Champagne Charlie Is My Name

The first “pitch-man” bubbled his way to fame in 1866.  George Leybourne penned some songs about getting sloshed on champagne, rechristened himself “Champagne Charlie” and was the toast (literally) of Victorian England.  Dressed in the height of ‘fast’ fashion, in bow tie and tails he would swig from a bottle of Moët declaring his love for the high life and women. (from http://www.peopleplayuk.org.)  Seizing on his fame and sex appeal, the Moet & Chandon champagne manufacturers commissioned him as their spokesman.  Soon thereafter, a rival champagne manufacturer, Clicquot, hired “The Great Vance.”  The gambits worked and the celebrity endorsement was born.

True to his songs, Champagne Charlie really had a love for the stuff.  He died of alcoholism at the age of 44.

Thanks to Ian Lender’s book Alcoholica Esoterica, Wikipedia and cited web sources for the information contained herein.