his story despite their distant relationship.

In the last years of his life, Popcorn finally found steady companionship with Pamela “Pam” Sutton, whom he married in around 2007. Pam was by his side during the tumultuous final chapter of his life, and Popcorn often credited her with keeping him going. The two lived together in a farmhouse in Parrottsville, Tennessee, which housed his final moonshine setup. Pam later recalled that Popcorn even showed off a custom coffin he had built for himself, a testament to his morbid humor and acceptance of his infamous lifestyle. The marriage was cut tragically short by Sutton’s death only about two years after their wedding. Pam Sutton would go on to fiercely guard Popcorn’s legacy (and recipe) in the years after.

Although rumors circulated about Popcorn Sutton fathering numerous children with various women, he never publicly acknowledged any beyond his daughter Sky. Some accounts suggest he may have had as many as eight children in total, but the true number remains uncertain. What is clear is that Sutton’s lifelong devotion was to his moonshine – a fact that strained his family life.

Death and Legacy

In March 2009, just days before he was due to surrender to federal prison, Popcorn Sutton made a fateful decision to end his life rather than live behind bars. On March 16, 2009, while his wife Pam was out running errands, Sutton sealed himself in his beloved green 1983 Ford Fairmont – a car he had famously bartered for with three jugs of moonshine – and routed exhaust fumes into the vehicle. He died from carbon monoxide poisoning at age 62, in the driver’s seat of his so-called “three-jug car” on his Tennessee property. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, coming just a week before his prison sentence was to begin. News of Sutton’s dramatic final act made national headlines. This sentiment was echoed by many who knew him: Popcorn Sutton stayed defiant to the end.

Sutton’s funeral and memorial in Parrottsville, TN drew an outpouring of friends, fans, and fellow moonshiners. Country music star Hank Williams Jr. – who had never met Popcorn but admired his legend – attended the memorial service and hailed Sutton as “a folk hero” and “real Appalachian Americana.” In an unusual postscript, Sutton’s body was initially buried in his family plot in North Carolina, but was later exhumed and reinterred on his own property in Tennessee per his widow’s wishes. Even after death, Popcorn’s story continued to grow: he quickly transformed from a local character into a mythic figure of mountain folklore. Over the years, ballads were written about him, his image appeared on T-shirts and artwork, and his grave became a site of pilgrimage for enthusiasts of moonshine history.

One of the most tangible parts of Sutton’s legacy is the legal whiskey brand that carries his name. Shortly after his death, Pam Sutton teamed up with Jamey Grosser (a distiller and friend of Popcorn’s) and Hank Williams Jr. to bring “Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey” to the market. In 2010 they began legally distilling and bottling Popcorn’s recipe, packaging the un-aged corn whiskey in mason jars and labeling it with his iconic likeness. The brand allowed fans to (legally) taste the kind of moonshine that made Sutton famous. The venture was a success – though not without controversy, as disputes arose between Sutton’s family members over royalties and rights to his image. Eventually, the Popcorn Sutton Distilling Company was established and later acquired by a larger spirits manufacturer, ensuring that Sutton’s name would endure in liquor store aisles.

Beyond the whiskey, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton’s cultural impact has been significant. He has been the subject of multiple books and documentaries. Notably, filmmaker Neal Hutcheson – who was a longtime friend – published an award-winning biography and photo collection The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton in 2021, offering new insights into Sutton’s life. The Discovery Channel’s popular show Moonshiners has paid homage to Sutton as an inspiration, and he’s often referenced in discussions of Appalachian heritage. In North Carolina and Tennessee, his story is remembered as part of local history.

Popcorn Sutton’s life was undeniably controversial – he was a folk champion of tradition to some and an unrepentant lawbreaker to others. But nearly everything about him, from his moonshine to his manner of death, was true to the independent mountain spirit he embodied. In the end, Sutton’s legacy is that of the last outlaw moonshiner who lived free and died on his own terms. His story continues to captivate America’s imagination, ensuring that the legend of Popcorn Sutton will shine on for generations just like a well-run batch of white lightning.

Sources:

• Stephen Miller, The Wall Street Journal – “Legendary Tennessee Moonshiner Plied His Trade to the End”theassemblync.com
• Jim Balloch, Knoxville News Sentinel – “Popcorn died as he lived, daughter says” (March 18, 2009)archive.knoxnews.comarchive.knoxnews.com
• Carol Motsinger, Asheville Citizen-Times – “New Movie Focuses on WNC Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton”en.wikipedia.org
• NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources – “Popcorn Sutton, Moonshiner and Colorful ‘Character’”dncr.nc.govdncr.nc.gov
• Neal Hutcheson, The Assembly NC – “The Lonesome Death of Marvin ‘Popcorn’ Sutton”theassemblync.comtheassemblync.com
• Cory Vaillancourt, Smoky Mountain News – “As long as water runs downhill: The story of Popcorn Sutton”smokymountainnews.com
• Gary Carden, Smoky Mountain News – “Remembering Popcorn”smokymountainnews.comsmokymountainnews.com
• Portrait of a Moonshiner – Toque Magazine toquemag.com (details on family and children)
• Additional: Sutton’s autobiography Me and My Likker (1999); Neal Hutcheson’s documentary The Last Dam Run of Likker I’ll Ever Make (2002, film); Jamie Satterfield, Knoxville News Sentinel – “’Likker’ tales in legal battle” (Dec 13, 2010)en.wikipedia.org.