Glen William Bell Jr., the founder of the popular Mexican fast-food chain, Taco Bell, died on Sunday Jan. 17, 2010 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Ca. He was 86 years old. Bell had Parkinson's disease since 1985 but no cause of death was given. He is survived by his wife, Martha, three sisters, two sons, a daughter and four grandchildren.
"Glen Bell was a visionary and innovator in the restaurant industry, as well as a dedicated family man," Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell, said in the statement.
Glen Bell launched Taco Bell in 1962 in Downey, Ca. He sold the first Taco Bell franchise in 1964. By 1978 he had 868 restaurants, which he sold to PepsiCo for $125 million in stock. Taco Bell is now owned by Yum! Brands and is the largest Mexican fast-food chain in the nation, serving more than 36.8 million consumers each week in more than 5,600 U.S. locations.
Glen William Bell Jr. was born Sept. 3, 1923, in Lynwood, Calif. His father was a construction worker who was always looking for work and even though his mother was resourceful the family did not fare well financially. Glen Bell virtually grew up selling produce to help the family survive. Starting at the age of 5, he sold cottage cheese door-to-door. As a youngster he would sell eggs, apples and flowers.
After graduating from high school in 1941, Bell worked for the U.S. Forestry Service and later joined the Marines, serving as a waiter to top military brass in the South Pacific. After WWII he founded Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in 1948, which he sold to start other ventures including: Taco Tia, Del Taco, El Taco, and even Der Wienerschnitzel.
In 1962 Bell opened the first Taco Bell restaurant. Within two years he opened eight more and began to franchise. That was the beginning of the success of Taco Bell. Even after selling the company, Bell remained a lifelong Taco Bell consultant. He was not however responsible for the iconic chihuahua dog, named Gidget, that starred in the popular "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" commercials of the late '90s.
Gidget, herself, died in June 2009, at age 15 from a stroke. At the height of her popularity as the Taco Bell dog, Gidget traveled by limo and first-class in planes. She even got a seat on the company's private jet for a trip to Manhattan to open up the New York Stock Exchange.
Sue Chipperton, who trained Gidget for Studio Animal Services, said the pooch was constantly mobbed by people when she took Gidget out even though she was careful to make sure very few people knew Gidget was the real Taco Bell dog.
"They could come over and go 'Oh that looks like the Taco Bell dog!'" Chipperton said.
Gidget, who had lived with Chipperton for most of her life, was never coddled. Chipperton said she was expected to follow commands and was never carried when she could walk on her own. As a result, Chipperton said, "her personality was that of a big dog."
Her owner, McElhatton, who owns Studio Animal Services which trains animals for film, television and advertising, said Gidget -- unique for her "really huge ears" -- just knew when the camera was on her. And she was very particular about who got her attention.
"She was very much a primadonna," she said. "If she didn't like you, she wouldn't give you the time of day."
In later years, McElhatton said the spunky little dog enjoyed a daily sunbath and had her favorite toys and beds -- everything given to Gidget was simply the best.
"She lived," McElhatton said, "like a queen."
Taco Bell has lost both its founder and spokesman less than a year apart. In fact Glen Bell Jr. is the latest in a number of fast-food moguls that have died recently:
1. Troy Smith, founder of drive-in chain Sonic, died on October 26, 2009, at 87
2. Wilbur Hardee of the Hardee’s hamburger joints, died June 20, 2008, at the age of 89
3 JR Simplott, developer of the first frozen french fries and founder of a potato-processing plant that supplies McDonald’s fries, died at the age of 99 on May 25, 2008
4. Irvine Robbins of Baskin Robbins died at 90 on May 5, 2008
5. Popeyes creator Al Copeland passed at the age of 64 on March 23, 2008
6. Lovie Yancey, founder of Fatburger, died on January 26, 2008, at 96
7. Two weeks before, Carl N. Karcher of Carl’s Jr. died at 90 on January 11
With the exception of Copeland, who died from complications from cancer treatment, everyone died of old age and lived a very long life. Maybe fast-food isn't so bad for you after all!
