1 00:00:01,917 --> 00:00:03,625 [suspenseful music] 2 00:00:03,625 --> 00:00:05,083 - [Narrator] The year is 1972 3 00:00:06,208 --> 00:00:07,958 and Kentucky Fried Chicken has just been sold 4 00:00:07,958 --> 00:00:10,167 for $285 million, 5 00:00:12,208 --> 00:00:15,125 the equivalent of 1.6 billion today. 6 00:00:19,667 --> 00:00:22,792 Despite the sale, the founder, Colonel Sanders, 7 00:00:22,792 --> 00:00:25,000 has stayed on as the brand mascot. 8 00:00:25,792 --> 00:00:28,583 [dramatic music] 9 00:00:29,042 --> 00:00:30,750 [pounding] [gagging] 10 00:00:30,750 --> 00:00:32,208 Whether he likes it or not. 11 00:00:34,917 --> 00:00:36,792 - Those goddamn sons of bitches! 12 00:00:36,792 --> 00:00:39,583 [dramatic music] 13 00:00:39,583 --> 00:00:42,542 - [Narrator] He built a chicken empire from the ground up. 14 00:00:42,542 --> 00:00:44,375 - The quintessential American fast food 15 00:00:44,375 --> 00:00:46,917 was defined by that burger joint menu, 16 00:00:46,917 --> 00:00:49,125 you know, fries, shakes, burgers. 17 00:00:49,125 --> 00:00:51,500 Nobody was thinking about chicken in this space. 18 00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:55,917 - By 1970, there's a KFC there in every state in the union. 19 00:00:56,792 --> 00:00:59,833 - [Narrator] He became an icon known around the world. 20 00:00:59,833 --> 00:01:03,375 - Sanders changed the image of fried chicken in America 21 00:01:03,375 --> 00:01:05,167 by creating a folklore around it 22 00:01:05,167 --> 00:01:08,333 and centering himself in the middle of that folklore. 23 00:01:08,333 --> 00:01:09,667 - You serve fried chicken? 24 00:01:10,125 --> 00:01:11,042 [chuckles] 25 00:01:11,042 --> 00:01:12,875 - Do we serve fried chicken? 26 00:01:12,875 --> 00:01:14,833 Ooh-wee, we do serve fried chicken. 27 00:01:14,833 --> 00:01:16,417 - So prior to Colonel Sanders, 28 00:01:16,417 --> 00:01:18,708 there were all kinds of brand mascots. 29 00:01:18,708 --> 00:01:21,042 There's the Sun-Maid girl, there's Aunt Jemima, 30 00:01:21,042 --> 00:01:22,458 there's Mr. Peanut, 31 00:01:22,458 --> 00:01:26,125 but he is really first to be the kind of 32 00:01:26,125 --> 00:01:28,875 human incarnation of his brand. 33 00:01:28,875 --> 00:01:31,375 - [Narrator] But the real man behind the iconic image 34 00:01:31,375 --> 00:01:33,333 is more complicated than you know. 35 00:01:33,333 --> 00:01:34,625 - So you have to remember, 36 00:01:34,625 --> 00:01:37,292 Colonel Sanders was not a real colonel. 37 00:01:37,292 --> 00:01:42,333 The truth is this was a very carefully cultivated persona 38 00:01:42,333 --> 00:01:45,375 that he used to his advantage. 39 00:01:45,375 --> 00:01:48,208 - Harland Sanders's alter ego, Colonel Sanders, 40 00:01:48,208 --> 00:01:50,208 although it comes across as this really like warm 41 00:01:50,208 --> 00:01:52,083 and fuzzy grandpa-like guy, 42 00:01:52,083 --> 00:01:55,375 he had quite a volatile personality. 43 00:01:55,375 --> 00:01:58,375 - [Narrator] This volatile personality would one day ignite 44 00:01:58,375 --> 00:02:00,875 a bitter war between Kentucky Fried Chicken 45 00:02:00,875 --> 00:02:02,958 and the man who created it. 46 00:02:02,958 --> 00:02:04,375 - I'm gonna sue Kentucky Fried Chicken 47 00:02:04,375 --> 00:02:06,500 for every last goddamn penny they're worth! 48 00:02:08,833 --> 00:02:11,542 [dramatic music] 49 00:02:29,833 --> 00:02:31,125 [suspenseful music] 50 00:02:31,125 --> 00:02:32,708 - [Narrator] It's the early 1930s, 51 00:02:32,708 --> 00:02:36,042 and the Great Depression is gripping rural areas 52 00:02:36,042 --> 00:02:39,208 of the United States. 53 00:02:39,208 --> 00:02:41,417 In a rough area of Corbin, Kentucky, 54 00:02:41,417 --> 00:02:44,500 a gas station owner named Harland Sanders 55 00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:46,875 is struggling to keep his business afloat. 56 00:02:48,208 --> 00:02:50,625 - The tract of land just north of the gas station 57 00:02:50,625 --> 00:02:53,458 is referred to as hell's half-acre. 58 00:02:53,458 --> 00:02:54,917 It's a dangerous place. 59 00:02:54,917 --> 00:02:56,208 The police are always coming in. 60 00:02:56,208 --> 00:02:57,542 Sometimes the police don't wanna come in. 61 00:02:57,542 --> 00:03:01,208 So Harland Sanders is running a gas station 62 00:03:01,208 --> 00:03:03,542 in a pretty rough and tumble area. 63 00:03:04,417 --> 00:03:06,875 [Harland breathing heavily] 64 00:03:06,875 --> 00:03:09,875 - [Narrator] The depression has left Americans impoverished, 65 00:03:09,875 --> 00:03:12,125 and gas sales are down. 66 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:14,333 - Thanks to the economic shock of the depression, 67 00:03:14,333 --> 00:03:15,750 people were buying fewer cars, 68 00:03:15,750 --> 00:03:18,792 and those who had cars were driving a lot less 69 00:03:18,792 --> 00:03:19,833 to conserve gas. 70 00:03:21,208 --> 00:03:22,542 - [Narrator] To make ends meet, 71 00:03:22,542 --> 00:03:24,625 Sanders has begun cooking up a chicken recipe 72 00:03:24,625 --> 00:03:26,833 he learned when he was just a boy. 73 00:03:28,042 --> 00:03:29,667 - When Harland Sanders is five years old, 74 00:03:29,667 --> 00:03:33,625 his father dies of a fever, so his mother has to take a job. 75 00:03:33,625 --> 00:03:35,750 She takes a job in a canning factory 76 00:03:35,750 --> 00:03:37,375 to provide for her family. 77 00:03:37,375 --> 00:03:40,875 Harland Sanders is a kid, but he's the oldest sibling, 78 00:03:40,875 --> 00:03:43,667 and this is where he first starts to learn how to cook. 79 00:03:45,542 --> 00:03:46,708 [dramatic music] 80 00:03:46,708 --> 00:03:49,042 - At the time, the major proteins in the country 81 00:03:49,042 --> 00:03:50,917 are beef and pork. 82 00:03:50,917 --> 00:03:52,250 Chicken, not so much. 83 00:03:53,542 --> 00:03:56,125 - Who is cooking fried chicken in this country first? 84 00:03:56,125 --> 00:03:57,708 It's going to be the enslaved people 85 00:03:57,708 --> 00:03:59,917 who are brought over from West Africa 86 00:03:59,917 --> 00:04:03,583 and working in the kitchens, in plantations, in restaurants, 87 00:04:03,583 --> 00:04:05,708 in people's homes, in their own home, 88 00:04:05,708 --> 00:04:09,333 making special dishes of fried chicken. 89 00:04:09,333 --> 00:04:14,250 That's where it first comes to be a celebrated food, 90 00:04:14,250 --> 00:04:16,417 considered an American one. 91 00:04:17,375 --> 00:04:18,750 - [Narrator] Now Sanders is applying 92 00:04:18,750 --> 00:04:21,458 those same survival skills from childhood 93 00:04:21,458 --> 00:04:24,958 to weather the Great Depression by selling fried chicken 94 00:04:24,958 --> 00:04:26,208 out of his gas station. 95 00:04:26,208 --> 00:04:28,708 - Sanders realizes that he can use chicken 96 00:04:28,708 --> 00:04:31,333 to entice customers because first of all, 97 00:04:31,333 --> 00:04:34,583 it was inexpensive. 98 00:04:34,583 --> 00:04:36,708 And therefore he could sell it to the customers 99 00:04:36,708 --> 00:04:39,292 at a lower price than beef and pork. 100 00:04:40,917 --> 00:04:42,250 - Got another two orders, boss. 101 00:04:42,250 --> 00:04:43,750 - Yeah, two more coming up! 102 00:04:44,625 --> 00:04:47,375 - [Narrator] Sanders' chicken soon gains a loyal following 103 00:04:47,375 --> 00:04:50,375 among locals drawn to its inexpensive price 104 00:04:50,375 --> 00:04:53,000 and a carefully honed recipe that Sanders keeps 105 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,708 only to himself. 106 00:04:54,708 --> 00:04:57,375 - The real key to Sanders' early success was 107 00:04:57,375 --> 00:04:59,083 the secret recipe, of course. 108 00:04:59,083 --> 00:05:01,875 It was something that made his chicken memorable 109 00:05:01,875 --> 00:05:05,167 and made people wanna find out what it was. 110 00:05:05,917 --> 00:05:07,542 - [Narrator] But with the rise in popularity 111 00:05:07,542 --> 00:05:10,750 of Sanders' chicken, he gains unwanted attention 112 00:05:10,750 --> 00:05:11,750 from a local rival. 113 00:05:12,792 --> 00:05:14,583 [dramatic music] 114 00:05:14,583 --> 00:05:17,917 - Right down the road from Colonel Sanders's gas station 115 00:05:17,917 --> 00:05:19,750 is another gas station. 116 00:05:19,750 --> 00:05:21,083 And this guy says, 117 00:05:21,083 --> 00:05:23,250 "I don't want people going to the Sanders' gas station. 118 00:05:23,250 --> 00:05:25,500 I want them to go to my gas station." 119 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:29,708 So when he goes up to Sanders's signs, he paints over them. 120 00:05:29,708 --> 00:05:34,208 So people don't even know that Sanders gas station exists. 121 00:05:34,208 --> 00:05:37,125 [men laughing] 122 00:05:37,125 --> 00:05:39,833 - Sanders naturally is upset by this. 123 00:05:39,833 --> 00:05:42,667 He feels like he's losing money, he's losing business, 124 00:05:42,667 --> 00:05:44,958 and it's all because of this rival down the street. 