CURTIS ALLINA, 87
Holocaust Survivor, Put the Head on the Pez
Died December 15, 2009 in Olympia, Washington and was the man who put the colorful heads on the Pez dispenser. He figured that it was not just the candy, but the container that it came in that would attract customers.
He was vice president of US operations for what is now the Pez Candy Company. In 1955, he urged the company to put character heads on the top of the already cigarette-like dispensers the company was using. It was an immediate hit and today a highly collectible and sought after item, a real major player in e-Bay.
Today, Pez Candy sells tens of thousands of them in 80 countries.
Mr. Allina was born in Prague in 1922, but grew up in Vienna. His family which was Jewish, was held in concentration camps from 1941 to 1945 and he was the sole survivor. He moved to New York City and joined Pez-Haas in 1953. Pez was invented in 1927 by Edward Haas IV.
I Love My Pez. --Cooter
No comments:
Post a Comment