Will Radcliff: Businessman who made a fortune taking Slush Puppies from the US to shops round the world

Radcliff: he got his big idea in 1970 when he saw a slush machine in action at a Chicago trade fair (AP)

Will Radcliff, who built a huge global business from Slush Puppie drinks, was a natural salesman who once sold vacuum cleaners door to door and earned a six-figure income from selling peanuts. "He had a bigger-than-life personality," his daughter DeeAnn Radcliff Harmon said. "He could sell anything to anybody."

Radcliff had spotted a slush machine at a 1970 Chicago trade show and saw the possibilities of icy sweet drinks that could be made for a few cents. He thought the sound of icy crystals hitting the cup, the smell and taste of the flavourings and the texture pleased all the senses. The family story goes that with his sister Phyllis and their mother, Thelma, he sat on a front porch drinking beer and writing down possible names on a brown paper bag before agreeing on Slush Puppie, represented by a floppy-eared dog.

Cherry, grape, orange and lemon-lime were among the earliest flavours; sales boomed, with Slush Puppie machines becoming a staple in convenience stores. Distributorships from Australia to Africa made Slush Puppie a global concern, and in 2001 Cadbury Schweppes bought the company. Radcliff also had a frozen cocktail business, among other operations.

Radcliff Harmon said her father's first regular job was shining shoes at a country club, and he later kept a vow to return to the club as a member. He owned a ranch in Umatilla, Florida, and worked for land conservation amid central Florida's growth. He had a Lear jet which he often flew himself: his daughter said he had many favourite sayings, such as "If it ain't fun, to hell with it," and "Once you break through the clouds, it's always sunny."

Willard Lawson Radcliff, businessman: born Dayton, Kentucky 20 December 1939; married (two children); died Cincinnati, Ohio 18 September 2014.