125 00:05:44,958 --> 00:05:46,417 So they keep getting into it. 126 00:05:46,417 --> 00:05:49,458 They keep butting heads, and they're not getting along. 127 00:05:50,333 --> 00:05:51,458 - Afternoon fellas. 128 00:05:53,875 --> 00:05:57,042 Last time I caught you out here, I made you a promise. 129 00:05:57,042 --> 00:05:58,833 Do you remember what I said? 130 00:05:58,833 --> 00:06:02,542 - Honestly, I don't care much that comes out your mouth. 131 00:06:03,292 --> 00:06:04,875 [man spits] 132 00:06:04,875 --> 00:06:08,208 - Sanders, he doesn't back down and he and two friends 133 00:06:08,208 --> 00:06:11,125 actually catch the rival gas station owner 134 00:06:11,125 --> 00:06:13,875 in the act painting over his sign. 135 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:15,875 - You hear that? 136 00:06:15,875 --> 00:06:17,125 This son of a bitch here 137 00:06:17,125 --> 00:06:18,833 thinks he can talk all this garbage. 138 00:06:21,042 --> 00:06:23,833 [dramatic music] 139 00:06:27,375 --> 00:06:30,000 [gun shooting] 140 00:06:37,042 --> 00:06:39,250 - The rival ends up shooting 141 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:42,375 one of Sanders' associates, killing him. 142 00:06:43,750 --> 00:06:46,750 Sanders shoots his rival, shoots him in the shoulder, 143 00:06:49,125 --> 00:06:50,500 but he lives. 144 00:06:51,542 --> 00:06:53,208 When the authorities sort it all out, 145 00:06:53,208 --> 00:06:56,542 they determined that Sanders acted in self-defense, 146 00:06:56,542 --> 00:07:00,042 and his rival ends up getting convicted of murder 147 00:07:00,042 --> 00:07:01,542 and getting a long jail term, 148 00:07:01,542 --> 00:07:04,042 which I suppose solves rather nicely 149 00:07:04,042 --> 00:07:07,125 the problem of getting your signs painted over. 150 00:07:07,125 --> 00:07:08,167 - Sebastian, get help. 151 00:07:08,167 --> 00:07:09,583 Get some help! 152 00:07:09,583 --> 00:07:11,792 - [Narrator] With his competitor eliminated, 153 00:07:13,750 --> 00:07:17,208 Sanders can focus on selling his fried chicken. 154 00:07:17,208 --> 00:07:21,125 And by the 1930s his gas station is turning a profit. 155 00:07:22,667 --> 00:07:24,625 - How long til some more's ready? 156 00:07:24,625 --> 00:07:26,375 - Hell, you only asked me that like two minutes ago. 157 00:07:26,375 --> 00:07:28,042 So roughly we're two minutes closer. 158 00:07:28,042 --> 00:07:30,083 - [Narrator] But pan frying his chicken, 159 00:07:30,083 --> 00:07:32,042 is proving too time consuming. 160 00:07:32,042 --> 00:07:33,042 - Well, there's a load of people out there, 161 00:07:33,042 --> 00:07:34,333 and they're antsy. 162 00:07:34,333 --> 00:07:36,792 - Most people cook chicken in a frying pan, 163 00:07:36,792 --> 00:07:39,042 and it takes 30-40 minutes to cook chicken. 164 00:07:39,042 --> 00:07:40,833 But you got road travelers, 165 00:07:40,833 --> 00:07:43,250 and the road travelers didn't have 30-40 minutes. 166 00:07:43,250 --> 00:07:48,042 So he started to experiment with ways to get consistency 167 00:07:48,042 --> 00:07:49,792 and speed at the same time. 168 00:07:52,042 --> 00:07:54,333 [light music] 169 00:07:54,333 --> 00:07:57,042 - [Narrator] Sanders begins tinkering with modifications 170 00:07:57,042 --> 00:08:00,708 to a French cooking device called the pressure cooker. 171 00:08:00,708 --> 00:08:04,583 - Pressure cooker just literally puts a lot of pressure 172 00:08:04,583 --> 00:08:09,583 and not a lot of heat curiously onto what is cooking. 173 00:08:10,750 --> 00:08:11,958 - [Narrator] While the traditional pressure cooker 174 00:08:11,958 --> 00:08:13,583 used water, Sanders wants his chicken 175 00:08:13,583 --> 00:08:15,375 to have a crispy exterior. 176 00:08:15,375 --> 00:08:17,667 So he experiments using cooking oil. 177 00:08:17,667 --> 00:08:20,583 - Rather than using water in it, 178 00:08:20,583 --> 00:08:24,208 actually putting vegetable oil in the pressure cooker, 179 00:08:24,208 --> 00:08:25,542 in the pressure fryer, 180 00:08:25,542 --> 00:08:28,250 it was able to cook the chicken very uniformly 181 00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:30,917 with a very light outer crust 182 00:08:30,917 --> 00:08:33,125 in a very short amount of time. 183 00:08:34,917 --> 00:08:36,292 - [Narrator] The only problem, 184 00:08:36,292 --> 00:08:38,042 the heated oil in a pressure cooker 185 00:08:38,042 --> 00:08:40,625 could get too hot for the device itself. 186 00:08:40,625 --> 00:08:42,042 - It was dangerous. 187 00:08:42,042 --> 00:08:43,417 It has to be monitored. 188 00:08:43,417 --> 00:08:44,875 Sanders used talk a lot about 189 00:08:44,875 --> 00:08:48,000 how often those pressure cookers exploded. 190 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:51,958 - [Narrator] To fix this problem, 191 00:08:51,958 --> 00:08:55,208 Sanders swaps metal washers for the cooker's rubber O-rings, 192 00:08:55,208 --> 00:08:59,417 allowing him to superheat oil without risk of explosion. 193 00:08:59,417 --> 00:09:00,958 - So he's now taken a chicken 194 00:09:00,958 --> 00:09:04,833 that he's having a difficult time getting consistency out of 195 00:09:04,833 --> 00:09:07,458 in a 30 to 40 minute timeframe, 196 00:09:07,458 --> 00:09:10,250 and he is reduced the time to nine minutes. 197 00:09:10,250 --> 00:09:12,417 The pressure is now forcing 198 00:09:12,417 --> 00:09:14,292 the flavors back into the chicken. 199 00:09:14,292 --> 00:09:16,417 It is crisp, it is easy to make, 200 00:09:16,417 --> 00:09:19,042 and he can cook a lot of it very quickly. 201 00:09:20,167 --> 00:09:21,750 - [Narrator] Using the pressure fryer, 202 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:24,000 Sanders perfects his chicken recipe 203 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,375 creating a crispy on the outside, 204 00:09:26,375 --> 00:09:29,333 juicy on the inside fried chicken. 205 00:09:29,333 --> 00:09:30,958 - What the advantage of that was, 206 00:09:30,958 --> 00:09:33,042 one, the product tasted very good, 207 00:09:33,042 --> 00:09:36,042 and two, he could actually produce it very quickly 208 00:09:36,042 --> 00:09:37,375 for his customers. 209 00:09:37,375 --> 00:09:40,417 So his customers could get in and get out very quickly 210 00:09:40,417 --> 00:09:42,042 with a freshly cooked meal. 211 00:09:43,208 --> 00:09:44,708 - [Narrator] With this chicken, 212 00:09:44,708 --> 00:09:48,875 Harland Sanders will one day build a $5.4 billion empire 213 00:09:48,875 --> 00:09:51,875 known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, 214 00:09:51,875 --> 00:09:55,333 and a world renowned persona that will eventually 215 00:09:55,333 --> 00:09:56,208 consume him. 216 00:10:00,917 --> 00:10:04,292 aBy the mid 1930s, Harlandna Sanders's gas station 217 00:10:04,292 --> 00:10:06,708 fried chicken is doing so well 218 00:10:06,708 --> 00:10:10,417 that he purchases a new restaurant to serve his recipe. 219 00:10:10,417 --> 00:10:12,583 - Harland Sanders was a neerdowell. 220 00:10:12,583 --> 00:10:14,042 For the first 40 years of his life, 221 00:10:14,042 --> 00:10:16,708 he shucked around from job to job. 222 00:10:16,708 --> 00:10:19,833 Nothing seemed to go real well in his life 223 00:10:19,833 --> 00:10:22,458 except that people liked the chicken that he cooked. 224 00:10:22,458 --> 00:10:24,125 So just logically said, 225 00:10:24,125 --> 00:10:27,125 okay, I'll put both feet into the restaurant business. 226 00:10:29,708 --> 00:10:33,125 - [Narrator] Sanders' restaurant soon receives accolades. 227 00:10:33,125 --> 00:10:36,042 - In mid 1930s, his restaurant was written up 228 00:10:36,042 --> 00:10:38,000 in what was called the Duncan Hines 229 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,875 Adventures in Good Eating Travel Guide. 230 00:10:42,042 --> 00:10:43,708 - [Narrator] The Travel Guide brings customers 231 00:10:43,708 --> 00:10:46,375 from far and wide to the state of Kentucky 232 00:10:46,375 --> 00:10:48,208 to try Harland Sanders's chicken. 233 00:10:48,208 --> 00:10:51,042 - Getting a mention in the Duncan Hines travel guide, 234 00:10:51,042 --> 00:10:54,458 it's kind of like getting a call out 235 00:10:54,458 --> 00:10:56,667 from a social media influencer today. 236 00:10:56,667 --> 00:10:58,542 You can be a hole in the wall spot, 237 00:10:58,542 --> 00:11:00,542 which Sanders' chicken was, 238 00:11:00,542 --> 00:11:02,292 and by getting this write up, 239 00:11:02,292 --> 00:11:04,417 more and more people started to visit it 240 00:11:04,417 --> 00:11:08,667 because it said, "Hey, this place has great fried chicken." 241 00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:11,042 - [Narrator] In honor of this, in 1935, 242 00:11:12,042 --> 00:11:14,417 the governor of Kentucky grant Sanders 243 00:11:14,417 --> 00:11:16,875 the title of Kentucky Colonel. 244 00:11:16,875 --> 00:11:18,917 - Colonel Sanders, he did not get this title 245 00:11:18,917 --> 00:11:20,625 during his military service. 