Founded in 1906 by Alfred C. Fuller (1885–1973), the Fuller Brush Company has for many years been one of the world's most successful direct marketing companies, employing a large sales force that in the twentieth century sold brushes, brooms, and other household products door to door. Just as the Avon Lady sold cosmetics by ringing doorbells, the "Fuller Brush Man" offered an array of more practical merchandise during an era when most women were at home during the daytime. Despite having doors slammed in his face by customers who resented being interrupted, the Fuller Brush Man gained a reputation for persistence and ingenuity in making his sales pitches. Comic strips and skits often satirized an aggressive Fuller Brush Man sticking his foot in a customer's door in a frantic attempt to make his plea. Comedian Red Skelton (1913–1997) starred in The Fuller Brush Man, a 1948 film about...