Walnettos were introduced by the J. N. Collins Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1919.[1][A] Although originally not available in the summer,[2] Walnettos were one of America's most popular candies in the 1920s and 1930s.[3] Walnettos were later bought by Peter Paul and, as the candy declined in popularity,[4] passed through several other hands before being bought and resurrected by candy entrepreneur Sandy Licht in the 1980s.[3] Sandy Licht's daughter, Lisa Licht, is now running the company. They are currently made by Walnettos Incorporated of Valencia, California.
Comedian Arte Johnson's dirty-old-man character Tyrone Horneigh on the popular 1968-1973 television comedy Laugh-In used the tagline "Wanna Walnetto?",[5] which briefly entered popular culture as a minor comedic catchphrase[6][self-published source] and spurred sales.[7][8]
These matinee favorites seemed to disappear in the 1960s...
