Profile of Harland Sanders on Famous Like Me

Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890 – December 16, 1980), better known as Colonel Sanders, was the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). His picture appears on their boxes to this day, and a stylized graphic of his face is a trademark of the corporation.

Sanders was born in Henryville, Indiana. His father died when he was six years old, and since his mother worked, he was forced to cook for his family. During his teen years, Sanders worked many jobs, including firefighter, steamboat driver, insurance salesman and a private in Cuba.

At the age of 40, Sanders made chicken for people who passed by his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. He didn't have a restaurant then, but served the diners in his living quarters in the service station. Eventually, his local popularity grew, and Harland moved to a motel and restaurant that seated 142 people and began working as the chef. Over the next nine years, he perfected his method of cooking chicken that used the same eleven herbs and spices that are used today at KFC. He also made use of a pressure cooker that enhanced the flavor and allowed the chicken to be cooked much faster than pan-frying. He was given the honorary title "Kentucky colonel" in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon. Unlike most people who receive this title, Sanders chose to call himself "Colonel" and to dress in a stereotypical "southern gentleman" costume as a way of self-promotion.

Sanders was forced to sell his property in order to make way for Interstate 75. He lived off of his Social Security checks, and based his entire career on his ability to cook. Confident of the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel devoted himself to the chicken franchising business that he started in 1952, the first franchise being setup on 4100 South State Street in Salt Lake City. He traveled across the country by car from restaurant to restaurant, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken the restaurant sold. His devoted work turned his small business, Kentucky Fried Chicken, into one of the largest fast food chains in existence. He himself became one of the most recognizable people in the world.

Sanders moved the headquarters of his business to a new location near Shelbyville, Kentucky and in 1964, sold it to a group of investors headed by future Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. Sanders, after retiring as a cook, worked as its company spokesman for most of the rest of his life. He appeared in many of his company's television commercials between the 1950s and 1970s, and remained outspoken about the quality of the KFC product, often so with a lively vocabulary.

He also retained ownership of the headquarters building and soon opened a new restaurant in it. KFC's new owners owned the name Colonel Sanders as it pertained to the restaurant business, so Sanders decided to name his new restaurant Claudia Sanders' Dinner House after his wife. As of 2005, this restaurant is still operating and is decorated with many photographs and memorabilia from the Sanders family.

Sanders died at the age of 90 of leukemia in the early hours of the morning. He was found by one of the nurses. He was buried in his characteristic white suit and black bow tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. A later cartoon version of Colonel Sanders (voiced by actor Randy Quaid) has appeared in more recent KFC commercials, and he has an almost-identical impersonator, the latter to the considerable consternation of many in the Sanders family.

To this day, the Colonel's secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices remains one of the best-kept trade secrets in business. The original, handwritten recipe is locked securely in a vault in Louisville, with partial copies stored elsewhere as backup. The two suppliers of the seasonings each only provide parts of the recipe, and do not know each other's identity. Not even the company's president knows the ingredient list, and the few people who do are subject to a strict confidentiality agreement. Several people have contacted KFC, claiming to have found copies of the recipe, but none have ever been correct. A couple who purchased the Colonel's original home found another handwritten recipe in the basement, and, although it was written by Sanders, it was determined to be nothing like the original.

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