246 00:11:22,167 --> 00:11:25,042 Colonel Sanders got this from Kentucky. 247 00:11:25,042 --> 00:11:27,500 There's a thing called the Kentucky Colonelcy, 248 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,417 which is essentially an honor 249 00:11:29,417 --> 00:11:32,333 that Kentucky has been offering since the 1800s. 250 00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:34,458 It's almost like getting a key to the city. 251 00:11:34,458 --> 00:11:37,417 - [Narrator] With his new title, a new Persona is born. 252 00:11:39,708 --> 00:11:41,167 Colonel Sanders. 253 00:11:42,042 --> 00:11:43,458 [dramatic music] 254 00:11:43,458 --> 00:11:45,042 - For someone like Harland Sanders 255 00:11:45,042 --> 00:11:47,250 who had gone through countless jobs 256 00:11:47,250 --> 00:11:49,958 and had even gotten to a literal shootout 257 00:11:49,958 --> 00:11:51,875 with one of his business rivals, 258 00:11:51,875 --> 00:11:54,292 for him to still receive the title of Colonel 259 00:11:54,292 --> 00:11:57,250 from the Governor, that speaks a lot to 260 00:11:57,250 --> 00:11:59,333 what he'd really done for the state of Kentucky 261 00:11:59,333 --> 00:12:00,958 and the state of fried chicken. 262 00:12:01,875 --> 00:12:02,708 - And folks, how's everything? 263 00:12:02,708 --> 00:12:03,958 - Great, thank you. 264 00:12:03,958 --> 00:12:05,667 - Thanks for dining with us. 265 00:12:06,917 --> 00:12:10,042 - With Colonel Harland Sanders's new persona, 266 00:12:10,042 --> 00:12:12,833 there comes an opportunity to sort of turn over a new leaf. 267 00:12:12,833 --> 00:12:16,292 He's now this profoundly respectable member of society, 268 00:12:16,292 --> 00:12:19,917 and it's a profoundly legitimizing aspect for him, 269 00:12:19,917 --> 00:12:21,208 for his business, 270 00:12:21,208 --> 00:12:25,208 and really begins to craft this image 271 00:12:25,208 --> 00:12:28,250 that he uses very much to his advantage 272 00:12:28,250 --> 00:12:30,375 in his business life. 273 00:12:31,708 --> 00:12:33,125 [gentle music] 274 00:12:33,125 --> 00:12:35,333 - [Narrator] By 1950, Harland Sanders 275 00:12:35,333 --> 00:12:38,250 has been running his restaurant for over a decade, 276 00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:41,208 and with time he's become increasingly obsessed 277 00:12:41,208 --> 00:12:43,667 with protecting his secret recipe. 278 00:12:43,667 --> 00:12:45,917 - Sanders did not trust people easily, 279 00:12:45,917 --> 00:12:48,458 and that includes people he did business with. 280 00:12:48,458 --> 00:12:51,917 - This 11 herbs and spices perfect seasoning blend 281 00:12:51,917 --> 00:12:55,125 that Harland comes up with is his life's work. 282 00:12:55,125 --> 00:12:57,917 - He was so secretive about how exactly he made his chicken, 283 00:12:57,917 --> 00:12:59,875 that there's a story that he had written down 284 00:12:59,875 --> 00:13:02,917 the ingredients and then hid it above the door jam 285 00:13:02,917 --> 00:13:05,708 and only told his young daughter where it was. 286 00:13:05,708 --> 00:13:08,375 So if there was an emergency, if he had died, 287 00:13:08,375 --> 00:13:09,292 if he was in the hospital, 288 00:13:09,292 --> 00:13:11,375 only she would be able to find it. 289 00:13:11,375 --> 00:13:13,833 It makes a lot of sense that Colonel Sanders 290 00:13:13,833 --> 00:13:16,042 was so protective of his recipe. 291 00:13:16,042 --> 00:13:19,208 If he did not protect it, it would've been so easy 292 00:13:19,208 --> 00:13:21,250 for other people to copy it. 293 00:13:24,958 --> 00:13:27,125 - [Narrator] As his restaurant continues to thrive, 294 00:13:27,125 --> 00:13:29,875 Sanders befriends another restaurateur 295 00:13:29,875 --> 00:13:32,250 who he does trust. 296 00:13:32,250 --> 00:13:33,958 - So you see, Pete, 297 00:13:33,958 --> 00:13:37,958 you add my secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, 298 00:13:37,958 --> 00:13:40,750 dust it on the chicken kinda like so. 299 00:13:40,750 --> 00:13:42,000 Like this, right? 300 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,625 - Harland Sanders meets Pete Harman 301 00:13:44,625 --> 00:13:47,583 at a restaurateur convention in 1950, 302 00:13:47,583 --> 00:13:49,292 and they hit it off immediately. 303 00:13:49,292 --> 00:13:52,792 Colonel Sanders offers him to sample his fried chicken. 304 00:13:52,792 --> 00:13:54,708 - Pete Harman had never sold fried chicken 305 00:13:54,708 --> 00:13:56,250 at his Salt Lake City restaurant, 306 00:13:56,250 --> 00:13:58,375 and it's possible he'd never even tried it. 307 00:13:58,375 --> 00:14:01,083 He definitely had never had chicken like this. 308 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:04,333 - Hmm. 309 00:14:04,333 --> 00:14:05,500 - Crispy on the outside. 310 00:14:06,292 --> 00:14:08,708 Juicy and tender on the inside. - Mmm. 311 00:14:08,708 --> 00:14:09,917 - Hmm. 312 00:14:11,417 --> 00:14:14,708 - That's the best chicken I ever had. 313 00:14:14,708 --> 00:14:15,958 It is finger-licking good. 314 00:14:19,083 --> 00:14:21,958 - As the legend goes, he's the guy who coined the term, 315 00:14:21,958 --> 00:14:24,083 "It's finger-licking good." 316 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,500 [suspenseful music] 317 00:14:26,500 --> 00:14:28,542 Which if there's anything associated with KFC, 318 00:14:28,542 --> 00:14:30,000 it's gotta be that phrase. 319 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,792 You know, nothing's more KFC than that. 320 00:14:32,792 --> 00:14:33,917 - Finger-licking good. 321 00:14:35,750 --> 00:14:37,333 Well, I like the sound of that. 322 00:14:38,583 --> 00:14:40,583 - [Narrator] It's a phrase that will one day be known 323 00:14:40,583 --> 00:14:41,375 around the world. 324 00:14:43,083 --> 00:14:44,333 - Hey, looka there. 325 00:14:44,333 --> 00:14:46,167 Didn't I tell you it was finger-licking good? 326 00:14:46,167 --> 00:14:47,917 [Colonel Sanders laughs] 327 00:14:47,917 --> 00:14:49,458 - [Narrator] And that won't be Pete Harman's 328 00:14:49,458 --> 00:14:50,833 only contribution. 329 00:14:52,042 --> 00:14:55,833 - You know, Colonel, I've been thinking about 330 00:14:55,833 --> 00:14:59,083 adding a new menu item to my restaurant. 331 00:14:59,083 --> 00:15:01,875 What would you think about me selling your chicken? 332 00:15:03,208 --> 00:15:06,292 Well, you'd get a cut, of course. 333 00:15:06,292 --> 00:15:09,250 - Harman gets interested in selling the chicken at his place 334 00:15:09,250 --> 00:15:12,042 back in Utah, but Sanders is very nervous about that. 335 00:15:12,042 --> 00:15:15,458 He has never shared his chicken recipe with anybody. 336 00:15:15,458 --> 00:15:18,667 - You wanna sell my chicken in your restaurant? 337 00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:19,417 - Well, yeah. 338 00:15:20,875 --> 00:15:23,042 - And so part of the deal they end up making is, 339 00:15:23,042 --> 00:15:24,583 I'll send you the spices. 340 00:15:24,583 --> 00:15:26,708 I'm not gonna let you blend it out there yourself. 341 00:15:26,708 --> 00:15:29,125 So he sends him the spices, and they work out a deal. 342 00:15:29,125 --> 00:15:33,125 For every piece of chicken Harman sells in his restaurant 343 00:15:33,125 --> 00:15:37,375 in Utah, he has to give the Colonel four cents. 344 00:15:37,375 --> 00:15:39,708 - The two friends were happy with the deal. 345 00:15:39,708 --> 00:15:42,208 For Sanders in particular, it gave him another source 346 00:15:42,208 --> 00:15:45,208 of income while he was also running his restaurant. 347 00:15:45,208 --> 00:15:47,083 - [Narrator] Sanders doesn't know it yet, 348 00:15:47,083 --> 00:15:49,250 but this deal will not only change 349 00:15:49,250 --> 00:15:51,583 the trajectory of his own life, 350 00:15:51,583 --> 00:15:54,917 but that of the fast food landscape in America. 351 00:16:00,375 --> 00:16:04,083 - [Narrator] In June of 1956, president Dwight D. Eisenhower 352 00:16:04,083 --> 00:16:06,250 signs the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act. 353 00:16:06,250 --> 00:16:07,708 This groundbreaking act 354 00:16:07,708 --> 00:16:10,875 authorizes a spend of $25 billion 355 00:16:10,875 --> 00:16:14,083 to build 41,000 miles of new interstate highway 356 00:16:14,083 --> 00:16:16,167 connecting the entire nation. 357 00:16:16,167 --> 00:16:18,042 - Eisenhower thought this would be useful for 358 00:16:18,042 --> 00:16:20,583 bringing the country together, industrially, 359 00:16:20,583 --> 00:16:21,875 economically, culturally, 360 00:16:21,875 --> 00:16:24,042 much like the railroads in the 19th century. 361 00:16:24,042 --> 00:16:25,833 - [Narrator] But for Harland Sanders, 362 00:16:25,833 --> 00:16:28,375 the new infrastructure spells disaster. 