Jan 11, 2008 11:38 pm US/Pacific
Carl Karcher, Founder Of Carl's Jr., Dies At 90
FULLERTON, Calif. (CBS) ―
Carl Karcher, who turned a lone hot dog cart in Los Angeles into the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain, died Friday at a Fullerton hospital, five days short of what would have been his 91st birthday.
Karcher was admitted to St. Jude Medical Center on New Year's Day, suffering from Parkinson's disease-related pneumonia, according to Beth Mansfield of CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of the Carls Jr. chain.
Born Jan. 16, 1917, in Sandusky, Ohio, Karcher left school during the eighth grade to help on the family farm. In 1939, ge moved to Anaheim where his uncle ran a small business.
Two years later, Karcher and his wife Margaret, started their first business, a hot dog cart, in Los Angeles, borrowing $311 against their Plymouth and adding the $15 from Margaret's purse, according to the 2002 book "Fast Food Nation."
In 1945, the Karchers opened their first full-service restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim. In 1956, Karcher opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants in Anaheim and Brea, so named because they were smaller versions of the original drive-in.
In 1966, the company incorporated as Carl Karcher Enterprises. By 1974, Carl's Jr. had grown to 100 restaurants and 300 by 1981, the year the company first offered stock publicly. In 1994, stockholders approved a change of the structure of the company to include a new parent company, CKE Restaurants.
Karcher had long served as his company's chairman and chief executive officer, retiring as chairman emeritus in 2004 because of poor health.
"Carl was a pioneer in this industry," said Andrew Puzder, president and chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc. "He touched countless lives through his generosity as a business leader and philanthropist and his legacy will most certainly live on."
Karcher is survived by 11 of his children, 51 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren. Karcher's wife died in June 2006 of liver cancer.
A public vigil service and Rosary will be held next Thursday at 7 p.m. at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim, with a funeral Mass the following day at 11 a.m. Karcher will be buried at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange on Jan. 19 at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Mercy House, a support center serving homeless families in Orange County and the Inland Empire, or Providence Speech and Hearing Center.
Mercy House was founded by Karcher's son Jerome, a Roman Catholic priest at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Huntington Beach.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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