Share on Facebook

Bill Porter Biography

Salesman

Photos ( See all 4 )

Born with cerebral palsy, Porter nonetheless became a door-to-door salesman in Portland, Oregon, struggling up to 10 miles a day on foot while selling household products for the Watkins Company. Friendly and persistent, in time Porter became the top grossing Watkins salesman in the United States. A 1995 column about Porter in The Oregonian was widely reprinted and made Porter a popular symbol of optimistic determination. He was featured in Reader's Digest and on a segment of the ABC news magazine 20/20, and his story was told in the 2002 TNT cable movie Door To Door, with actor William H. Macy as Porter and Kyra Sedgwick as Porter's friend and assistant, Shelly Brady.

Extra credit: Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter, an inspirational book by Shelly Brady, was published in 2002 by New World Library... Porter had to stop walking his route after breaking his hip in 1998.

Others who overcame disabilities include Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Caesar Rodney and the blind poet Homer.