363 00:16:28,375 --> 00:16:31,250 - Sanders is at a bit of a difficult place 364 00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:33,917 in his business life. 365 00:16:33,917 --> 00:16:37,750 The New highway has been erected in Kentucky, 366 00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:41,833 and it completely bypasses the location of his restaurant. 367 00:16:41,833 --> 00:16:44,292 So his sales are falling. 368 00:16:44,292 --> 00:16:45,708 He doesn't think there's a future 369 00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:47,125 in his restaurant anymore. 370 00:16:47,125 --> 00:16:48,292 So, he sells it 371 00:16:48,292 --> 00:16:50,292 and then all he has is his savings 372 00:16:50,292 --> 00:16:53,375 and his social security check, which is about $100 a month. 373 00:16:53,375 --> 00:16:56,167 So, he needs to find another way to make money. 374 00:16:58,667 --> 00:17:00,083 [light music] 375 00:17:00,083 --> 00:17:02,250 - [Narrator] But he still has one lifeline, 376 00:17:02,250 --> 00:17:04,500 his old friend Pete Harman. 377 00:17:06,042 --> 00:17:07,875 - What's this? 378 00:17:07,875 --> 00:17:10,250 - Well, it's the proceeds from the sale 379 00:17:10,250 --> 00:17:12,000 of your chicken at my restaurant. 380 00:17:18,792 --> 00:17:20,125 - Ooh Lord, that's a lot of chicken. 381 00:17:20,125 --> 00:17:21,792 - Oh, it sure is. 382 00:17:21,792 --> 00:17:24,375 You know, I've been calling it 383 00:17:24,375 --> 00:17:27,333 the Colonel's Kentucky Fried Chicken. 384 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:31,708 [suspenseful music] 385 00:17:31,708 --> 00:17:34,167 - Harman put up a sign outside of his own restaurant 386 00:17:34,167 --> 00:17:37,125 that said Colonel Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken, 387 00:17:37,125 --> 00:17:39,167 which piqued the interest of his customers, 388 00:17:39,167 --> 00:17:41,667 and they would come in asking for this fried chicken 389 00:17:41,667 --> 00:17:42,542 based on that sign. 390 00:17:43,833 --> 00:17:45,875 - Harman has this way of seeing things in the Colonel 391 00:17:45,875 --> 00:17:47,458 and in his chicken 392 00:17:47,458 --> 00:17:50,125 that are the same things the public would wanna see too. 393 00:17:50,125 --> 00:17:52,708 And Sanders just has this sixth sense. 394 00:17:52,708 --> 00:17:55,708 He knows a good thing when he hears it. 395 00:17:55,708 --> 00:17:57,167 [light music] 396 00:17:57,167 --> 00:17:58,750 - [Narrator] Pete Harman is also selling the chicken 397 00:17:58,750 --> 00:18:00,417 in white buckets, 398 00:18:00,417 --> 00:18:03,750 which allow the steam to escape so the food stays crispy. 399 00:18:03,750 --> 00:18:07,167 - The bucket of fried chicken goes far beyond a gimmick. 400 00:18:07,167 --> 00:18:10,542 It becomes a bit of an icon and 401 00:18:10,542 --> 00:18:14,250 I think it's more groundbreaking than people realize. 402 00:18:14,250 --> 00:18:18,375 So, for example, if you see a flat square box 403 00:18:18,375 --> 00:18:20,333 with nothing on it, you know it's pizza. 404 00:18:20,333 --> 00:18:23,125 If you saw an unlabeled geometric little oyster pale, 405 00:18:23,125 --> 00:18:25,083 you'd still know it was Chinese food. 406 00:18:25,083 --> 00:18:26,375 You saw a little clamshell box, 407 00:18:26,375 --> 00:18:28,000 you probably think it's a hamburger. 408 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,917 Well now you see a paper bucket, 409 00:18:30,917 --> 00:18:32,875 you're thinking crispy fried chicken. 410 00:18:32,875 --> 00:18:34,417 And I don't blame you one bit. 411 00:18:36,125 --> 00:18:37,458 [dramatic music] 412 00:18:37,458 --> 00:18:38,500 - [Narrator] Thanks to Pete Harman, 413 00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:40,875 Sanders is inspired to hit the road 414 00:18:40,875 --> 00:18:43,208 selling area restaurants on the idea 415 00:18:43,208 --> 00:18:45,417 of featuring his Kentucky Fried Chicken. 416 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,250 - When he was facing financial hardship, 417 00:18:48,250 --> 00:18:50,708 he literally got in his car one day 418 00:18:50,708 --> 00:18:53,542 and started driving around to area restaurants 419 00:18:53,542 --> 00:18:56,625 and saying, "If you sell my chicken, 420 00:18:56,625 --> 00:18:59,417 and if you give me four cents per chicken, 421 00:18:59,417 --> 00:19:03,583 I will teach you my preparation technique." 422 00:19:03,583 --> 00:19:05,708 - [Narrator] While Sanders would never share the secret 423 00:19:05,708 --> 00:19:09,458 behind his proprietary blend of 11 herbs and spices, 424 00:19:09,458 --> 00:19:11,750 he would provide it pre-mixed. 425 00:19:11,750 --> 00:19:14,292 - He would make it for the restaurant owner. 426 00:19:14,292 --> 00:19:16,625 He would actually demonstrate how it was cooked. 427 00:19:16,625 --> 00:19:19,125 - So nowadays when we think of franchising, 428 00:19:19,125 --> 00:19:21,750 we think of say something like McDonald's 429 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:25,375 where if someone buys a McDonald's franchise, 430 00:19:25,375 --> 00:19:27,333 they basically open up a restaurant 431 00:19:27,333 --> 00:19:28,583 with the golden arches, 432 00:19:28,583 --> 00:19:31,083 and they sell a standardized menu. 433 00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:33,583 That's not how Colonel Sanders did it. 434 00:19:33,583 --> 00:19:35,250 He went to preexisting restaurants, 435 00:19:35,250 --> 00:19:37,000 which had their own menu, 436 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,208 and he was essentially just asking them as part of the deal 437 00:19:40,208 --> 00:19:43,167 to add something to their menu. 438 00:19:43,167 --> 00:19:45,250 - [Narrator] Colonel Sanders's new business plan 439 00:19:45,250 --> 00:19:46,708 is unconventional. 440 00:19:46,708 --> 00:19:50,417 - When you franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken, 441 00:19:50,417 --> 00:19:53,792 you are not necessarily opening a brick and mortar store. 442 00:19:53,792 --> 00:19:57,042 You're licensing the Colonel's chicken recipe. 443 00:19:57,042 --> 00:19:59,542 So you're not getting a store, 444 00:19:59,542 --> 00:20:01,625 you're getting intellectual property. 445 00:20:01,625 --> 00:20:05,542 You're not getting a sort of building aesthetic, 446 00:20:05,542 --> 00:20:07,375 you're getting a taste aesthetic. 447 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:11,667 - [Narrator] Sanders goes on to franchise his chicken recipe 448 00:20:11,667 --> 00:20:15,167 to over 200 restaurants across the country. 449 00:20:15,167 --> 00:20:18,833 - He never actually owned restaurants. 450 00:20:20,083 --> 00:20:22,125 These were other people's restaurants 451 00:20:22,125 --> 00:20:24,292 and other people actually making the product 452 00:20:24,292 --> 00:20:26,542 on a daily basis. 453 00:20:26,542 --> 00:20:29,042 Four cents of chicken doesn't sound like much 454 00:20:29,042 --> 00:20:32,875 until you're selling tens of thousands of chickens a year. 455 00:20:32,875 --> 00:20:36,917 And in 1950s money, that was an extremely healthy income. 456 00:20:37,750 --> 00:20:39,833 - [Narrator] One of these restaurants is located 457 00:20:39,833 --> 00:20:41,792 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 458 00:20:41,792 --> 00:20:43,583 It's called Hobby House. 459 00:20:46,375 --> 00:20:47,458 - Hello young man. 460 00:20:48,542 --> 00:20:51,542 My name is Colonel Harland Sanders, 461 00:20:51,542 --> 00:20:54,292 and you're going to be here making my chicken recipe 462 00:20:54,292 --> 00:20:56,083 in this establishment. 463 00:20:56,083 --> 00:20:58,833 So I need to show you how it's done. 464 00:20:58,833 --> 00:21:00,208 - So you have to remember, 465 00:21:00,208 --> 00:21:02,542 Colonel Sanders was not a real colonel, 466 00:21:02,542 --> 00:21:06,333 but he used it to his advantage 467 00:21:06,333 --> 00:21:10,708 and was known for something called colonelling. 468 00:21:10,708 --> 00:21:15,375 And colonelling was Harland Sanders showing up 469 00:21:15,375 --> 00:21:19,083 at the different locations in his iconic suit 470 00:21:19,083 --> 00:21:20,875 and his string tie. 471 00:21:20,875 --> 00:21:21,833 - What's your name? 472 00:21:21,833 --> 00:21:24,000 - My name's Dave, sir. 473 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:25,792 - Oh, it's Colonel, son. 474 00:21:27,042 --> 00:21:28,792 So lemme show you how we do it here. 475 00:21:30,292 --> 00:21:34,292 - And he spoke in this incredibly folksy way. 476 00:21:34,292 --> 00:21:35,125 - That's how you do it. 477 00:21:35,125 --> 00:21:36,458 That's good. 478 00:21:36,458 --> 00:21:37,667 - And notoriously would kind of charm the pants 479 00:21:37,667 --> 00:21:39,875 off of anyone he came in contact with. 480 00:21:39,875 --> 00:21:43,292 But the truth is, this was a very carefully 481 00:21:43,292 --> 00:21:45,417 cultivated persona. 482 00:21:45,417 --> 00:21:49,250 - You take our patented blend of 11 herbs and spices, 483 00:21:49,250 --> 00:21:50,750 and you dust the chicken like so. 484 00:21:50,750 --> 00:21:54,250 - Colonel Sanders was a notorious stickler for quality. 