Bill Porter

Who was Bill Porter?

Bill Porter was an American salesman for Watkins Incorporated of Winona, Minnesota. Born with cerebral palsy, Porter came to the public's attention in 1995, when an Oregon newspaper wrote a series of feature stories about him.

Born in San Francisco, California, Porter moved to Portland, Oregon, with his mother at a young age. He was unable to gain employment due to his cerebral palsy, but refused to go on disability. Porter eventually convinced Watkins Incorporated to give him a door-to-door salesman job, selling its products on a seven-mile route in the Portland area. He eventually became the top seller for the company.

In 1995 The Oregonian ran a feature story about Porter in its newspaper. The story of his optimistic determination made him the subject of media attention across the United States. He was featured in Reader's Digest and on ABC's 20/20, and was the subject of a 2002 made-for-TV movie on TNT called Door to Door, featuring William H. Macy, Kyra Sedgwick and Helen Mirren. In 2009 the Japanese TBS network aired a TV-movie loosely based on Bill Porter, also called Door To Door. It starred Ninomiya Kazunari and Rosa Kato as fictional versions of Porter and Brady. Porter died of an infection in Gresham, Oregon, on December 3, 2013, at the age of 81.