Bill Graham

popular name: Walter Knott

date_of_death: December 3, 1981

age: 91

cause_of_death: Parkinson's disease

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Walter Knott was an American farmer who created the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California. In the 1920s, Walter Knott was a somewhat unsuccessful farmer, whose fortunes changed when he nursed several abandoned berry plants back to health. The hybrid boysenberry, named after its creator, Rudolph Boysen, was a cross between a blackberry, red raspberry and loganberry. The huge berries were a hit, and the Knott family sold berries, preserves and pies from a Buena Park, California roadside stand. In 1934, Knott's wife Cordelia (née Hornaday, January 23, 1890 – April 12, 1974) began serving fried chicken dinners, and within a few years, lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long. To entertain the waiting crowds, Walter built a Ghost Town in 1940, using buildings relocated from Old West towns. Even after Disneyland opened in 1955 a mere 8 miles away, Knott's Berry Farm continued to thrive. Walt Disney and Walter Knott are rumored to have had a cordial relationship; it is known that they each visited the other's park, and they were both members of the original planning council for Children's Hospital of Orange County. Early additions to the farm included a narrow gauge railroad, a San Francisco cable car, a Pan-for-Gold attraction, the Calico Mine Train dark ride and a log flume ride. In 1968, the Knott family fenced the farm, charged admission for the first time, and Knott's Berry Farm officially became an amusement park. Because of his interest in American pioneer history, Knott purchased and restored the real silver mining ghost town of Calico, California in 1951. As a child Walter spent a lot of time in Calico living with his uncle. During World War I he helped to build a silver mill in Calico. This period in his life influenced his decision to buy the town and restore it. In 1966, he deeded Calico to San Bernardino County, California. Walter remained active in the operation of Knott's Berry Farm until the death of Cordelia in 1974, leaving day-to-day park operations to his children.

popular name: Howard Johnson

date_of_death: June 20, 1972

age: 75

cause_of_death: Heart failure

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Howard Johnson was an American entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder of an American chain of restaurants and motels under one company of the same name, Howard Johnson's. For three years he sold cigars,. and then in 1924, when he was 27, he assumed the debts, liquidated the business and bought a run‐down drugstore near the Wollaston railroad station. It had a soda fountain, candy and tobacco counter and newspaper stand, and Mr. Johnson soon had the place bringing in $30,000 a year with a staff of 75 boys delivering papers. Still, it was not until he bought the ice‐cream recipe of an elderly German pushcart vendor that the business took off. The peddler's secret was in doubling the butterfat content of the commercial ice cream and in using natural, instead of synthetic, flavoring. By 1928 the gross from ice cream sold at the Store and at several beach stands nearby reached $240,000, and seven years later Mr. Johnson had 25 restaurants beside Massachusetts highways. Between 1961 and 1979 revenues for the company grew every year. The Howard Johnson Company continued to expand, growing to over 1,000 restaurants and over 500 motor lodges in 42 states and Canada.

popular name: Gilbert F. Heublein

date_of_death: March 21, 1937

age: 87

cause_of_death: Arteriosclerosis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: German-born Gilbert F. Heublein was a prominent hotelier, restaurateur, food and liquor distributor in Hartford, Connecticut. While most people remember Gilbert for securing the license and distribution rights of A-1 Steak Sauce to the United States, his real claim to fame should be his discovery and marketing of pre-made cocktails. As the legend goes, Gilbert and his brother Louis had prepared a quantity of premixed cocktails for a large annual picnic. It rained and the event was canceled. A few days later a employee of the Heubleins was told to dispose of the unused beverages. Deciding to taste them first, he found that the drinks had suffered no deterioration and announced the discovery to his bosses. The Heubleins took note and began selling the premixed libations in their saloon and restaurant. The cocktails proved very popular with customers and increasingly became the focus of the family’s attention. With Gilbert now running the business, the new firm concentrated on the premixed cocktails such as Martinis and Manhattans, advertising them widely as Club Cocktails. Upon the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, Heublein's "secondary sideline" of A.1. Sauce served as a fortunate savior, when the production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the US for the next thirteen years. Upon Gilbert’s death, the company was taken over by John G. Martin, the son of Alice Heublein and Percy Martin, Gilbert Heublein’s grandson. Through Martin’s business savvy, G.F. Heublein & Bro. acquired the rights to sell Smirnoff vodka, Don Q rum, and Jose Cuervo tequila. In 1969, Heublein, Inc. began to package pre-mixed cocktails in 8-ounce cans, such as the ‘Brass Monkey’. The company also made acquisitions outside the liquor industry with the purchase of Grey Poupon mustard in 1936 and Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1971. In 1982, Heublein, Inc was sold to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for 1.4 billion dollars.