485 00:21:54,250 --> 00:21:56,542 And so when he went around to mom and pop shops 486 00:21:56,542 --> 00:21:58,542 and small restaurants making handshake deals 487 00:21:58,542 --> 00:22:02,208 to sell chicken, he always doubled back to make sure 488 00:22:02,208 --> 00:22:03,708 that whenever he appeared, 489 00:22:03,708 --> 00:22:06,625 the chicken was being made exactly the way he wanted it to. 490 00:22:06,625 --> 00:22:07,875 - Sit it over there, that's good. 491 00:22:07,875 --> 00:22:09,667 Just put it right here on the tray. 492 00:22:10,375 --> 00:22:11,625 That's right. 493 00:22:11,625 --> 00:22:12,833 - There's a story about a young head cook 494 00:22:12,833 --> 00:22:15,500 at the Hobby House restaurant in Indiana 495 00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:18,500 that Sanders was supposedly very hard on 496 00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:20,667 when teaching him how to make his chicken. 497 00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:24,583 - The young cook realized that he had met somebody special. 498 00:22:24,583 --> 00:22:25,875 And he said at the time, 499 00:22:25,875 --> 00:22:27,958 "I knew this guy was gonna change my life." 500 00:22:27,958 --> 00:22:29,500 - [Narrator] This young cook will go on 501 00:22:29,500 --> 00:22:32,500 to help Colonel Sanders build Kentucky Fried Chicken 502 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:35,750 into a five and a half billion dollar- 503 00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:37,875 - And what's your name again, son? 504 00:22:37,875 --> 00:22:38,625 - Dave. 505 00:22:38,625 --> 00:22:39,833 Dave Thomas, Colonel. 506 00:22:41,125 --> 00:22:42,542 - If that name sounds familiar, 507 00:22:42,542 --> 00:22:44,333 it's because he's the founder of Wendy's. 508 00:22:45,750 --> 00:22:47,875 - Nice to meet you, Dave Thomas. 509 00:22:47,875 --> 00:22:49,958 - [Narrator] Thomas will give Sanders the tools 510 00:22:49,958 --> 00:22:53,833 to create the most successful chicken restaurant in America 511 00:22:53,833 --> 00:22:57,583 only to then become one of his greatest competitors. 512 00:23:03,458 --> 00:23:05,542 - [Narrator] In 1962, a talented young line cook 513 00:23:05,542 --> 00:23:06,917 is asked by his boss to oversee 514 00:23:06,917 --> 00:23:09,875 four struggling restaurants in Ohio, 515 00:23:09,875 --> 00:23:13,250 all serving Colonel Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken. 516 00:23:13,250 --> 00:23:15,708 His name, Dave Thomas. 517 00:23:17,042 --> 00:23:19,667 - Dave makes these restaurants super profitable, 518 00:23:19,667 --> 00:23:22,542 and he has a real knack for running the business. 519 00:23:22,542 --> 00:23:23,958 And Colonel Sanders takes notice. 520 00:23:23,958 --> 00:23:26,000 So he sort of takes Dave under his wing 521 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,042 and becomes something of a mentor to him. 522 00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:32,000 - Dave Thomas realized a few things. 523 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,208 Number one, you gotta simplify the menu. 524 00:23:35,208 --> 00:23:37,667 Number two, make the chicken the star. 525 00:23:37,667 --> 00:23:41,417 Number three, make the bucket iconic. 526 00:23:41,417 --> 00:23:43,667 - Colonel, lemme show you something. 527 00:23:45,375 --> 00:23:46,917 We've updated the chicken bucket. 528 00:23:47,875 --> 00:23:51,125 - You mind holding this for me, Dave? 529 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:53,000 Well, will you look at that? 530 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,167 [Colonel Sanders laughs] 531 00:23:54,167 --> 00:23:55,667 - So even though it was Pete Harman 532 00:23:55,667 --> 00:23:59,500 that created the bucket of fried chicken, 533 00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:02,000 it was Dave Thomas who created the iconic 534 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,583 red and white bucket, 535 00:24:03,583 --> 00:24:06,583 solidifying one of the most iconic 536 00:24:06,583 --> 00:24:08,750 elements of fast food branding. 537 00:24:08,750 --> 00:24:11,875 - So Dave Thomas comes up with an amazing idea. 538 00:24:11,875 --> 00:24:14,458 He wants to put Colonel Sanders's picture 539 00:24:14,458 --> 00:24:16,542 on the buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken. 540 00:24:16,542 --> 00:24:17,833 And from that point on, 541 00:24:17,833 --> 00:24:20,875 Colonel Sanders became a fast food icon. 542 00:24:20,875 --> 00:24:23,708 - Thomas sees Sanders as a symbol 543 00:24:23,708 --> 00:24:25,292 for Kentucky Fried Chicken, 544 00:24:25,292 --> 00:24:27,208 and it's something not that many fast food restaurants have, 545 00:24:27,208 --> 00:24:31,458 where you have someone who is this very stylized mascot, 546 00:24:31,458 --> 00:24:32,792 but also a real person. 547 00:24:32,792 --> 00:24:35,375 Like you don't have Ronald McDonald 548 00:24:35,375 --> 00:24:38,708 as a real person who has like lived their entire life. 549 00:24:39,958 --> 00:24:41,792 - Kentucky Fried Chicken's our bestselling item, 550 00:24:41,792 --> 00:24:44,375 and there's no question that your chicken is amazing, 551 00:24:44,375 --> 00:24:46,958 but you Colonel, you're the legend. 552 00:24:48,667 --> 00:24:51,208 - Thomas sees Colonel Sanders as the ultimate advertising 553 00:24:51,208 --> 00:24:53,417 for Kentucky Fried Chicken. 554 00:24:53,417 --> 00:24:55,583 - I might just have to agree with you, son. 555 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:58,792 - [Narrator] Along with the new branding of the buckets 556 00:24:58,792 --> 00:25:00,667 featuring the Colonel's likeness, 557 00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:02,750 Thomas also encourages Sanders 558 00:25:02,750 --> 00:25:05,667 to begin a wide scale marketing push. 559 00:25:05,667 --> 00:25:07,542 - Dave Thomas recognized that Colonel Sanders 560 00:25:07,542 --> 00:25:09,250 was an incredible salesperson. 561 00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:11,167 He could sell anything to anyone, 562 00:25:11,167 --> 00:25:15,000 but he was limited in what he could do person to person. 563 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,833 And what Dave Thomas really pushed Colonel Sanders to do 564 00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:20,750 was to get himself out there on radio, on television, 565 00:25:20,750 --> 00:25:23,500 to really cash in on his asset of being 566 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:25,542 this charismatic pitchman 567 00:25:25,542 --> 00:25:28,083 and turning him into a bonafide star. 568 00:25:28,083 --> 00:25:31,292 - [Narrator] Following Thomas' advice, in 1963, 569 00:25:31,292 --> 00:25:34,667 Sanders makes his first national television appearance 570 00:25:34,667 --> 00:25:37,833 as the mystery guest on an episode of What's My Line, 571 00:25:37,833 --> 00:25:41,583 a popular quiz show of the 1950s and 60s. 572 00:25:41,583 --> 00:25:43,875 [audience applauding] 573 00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:45,875 - He was selected for the show specifically 574 00:25:45,875 --> 00:25:49,542 because he was still a relatively obscure character, 575 00:25:49,542 --> 00:25:52,875 and the panelists had trouble guessing who he was. 576 00:25:52,875 --> 00:25:54,083 - Colonel, I don't know what you do, 577 00:25:54,083 --> 00:25:56,667 but I think you look too beautiful to work. 578 00:25:56,667 --> 00:25:58,792 [audience laughing] 579 00:25:58,792 --> 00:26:01,208 - The brilliance of a TV appearance like this was that 580 00:26:01,208 --> 00:26:02,792 it was basically free advertising 581 00:26:02,792 --> 00:26:04,542 for Kentucky Fried Chicken. 582 00:26:04,542 --> 00:26:06,083 He didn't have to pay for a commercial. 583 00:26:06,083 --> 00:26:08,583 Instead, he got to talk about how great his chicken was 584 00:26:08,583 --> 00:26:10,542 to a national audience. 585 00:26:10,542 --> 00:26:11,958 - [Narrator] The panelists on What's My Line, 586 00:26:11,958 --> 00:26:13,958 may not have known Colonel Sanders 587 00:26:13,958 --> 00:26:17,667 and his fried chicken yet, but America soon would. 588 00:26:18,875 --> 00:26:20,000 - The TV appearance really helped 589 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,833 the KFC brand get national recognition 590 00:26:22,833 --> 00:26:26,625 and also helped Colonel Sanders get national recognition. 591 00:26:26,625 --> 00:26:28,750 - [Narrator] The media push is working, 592 00:26:28,750 --> 00:26:30,958 and Sanders's empire is expanding. 593 00:26:30,958 --> 00:26:33,042 - Harland Sanders gets to a point where 594 00:26:33,042 --> 00:26:36,583 he's licensed his recipe to 600 restaurants 595 00:26:36,583 --> 00:26:37,833 across the country, 596 00:26:37,833 --> 00:26:40,542 and he's making about $300,000 a year, 597 00:26:40,542 --> 00:26:42,958 but he doesn't own a single one. 598 00:26:44,208 --> 00:26:47,208 - By this time, Colonel Sanders is a 74-year-old guy 599 00:26:47,208 --> 00:26:50,042 who knows chicken, but he's not a business guy. 600 00:26:50,042 --> 00:26:52,708 There is no way he knows how to make it standardized 601 00:26:52,708 --> 00:26:55,583 across 600 plus restaurants, 602 00:26:55,583 --> 00:26:57,333 at least not without professional help. 603 00:26:58,875 --> 00:27:02,000 - [Narrator] In 1964, Sanders seeks out that help 604 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,625 and meets with Kentucky businessman John Y. Brown. 605 00:27:05,625 --> 00:27:07,625 Brown and his partner Jack Massey 606 00:27:07,625 --> 00:27:09,875 believed they can take Sanders chicken 607 00:27:09,875 --> 00:27:13,250 from a licensed product to a brick and mortar franchise. 608 00:27:14,375 --> 00:27:15,458 - John Brown is a salesman. 609 00:27:15,458 --> 00:27:16,708 He is a lawyer. 610 00:27:16,708 --> 00:27:19,375 He ultimately becomes a politician. 611 00:27:19,375 --> 00:27:22,042 And Massey was a financier. 612 00:27:22,042 --> 00:27:23,792 He's a money man. 613 00:27:23,792 --> 00:27:28,042 They see the huge success Colonel Sanders is having, 614 00:27:28,042 --> 00:27:31,208 and they know that if we actually use 615 00:27:31,208 --> 00:27:32,708 solid business practices, 616 00:27:32,708 --> 00:27:36,958 that even more money is going to be made. 617 00:27:36,958 --> 00:27:38,958 - [Narrator] Brown presents Sanders with an offer 618 00:27:38,958 --> 00:27:40,958 to buy Kentucky Fried Chicken. 619 00:27:40,958 --> 00:27:42,917 - Colonel Sanders is an icon. 620 00:27:42,917 --> 00:27:45,167 He has the recipe, he has the pressure cookers, 621 00:27:45,167 --> 00:27:48,250 but he doesn't have a ton of experience 622 00:27:48,250 --> 00:27:51,875 running a massive, massive fast food empire. 623 00:27:51,875 --> 00:27:55,042 So as he's getting older, he's in his 70s, 624 00:27:55,042 --> 00:27:58,833 he starts to think about is it time to maybe sell KFC? 625 00:27:58,833 --> 00:28:00,750 - Brown's offer is appealing, 626 00:28:00,750 --> 00:28:03,292 but Sanders has one non-negotiable condition. 627 00:28:04,708 --> 00:28:06,792 - I'm willing to make this here deal, 628 00:28:06,792 --> 00:28:08,875 but I need you to promise me one thing, 629 00:28:10,083 --> 00:28:12,167 you won't change my original recipe. 630 00:28:13,542 --> 00:28:15,417 - I am never gonna mess with perfection. 631 00:28:16,583 --> 00:28:17,667 It's a deal, Colonel. 632 00:28:18,917 --> 00:28:21,750 - [Narrator] Sanders is given a $2 million buyout 633 00:28:21,750 --> 00:28:23,917 worth more than 17 million today. 634 00:28:26,083 --> 00:28:28,083 - And in addition to that, they offer him a salary, 635 00:28:28,083 --> 00:28:30,583 which initially was 40,000 a year 636 00:28:30,583 --> 00:28:34,042 to continue to represent the brand. 637 00:28:34,042 --> 00:28:35,542 - [Narrator] While it seems like an altogether 638 00:28:35,542 --> 00:28:37,208 lucrative deal at the time, 639 00:28:37,208 --> 00:28:40,125 there's one thing the contract doesn't offer Sanders. 640 00:28:40,125 --> 00:28:41,875 - The contract had no end date. 641 00:28:41,875 --> 00:28:44,250 So Colonel Sanders was contracted 642 00:28:44,250 --> 00:28:46,250 basically on terms that would last 643 00:28:46,250 --> 00:28:47,375 until the end of his life. 644 00:28:47,375 --> 00:28:49,500 - [Narrator] Now controlling the business elements 645 00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:51,042 of Kentucky Fried Chicken, 646 00:28:51,042 --> 00:28:54,333 Brown and Massey begin giving franchisees the option 647 00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:57,875 to convert to Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. 648 00:28:57,875 --> 00:28:59,792 At the same time, they continue to launch 649 00:28:59,792 --> 00:29:01,375 new franchises. 650 00:29:01,375 --> 00:29:04,958 - Once Brown takes control, that's when we start seeing 651 00:29:04,958 --> 00:29:08,375 more of a standardization of restaurants 652 00:29:08,375 --> 00:29:11,833 where freestanding Kentucky Fried chicken restaurants 653 00:29:11,833 --> 00:29:14,375 start being open and becoming the norm. 654 00:29:14,375 --> 00:29:19,250 They basically started sending out facades of a building. 655 00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:21,542 So you could put this facade 656 00:29:21,542 --> 00:29:23,417 on top of your preexisting building 657 00:29:23,417 --> 00:29:26,875 so it would look like every other Kentucky Fried chicken 658 00:29:26,875 --> 00:29:28,208 in the country. 659 00:29:28,208 --> 00:29:30,792 And that it proved to be a successful strategy 660 00:29:30,792 --> 00:29:32,833 because people would see that, 661 00:29:32,833 --> 00:29:34,208 and they would recognize, 662 00:29:34,208 --> 00:29:37,625 that's a place I wanna go to get some quality chicken. 663 00:29:37,625 --> 00:29:39,167 - [Narrator] In addition to expansion, 664 00:29:39,167 --> 00:29:43,167 intent to build on Sanders's previous television success, 665 00:29:43,167 --> 00:29:46,875 Brown leans into the influence of free advertising. 666 00:29:46,875 --> 00:29:48,333 - You serve fried chicken? 667 00:29:48,333 --> 00:29:50,542 [Colonel Sanders laughs] - Do we serve Fried chicken? 668 00:29:50,542 --> 00:29:52,583 Ooh-wee, we do serve fried chicken. 669 00:29:52,583 --> 00:29:55,667 - Colonel Sanders basically becomes a national celebrity. 670 00:29:55,667 --> 00:29:57,917 He's on shows like The Tonight Show 671 00:29:57,917 --> 00:30:00,917 with a box that allegedly contained $2 million. 672 00:30:00,917 --> 00:30:03,167 He's also on the Merv Griffin Show, 673 00:30:03,167 --> 00:30:06,833 and they have an actor come down into the audience saying, 674 00:30:06,833 --> 00:30:09,167 "Looking for the colonel that stole my wife." 675 00:30:09,167 --> 00:30:12,125 So there's a lot of gimmicky things that went on 676 00:30:12,125 --> 00:30:15,042 around this time where Colonel Sanders is just serving 677 00:30:15,042 --> 00:30:16,958 as the face, the spokesperson, 678 00:30:16,958 --> 00:30:19,750 to get people excited about KFC. 679 00:30:19,750 --> 00:30:21,375 - [Narrator] Colonel Sanders is fast becoming 680 00:30:21,375 --> 00:30:24,083 a household name across the United States. 681 00:30:24,083 --> 00:30:27,583 And the once rough and rowdy brawler is now known to most 682 00:30:27,583 --> 00:30:29,458 as a down-home southern gentleman. 683 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,875 - Brown and Massey now have this national celebrity 684 00:30:33,875 --> 00:30:35,542 who was associated with the brand. 685 00:30:35,542 --> 00:30:36,333 That's huge. 686 00:30:37,208 --> 00:30:39,000 - [Narrator] In the mid 1960s, 687 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,792 Sanders begins appearing in commercials 688 00:30:41,792 --> 00:30:43,208 for Kentucky Fried Chicken. 689 00:30:43,208 --> 00:30:44,875 - [Colonel Sanders] Folks call it finger-licking good. 690 00:30:44,875 --> 00:30:46,792 The best compliment you can pay a man for cooking. 691 00:30:48,042 --> 00:30:49,042 - You know, it's really important to understand 692 00:30:49,042 --> 00:30:51,042 where America was in the 60s and 70s 693 00:30:51,042 --> 00:30:53,083 as the Colonel's getting a traction. 694 00:30:53,083 --> 00:30:55,458 It was a contentious decade in the 60s, 695 00:30:55,458 --> 00:30:57,458 and a lot going on in the 70s. 696 00:30:57,458 --> 00:30:59,708 And the Colonel looked like he stepped out of a time machine 697 00:30:59,708 --> 00:31:01,583 of the late 1800s 698 00:31:01,583 --> 00:31:02,875 and was like your great-grandpa 699 00:31:02,875 --> 00:31:05,042 making you this incredible recipe. 700 00:31:05,042 --> 00:31:08,208 It made America feel warm, it made America feel safe, 701 00:31:08,208 --> 00:31:11,208 and most of all, it made America buy his chicken. 702 00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:13,917 - So prior to Colonel Sanders, 703 00:31:13,917 --> 00:31:16,833 there were all kinds of brand mascots. 704 00:31:16,833 --> 00:31:18,667 There's the Sun-Maid girl, there's Aunt Jemima, 705 00:31:18,667 --> 00:31:20,125 there's Mr. Peanut, 706 00:31:20,125 --> 00:31:23,792 but he is really first to be the kind of 707 00:31:23,792 --> 00:31:26,000 human incarnation of his brand. 708 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,458 He is Colonel Sanders. 709 00:31:27,458 --> 00:31:30,208 He's that white bearded man who's on the package 710 00:31:30,208 --> 00:31:32,667 and who's selling you your chicken. 711 00:31:32,667 --> 00:31:36,208 - I think when we see the founder connected to a brand, 712 00:31:36,208 --> 00:31:39,208 it helps us trust that brand a little bit more, 713 00:31:39,208 --> 00:31:42,083 and it also inspires more loyalty. 