A beloved听legend has passed away at 88.
鈥淗unky Bill鈥� Konyk as he celebrated his 50th year selling all things perogie at the Fair and the PNE in 2016. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
The PNE announced Bill Konyk鈥檚 passing in a press release Wednesday morning, which read in part, 鈥淚t is with incredible sadness that the Pacific National Exhibition acknowledges the passing of the one of one of our longest standing concessionaires and iconic members of our fair family, Bill Konyk, known across the Canadian fair industry as Hunky Bill.鈥�
According to the release, Konyk passed away peacefully Aug. 13, surrounded by his family.
Hunky Bill had been a beloved member of the extended PNE family for 52 years, beginning, as the legend has it, when the then 麻豆传媒映画based radio executive bet a friend $10 that he could get a booth at the PNE to sell his homemade Ukrainian style perogie鈥檚.
As the story goes, Konyk showed up at the PNE administration office and spent an hour and a half convincing the then head of the PNE booth sales department to give him a chance. Konyk got his booth, won his $10 and began a 52-year journey, during which time Hunky Bill has become one of the most iconic pitchmen and restaurateurs in Canadian history.
Konyk was also famous for the infomercials he starred in to sell his very own听.听You can see the 1983 version of that commercial听.
Hunky Bill鈥檚 is a family operated business spanning three generations. Konyk鈥檚 wife Kay and three sons Bill Jr., Clayton and Mark plan to continue his tradition of serving the best Ukrainian food in Vancouver.
In a 2013听Courier听听about the exotic food offerings at the Fair at the PNE, this reporter noted at the time, 鈥淎s media ate at Gourmet Burgers, William 鈥淗unky Bill鈥� Konyk strolled by on the way to his adjacent perogie stand. Some of the younger journalists had no idea who this elderly man was, but the 鈥淧erogie King鈥�, as he鈥檚 known, was given rock star treatment from others old enough to know they were in the presence of midway and infomercial greatness.鈥�
