Carl Karcher turned hot dog stand into Carl’s Jr. chain
Carl N. Karcher, who parlayed a $325 investment in a hot dog cart into one of the largest hamburger chains in the western U.S., died Friday. He was 90.
The founder of the Carl’s Jr. fast-food chain suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was being treated for pneumonia when he died in Fullerton, Calif., said Beth Mansfield, a spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants Inc.
Mr. Karcher, a deeply religious father of 12, was famous in the fast-food industry for his rags-to-riches story – a tale tainted in later years by an insider trading scandal and feuds with his board of directors.
Mr. Karcher was working as a bread-truck driver in Los Angeles when he decided to borrow $311 on the 1941 Plymouth Super Deluxe he owned with his bride, Margaret, added the rest in cash and bought a pushcart hot dog stand.
One cart soon became four, and by the end of World War II, Mr. Karcher had opened his first restaurant, Carl’s Drive-In barbecue, in Anaheim.
He opened the first Carl’s Jr. – named “Jr.” to distinguish it from his full-service eatery – in 1956.
Mr. Karcher’s initial success began to falter in the 1980s when he took the company public. Carl’s Jr. locations in Texas and Arizona failed, ending his dream of becoming a national chain.
Today, Carl’s Jr. has more than 1,000 locations across the West.
Mr. Karcher is survived by 11 children, 51 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren.
Troubled Actor Brad Renfro Dies at 25Troubled Actor Brad Renfro Dies at 25
Jan 15, 8:13 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Brad Renfro, the troubled young actor whose film career began at age 12 with “The Client,” has died. He was 25.
His body was found in his Los Angeles home early Tuesday, his lawyer Richard Kaplan said.
Renfro served 10 days in jail in May 2006 after pleading no contest to driving while intoxicated and pleading guilty to attempted possession of heroin.
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