714 00:31:42,083 --> 00:31:43,125 I mean, we're humans. 715 00:31:43,125 --> 00:31:45,167 We wanna connect with people. 716 00:31:45,167 --> 00:31:48,542 So I think we kind of can see them as part of our tribe, 717 00:31:48,542 --> 00:31:51,792 and it just feels more real and organic 718 00:31:51,792 --> 00:31:53,875 and something we wanna be a part of. 719 00:31:55,083 --> 00:31:57,875 - [Narrator] With their spokesman now known nationwide, 720 00:31:57,875 --> 00:32:00,500 KFC is a massive success. 721 00:32:01,125 --> 00:32:05,000 But the Colonel's good fortune would soon be coming to an end. 722 00:32:06,042 --> 00:32:07,500 - I'm gonna sue Kentucky Fried Chicken 723 00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:10,000 for every last goddamn penny they're worth! 724 00:32:14,833 --> 00:32:16,208 - [Narrator] In 1966, 725 00:32:16,208 --> 00:32:18,042 just two years after buying Kentucky Fried Chicken 726 00:32:18,042 --> 00:32:19,500 from Colonel Sanders, 727 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:23,542 new owners Brown and Massey take the company public. 728 00:32:23,542 --> 00:32:25,208 - The Colonel actually appeared on the floor 729 00:32:25,208 --> 00:32:27,667 of the New York Stock Exchange for the IPO 730 00:32:27,667 --> 00:32:32,500 where he bought the first 100 shares of KFC for $10 a share. 731 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:34,792 By the end of the day, the stock split, 732 00:32:34,792 --> 00:32:38,292 and he was selling those same shares back for $400 a share, 733 00:32:38,292 --> 00:32:40,250 making him a nice windfall. 734 00:32:40,250 --> 00:32:43,125 - [Narrator] So successful is KFC's expansion 735 00:32:43,125 --> 00:32:46,000 that they even surpass one of the biggest names 736 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:47,375 in fast food. 737 00:32:47,375 --> 00:32:51,750 - KFC experiences just amazing propulsive growth 738 00:32:51,750 --> 00:32:53,417 under Brown and Massey. 739 00:32:53,417 --> 00:32:58,333 By 1970, there's a KFC in every state in the union. 740 00:32:58,333 --> 00:33:02,958 And for a period, KFC is actually a bigger chain 741 00:33:02,958 --> 00:33:04,583 than McDonald's. 742 00:33:05,875 --> 00:33:09,708 - [Narrator] By 1971, there are 3,500 Kentucky Fried Chicken 743 00:33:09,708 --> 00:33:15,042 restaurant franchises making $700 million annually. 744 00:33:15,042 --> 00:33:17,458 That same year, Brown receives an offer 745 00:33:17,458 --> 00:33:20,708 from a Connecticut based food and alcohol conglomerate 746 00:33:20,708 --> 00:33:23,542 called the Heublein Corporation. 747 00:33:23,542 --> 00:33:25,875 They wanna buy Kentucky Fried Chicken 748 00:33:25,875 --> 00:33:29,292 for a staggering $283 million, 749 00:33:29,292 --> 00:33:32,708 the equivalent of 1.6 billion today. 750 00:33:32,708 --> 00:33:37,917 - When Brown and Massey sell, they sell it for $283 million, 751 00:33:37,917 --> 00:33:41,583 which is way more than the price they paid to purchase it 752 00:33:41,583 --> 00:33:44,958 less than a decade before, which was just $2 million. 753 00:33:44,958 --> 00:33:48,208 So Colonel Sanders, I mean, that hat to sting 754 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:50,167 to watch the company that he founded 755 00:33:50,167 --> 00:33:53,167 that he's still representing, 756 00:33:53,167 --> 00:33:57,583 but he's not getting a piece of that $283 million pie. 757 00:33:58,583 --> 00:34:01,000 - And Heublein is known for selling alcohol. 758 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:05,458 They have brands like Smirnoff Vodka, Jose Cuervo, Bass Ale, 759 00:34:05,458 --> 00:34:07,625 and Colonel Sanders doesn't drink. 760 00:34:07,625 --> 00:34:09,375 So he's not too happy about 761 00:34:09,375 --> 00:34:11,500 his brand being associated with that company. 762 00:34:11,500 --> 00:34:13,375 - [Narrator] Despite his discontent, 763 00:34:13,375 --> 00:34:16,167 Sanders is still locked into his contract 764 00:34:16,167 --> 00:34:18,458 to represent the brand as the Colonel, 765 00:34:18,458 --> 00:34:21,167 now making just $75,000 a year. 766 00:34:21,167 --> 00:34:24,042 - The Colonel was expected to keep up this lovable, 767 00:34:24,042 --> 00:34:26,250 grandfatherly persona after the sale, 768 00:34:26,250 --> 00:34:29,042 but in reality, he was really upset about it. 769 00:34:30,292 --> 00:34:32,083 - The upside of having a founder who's almost a mascot 770 00:34:32,083 --> 00:34:34,958 is that it's amazing marketing. 771 00:34:34,958 --> 00:34:38,708 The downside is that if this founder 772 00:34:38,708 --> 00:34:40,375 has anything negative going on, 773 00:34:40,375 --> 00:34:42,833 has anything negative to say about business decisions, 774 00:34:42,833 --> 00:34:46,292 they can do an immense amount of reputational damage. 775 00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:48,958 - [Narrator] To make matters worse, 776 00:34:48,958 --> 00:34:51,250 in an effort to boost profits, 777 00:34:51,250 --> 00:34:54,167 Heublein implements a series of cost-cutting measures. 778 00:34:55,042 --> 00:34:58,333 - In the sale of KFC to Heublein, 779 00:34:58,333 --> 00:35:01,625 Colonel Sanders's original recipe gets completely scrapped, 780 00:35:01,625 --> 00:35:03,625 and that was essentially his life's work. 781 00:35:03,625 --> 00:35:06,125 He'd worked really hard on developing that recipe 782 00:35:06,125 --> 00:35:07,792 and that combination of flavors. 783 00:35:07,792 --> 00:35:10,167 So of course he's none too happy about that. 784 00:35:11,542 --> 00:35:14,083 [pounding on the table] [gagging] 785 00:35:18,750 --> 00:35:20,333 - Those goddamn sons of bitches! 786 00:35:21,458 --> 00:35:23,042 I'm gonna sue Kentucky Fried Chicken 787 00:35:23,042 --> 00:35:25,208 for every last goddamn penny they're worth! 788 00:35:27,250 --> 00:35:29,292 - [Narrator] A frustrated Sanders turns to 789 00:35:29,292 --> 00:35:32,500 a trusted friend and former protege. 790 00:35:33,708 --> 00:35:36,708 [suspenseful music] 791 00:35:36,708 --> 00:35:37,500 - Hello? 792 00:35:38,167 --> 00:35:40,875 - Dave, those bastards changed my recipe. 793 00:35:42,042 --> 00:35:43,625 This chicken ain't fit for my dogs. 794 00:35:45,042 --> 00:35:48,792 No way in hell I'm gonna put my name, my face on that slop, 795 00:35:48,792 --> 00:35:50,375 not for one more day. 796 00:35:51,292 --> 00:35:53,250 - So after the sell to Heublein, 797 00:35:53,250 --> 00:35:56,083 Colonel Sanders is obviously upset, 798 00:35:56,083 --> 00:35:57,583 and he turns to his friend 799 00:35:57,583 --> 00:36:00,167 and longtime confident Dave Thomas. 800 00:36:00,167 --> 00:36:03,208 Harland, I'm in no position to stop them. 801 00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,000 - But Dave Thomas owned shares of KFC. 802 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,917 So during that sell, he made a pretty nice amount of money, 803 00:36:10,917 --> 00:36:13,917 and he was using that money to open up his own business. 804 00:36:13,917 --> 00:36:18,458 So he was kind of busy, and that business was Wendy's. 805 00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:23,417 - Between 1989 and 2002, Dave appeared in over 800 806 00:36:24,167 --> 00:36:25,333 Wendy's TV commercials, 807 00:36:25,333 --> 00:36:27,417 following in Harland Sanders footsteps. 808 00:36:27,417 --> 00:36:29,667 - [Narrator] As his former apprentice begins his rise 809 00:36:29,667 --> 00:36:33,375 in the fast food world, Sanders prepares to declare war 810 00:36:33,375 --> 00:36:35,833 on the company he himself created. 811 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,625 in the fast food world, Sanders prepares to decnseful m] 812 00:36:40,625 --> 00:36:43,625 - Narrator] In 1973, feeling the sting of corporate betrayal, 813 00:36:43,625 --> 00:36:45,750 Colonel Sanders goes on the offensive 814 00:36:45,750 --> 00:36:48,583 in the best way he knows how, through the media. 815 00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:50,625 - Harland Sanders essentially has to watch 816 00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:52,792 the company that he built fall apart 817 00:36:52,792 --> 00:36:54,292 in front of his own eyes 818 00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:56,333 because of how Heublein's treating his recipe 819 00:36:56,333 --> 00:36:57,625 and his chicken. 820 00:36:57,625 --> 00:36:59,375 The chicken's dropping in quality, 821 00:36:59,375 --> 00:37:02,542 and people are going so far as to stopping him on the street 822 00:37:02,542 --> 00:37:05,500 to tell him how bad this chicken has gotten. 823 00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:09,000 So he decides to go scorched Earth. 824 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,375 - [Narrator] Sanders gives an interview to a food critic 825 00:37:11,375 --> 00:37:13,250 in the New York Times, 826 00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:14,542 eviscerating his own company. 