LOS ANGELES — Veg-O-Matic king Ron Popeil used to love to say, "But wait, there's more!"

But only barely, it turns out, in regard to the company he founded.

Ronco Corp., based in Simi Valley, Calif., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, declaring it has $32.7 million in debts and $13.9 million in assets.

Popeil, 72, an irrepressible pitchman who used infomercials to sell products such as the Pocket Fisherman, Showtime Rotisserie and GLH spray-on hair, is the largest creditor.

Two years ago, he sold Ronco, the company he founded in 1958. The price was about $55 million — in what was supposed to be two easy payments.

Popeil is still owed $11.8 million, according to Thursday's filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. Other creditors include the Food Network, Court TV and the QVC home shopping network.

A spokeswoman for Popeil, who lives in Beverly Hills, said he had no comment on the bankruptcy filing.

Part of the deal when Popeil sold the company was that it could continue to use his image, which is still on the company Web site. Anyone calling Ronco's headquarters will hear Popeil's voice — familiar to those who've heard some of his late-night pitches — saying, "If you know the extension of the person you're calling ... "

Ronco Chief Executive John Reiland said the company would continue its operations uninterrupted and that none of its 95 employees would be laid off. Chapter 11 allows a business to keep running while it works out a plan to pay its debts.

Ronco has sold $1.4 billion of and-if-you-act-now gadgets, court documents show. It had a previous tour through bankruptcy in the 1980s.

Inventions by Popeil include a machine that scrambles eggs inside the shell, a food dehydrator, an automatic pasta maker and the GLH spray to cover bald spots on people's heads. Among the company's best-selling gadgets is the Pocket Fisherman, a compact rod and reel.

Ronco's television ads were so familiar to viewers that they were spoofed by comedian Dan Aykroyd in a famous 1976 sketch on the television program "Saturday Night Live." In the sketch, Aykroyd advertises the "Super Bass-O-Matic '76" by "Rovco," a blender that turns a whole fish into a brown liquid, which is then drunk by Laraine Newman, who co-starred in the segment.

"Wow, that's terrific bass!" she says.

Popeil is listed as an inventor on more than two dozen U.S. patents, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His fast-paced TV ads contributed phrases to the lexicon such as "now how much would you pay?" and "but wait, there's more."

Ronco has moved into infomercials, 30- to 60-minute programs that air repeatedly to sell products. Among the bestsellers is the Showtime Rotisserie, a small oven designed for cooking meat and poultry, using Popeil's latest catch-phrase: "Set it, and forget it."

Reiland wouldn't discuss how the company got into its current financial state. But court documents said an initial $40 million payment to Popeil sliced and diced the company's finances, leaving it severely short of cash.

The company has reached a nonbinding agreement with a new buyer, but Reiland wouldn't say who that is.