Cause of Death: Drown in Jacuzzi
after suffering a heart attack

At age 12, he began growing his own popping corn as a 4-H project, and his hobby of raising the perfect popcorn became a lifelong obsession. He passed away in 1995, but this popcorn king’s folksy persona has such staying power that last week he was named "favorite icon" for 2007 on the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.

Cause of Death: Cancer

Paul Leonard Newman was an oscar winning actor and director. He co-founded Newman’s Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.[5] As of October 2008, these donations had exceeded US $250 million

1854-1939

Cause of Death: Unknown

When Charles A. See founded his candy company in 1921, he didn’t need to invent a figurehead, as many companies did at the time. (That same year, General Mills came up with the fictional Betty Crocker.) Charles turned to his mother, Mary See, whose principles inspired his business ethics, and whose recipes for candies such as Chocolate Walnut Fudge and Victoria Toffee were the cornerstone of his success, according to a company press kit.

1932-2002

Cause of Death: Cancer

Dave Thomas was an American restaurant owner and philanthropist. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. He is also known for appearing in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002–more than any other person in television history.

1907-1995

Cause of Death: Cancer

Marie Callender, began selling pies to friends and restaurants as a way to make extra money. By 1948, to meet customer demand, the Callender family opened a wholesale bakery, selling the family car to finance the new company, according to a timeline from Con-Agra Foods, which now owns the Marie Callender frozen foods line (but not the restaurants or pie business.)

1908-2006

Cause of Death: Cancer

The real Sara Lee Lubin never held a management position in the corporation but did work part-time in the plant offices. Over the years, however, she did appear as a corporate spokesperson for the company in some advertisements. She devoted her time in supporting education causes such as the advancement of woman and girls in science.

Cause of Death: Cancer

He was well-respected food critic-turned-cake-mix- king. While traveling cross-country as a salesman, he kept track of the roadside restaurants where he ate and began circulating the list as Christmas presents. In 1948, he was approached by North Carolina businessman Roy Park to lend his name to a line of premium-packaged foods. Initially, there were hundreds of products under the Hines-Park name. In 1956 Procter & Gamble bought the brand, which was eventually pared down to baking mixes

1890-1980

Cause of Death: pneumonia / diagnosed with leukemia

Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporation, in 1964, for $2,000,000 to a partnership of Kentucky businessmen headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. The deal did not include the Canadian operations, where Sanders continued to collect franchise fees. In 1973 he sued over alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975 Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly referred to their gravy as "sludge" with a "wallpaper taste".

Cause of Death: Unknown
(son died of cancer)

In 1924, he opened his own Italian restaurant in Cleveland, called Il Giardi. When patrons asked for his spaghetti sauce, he began selling it in milk bottles. Then he added dry pasta and packets of cheese to go with the sauce. When he outgrew his restaurant location, he opened a food-processing plant and eventually changed the spelling. For many Americans, Chef Boyardee was their first introduction to Italian food. Although he sold his company in 1946, he continued as a consultant until his death in 1985.

UNKNOWN

Cause of Death: Unknown

The real "Uncle Ben" was a rice farmer from Houston, Texas, whose rice crop continually won awards for its high quality, according to information from the The Museum of Public Relations. In the 1940s, Gordon L. Harwell decided to name his rice company after the farmer, who had passed away. Hardwell used the maitre d’ of a Chicago restaurant, Frank Brown, to represent the image of "Uncle Ben." For many years, the brand drew criticism for racist overtones.