827 00:37:14,542 --> 00:37:18,000 - He is telling everyone how bad the chicken is. 828 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,708 He's saying he wouldn't even feed it to his dogs. 829 00:37:20,708 --> 00:37:24,292 So for the symbol who represents KFC to just be 830 00:37:24,292 --> 00:37:26,750 really saying all of these negative things about it, 831 00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:29,292 it's really, really rough news for the company. 832 00:37:30,500 --> 00:37:32,208 He was completely beloved by Americans, 833 00:37:32,208 --> 00:37:33,542 and they trusted him. 834 00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:38,167 So him shouting from the rooftops that KFC's food was bad 835 00:37:38,167 --> 00:37:40,625 was obviously not great for business. 836 00:37:40,625 --> 00:37:43,792 - It's almost as if Ronald McDonald was out going on TV 837 00:37:43,792 --> 00:37:46,625 and giving interviews about how bad McDonald's food was. 838 00:37:47,833 --> 00:37:50,917 What it boils down to is the Colonel wasn't really 839 00:37:50,917 --> 00:37:52,375 a businessman at heart. 840 00:37:52,375 --> 00:37:55,208 He had the soul of an artist, 841 00:37:55,208 --> 00:37:58,125 and his art was his chicken and his food, 842 00:37:58,125 --> 00:38:01,292 and that was more important to him than the bottom line. 843 00:38:02,458 --> 00:38:03,708 - [Narrator] In addition to his public outrage, 844 00:38:03,708 --> 00:38:08,000 Sanders sues Kentucky Fried Chicken for $122 million 845 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,708 for misusing his image 846 00:38:09,708 --> 00:38:12,542 and promoting products that he hadn't developed. 847 00:38:12,542 --> 00:38:14,333 But he's not done yet. 848 00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:17,625 In 1974, Colonel Harland Sanders announces 849 00:38:17,625 --> 00:38:21,375 that he plans to open the Colonel's Ladies Dinner house, 850 00:38:21,375 --> 00:38:23,583 an antebellum themed restaurant 851 00:38:23,583 --> 00:38:25,042 in honor of his wife, Caludia. 852 00:38:25,042 --> 00:38:26,583 - He says, I'm gonna go open 853 00:38:26,583 --> 00:38:29,042 my own chicken restaurant again, 854 00:38:29,042 --> 00:38:31,417 and I'm gonna name it after my wife this time. 855 00:38:31,417 --> 00:38:32,833 And of course, Heublein, 856 00:38:32,833 --> 00:38:36,792 who had just purchased KFC for a boatload of money, 857 00:38:36,792 --> 00:38:38,375 they weren't too excited about the idea 858 00:38:38,375 --> 00:38:39,708 of Harland stepping out on his own 859 00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,750 and opening yet another chicken restaurant, 860 00:38:41,750 --> 00:38:45,000 but Harland would not be told no. 861 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,958 [suspenseful music] 862 00:38:49,708 --> 00:38:52,708 - [Narrator] Recognizing the PR disaster on their hands, 863 00:38:52,708 --> 00:38:55,708 Heublein approaches Sanders with an offer. 864 00:38:55,708 --> 00:39:00,042 - Mr. Sanders, Heublein is offering quite a generous amount 865 00:39:00,042 --> 00:39:02,625 in exchange for your cooperation. 866 00:39:03,917 --> 00:39:07,417 - In response, Heublein says, we'll do you one better, 867 00:39:07,417 --> 00:39:09,833 and we'll give you a million dollars. 868 00:39:12,042 --> 00:39:14,542 - In exchange, they required that the Colonel 869 00:39:14,542 --> 00:39:18,625 cease and desist any criticism of KFC in the press. 870 00:39:18,625 --> 00:39:20,833 In other words, they begged him to keep his mouth shut. 871 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:24,667 - I don't think I can sign this, 872 00:39:25,875 --> 00:39:28,667 not unless you go back to my original recipe, 873 00:39:29,875 --> 00:39:32,708 and I get to teach those people how to make my chicken. 874 00:39:33,792 --> 00:39:35,708 - Heublein extended the olive branch 875 00:39:35,708 --> 00:39:37,708 and offered to remedy the situation 876 00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:40,500 by inviting Colonel Sanders down personally 877 00:39:40,500 --> 00:39:42,625 to meet with the senior leadership team 878 00:39:42,625 --> 00:39:45,250 and help them correct any recipe changes 879 00:39:45,250 --> 00:39:48,292 that may have happened since they took over the company. 880 00:39:48,292 --> 00:39:51,958 - Well, okay then, yes, that can be arranged. 881 00:39:53,833 --> 00:39:56,375 - Finally, Heublein asked him to change the name 882 00:39:56,375 --> 00:39:58,125 of his wife's restaurant. 883 00:39:58,125 --> 00:40:00,917 Because they own the Colonel and his likeness, 884 00:40:00,917 --> 00:40:03,292 she definitely couldn't go naming her restaurant, 885 00:40:03,292 --> 00:40:05,375 the Colonel's Ladies Dinner House. 886 00:40:05,375 --> 00:40:07,708 So the Colonel agrees to change the name 887 00:40:07,708 --> 00:40:10,708 to the Claudia Sanders Dinner House. 888 00:40:10,708 --> 00:40:13,458 - Ultimately, Colonel Sanders walks away with a cool million 889 00:40:13,458 --> 00:40:15,583 and his recipe intact. 890 00:40:15,583 --> 00:40:18,667 He didn't get the 122 million he was originally suing for, 891 00:40:18,667 --> 00:40:21,625 but honestly, that number might have been a little inflated. 892 00:40:23,208 --> 00:40:24,708 - [Narrator] By this time, 893 00:40:24,708 --> 00:40:26,958 Colonel Sanders health is beginning to deteriorate. 894 00:40:26,958 --> 00:40:30,583 He suffers from diabetes, cataracts, arthritis, 895 00:40:30,583 --> 00:40:32,208 and general weariness. 896 00:40:32,208 --> 00:40:34,833 And just a few years later, in 1980, 897 00:40:34,833 --> 00:40:39,875 the fiery Colonel, now 90 years old, dies from pneumonia. 898 00:40:41,125 --> 00:40:44,750 Despite Sanders's death, his iconic image lives on 899 00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:46,917 as the beaming Colonel of KFC. 900 00:40:47,042 --> 00:40:50,500 - To this day, Colonel Sanders has been portrayed in KFC ads 901 00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:52,375 by at least 18 different celebrities, 902 00:40:52,375 --> 00:40:54,875 from actors to musicians to comedians, 903 00:40:54,875 --> 00:40:58,833 Darrell Hammond, Norm Macdonald, Ray Liotta, RoboCop, 904 00:40:58,833 --> 00:41:02,208 Mario Lopez, Reba McIntyre even. 905 00:41:02,208 --> 00:41:04,750 - We are about to go into the next two, three decades 906 00:41:04,750 --> 00:41:06,917 where people are gonna realize personal brand, 907 00:41:06,917 --> 00:41:09,250 consumer packaged goods is the future. 908 00:41:09,250 --> 00:41:13,375 The Mr Beasts, the Logan Pauls, the Kim Kardashians. 909 00:41:13,375 --> 00:41:15,542 I would argue that Colonel Sanders 910 00:41:15,542 --> 00:41:19,333 was one of the first personal brand consumer products. 911 00:41:19,333 --> 00:41:20,917 That is the legacy of KFC. 912 00:41:22,333 --> 00:41:26,000 - There's a lesson there that no matter how old you are, 913 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,917 no matter how much failures you've experienced, 914 00:41:28,917 --> 00:41:32,500 if you keep trying and keep working to perfect something, 915 00:41:32,500 --> 00:41:33,833 there's always the possibility 916 00:41:33,833 --> 00:41:35,750 that your wildest dreams will come true. 917 00:41:35,875 --> 00:41:39,125 - [Narrator] With more than 20,000 KFC franchises 918 00:41:39,125 --> 00:41:41,375 in over 125 countries, 919 00:41:41,375 --> 00:41:44,042 Kentucky Fried Chicken is currently valued 920 00:41:44,042 --> 00:41:46,083 at over $5.4 billion 921 00:41:46,458 --> 00:41:50,125 and is one of the largest quick service chains in the world. 922 00:41:50,125 --> 00:41:53,917 - It became such an American cultural phenomenon 923 00:41:53,917 --> 00:41:57,167 that I had KFC when I was in Iran. 924 00:41:57,167 --> 00:41:58,583 I have been to Vietnam, 925 00:41:58,583 --> 00:42:00,750 and there is a Colonel Sanders statue 926 00:42:00,750 --> 00:42:02,375 that is outside the KFC. 927 00:42:02,375 --> 00:42:04,042 I posed with it. 928 00:42:04,042 --> 00:42:06,375 He looks kind of strangely like Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, 929 00:42:06,375 --> 00:42:07,958 but that's neither here nor there. 930 00:42:07,958 --> 00:42:12,250 The point is, America exported its culture in a lot of ways, 931 00:42:12,250 --> 00:42:14,833 and a lot of it was through food. 932 00:42:14,833 --> 00:42:17,792 - The legacy of KFC is really significant. 933 00:42:17,792 --> 00:42:20,542 Before him, there were no chicken chains. 934 00:42:20,542 --> 00:42:22,375 Today, we wouldn't have Chick-fil-A, 935 00:42:22,375 --> 00:42:23,792 we wouldn't have Popeye's 936 00:42:23,792 --> 00:42:25,708 if it wasn't for that first little chicken shop 937 00:42:25,708 --> 00:42:27,250 by the side of the interstate.