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Baskin-Robbins Co-Founder Dead at 90

Posted: 2008-05-06 20:40:06

LOS ANGELES (May 6) - Irvine Robbins, who as co-founder of Baskin-Robbins brought Rocky Road, Pralines 'n Cream and other exotic ice cream concoctions to every corner of America, has died at age 90.

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Tony Korody, Sygma / AP

'I Never Met a Flavor
I Didn't Like'

1 of 5

More than six decades after cashing in an insurance policy he received for his bar mitzvah so he could open his first ice cream store, Irvine Robbins -- the latter half of Baskin-Robbins -- died Monday at the age of 90 after a long illness.

Robbins had been ill for some time and died Monday at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., said his daughter Marsha Veit.

While the company advertised that it offered 31 flavors, in fact it has created more than 1,000 flavors, according to its Web site.

Generations of kids trooped to Baskin-Robbins stores to buy ice cream flavors like Jamoca, Daiquiri Ice, Pink Bubblegum, Nuts to You and Here Comes the Fudge.

"Frankly, I never met a flavor I didn't like," Robbins told The New York Times in 1973.

Some were short-lived and created to mark specific events, such as Lunar Cheesecake for the moon landings and Valley Forge Fudge for the 1976 bicentennial.

When the Beatles were to arrive in the United States in 1964, a reporter called to ask whether Baskin-Robbins was going to commemorate the event with a new flavor.

Robbins didn't have a flavor planned but quickly replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course."

Arby's, Taco Bell, adidas?

Sure, you've heard of them, but do you know how they got their names originally?

Meet The People
Behind the Brands

The flavor was created, manufactured and delivered in just five days, according to the Web site.

Robbins opened his first ice cream store in Glendale, Calif., in December 1945, following his discharge from the Army. He used $6,000 from a cashed-in insurance policy his father had given him for his bar mitzvah.

Robbins offered 21 flavors at the store.

"In light of what Baskin-Robbins was to become, that first store was incredibly amateurish," according to a biography by his daughter Veit. "It was called 'Snowbird' because Robbins couldn't think of anything else. The opening was delayed for a day because the paint on the floor hadn't dried."

His cousin Sybil Hartfield bought $39 of the first day's sales of $53, according to the biography.

His brother-in-law, the late Burton Baskin, opened his own ice cream store in neighboring Pasadena a year later. By the end of the 1940s, they had joined forces to create Baskin-Robbins. Robbins recalled they used a flip of the coin to decide which name came first.

They also decided to sell their stores to managers, pioneering the franchise concept for ice cream stores.

As corporate policy, employees were allowed to eat all the ice cream they wanted, because, Robbins said, "I don't want my employees stealing."

Robbins was dedicated to upholding the quality of his ice cream regardless of the cost, his daughter said.

"Everybody has a proprietary interest in ice cream," Robbins told the Times for the 1973 story. "All you have to do is mention ice cream and everybody has a flavor."

Baskin-Robbins was sold to United Fruit Co. in 1967, but Robbins continued to work for the company until retiring in the 1970s.

Today, Baskin-Robbins is part of Dunkin' Brands Inc. and has more than 5,800 franchises worldwide.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Irma; another daughter, Erin Robbins; a son, John Robbins; and sisters Shirley Familian and Elka Weiner. His son is a noted author ("Diet for a New America") and advocate of vegetarianism and natural foods.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-05-06 16:31:14

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180 comments

GusandPoppysKid1 09:22:48 PM May 08 2008

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Lynar2005 08:44:06 PM May 07 2008

The jews really know how to run a sucessful business!!

They started the copper wire business!
Two of them got into a fight over a penny.....

ASG1936 09:07:26 PM May 08 2008

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No, Homer Simpson, Beatle Nut Ice Cream was not made using real beetles just as grasshopper ice cream doesnt employ the use of real grasshoppers

VKDEC 09:52:00 PM May 07 2008

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My very favorite ice cream is BR Winter White. It is seasonal, but I just got some 2 weeks ago. They bought a good supply. It is outstanding. Thanks.

SharHensl 09:23:22 PM May 07 2008

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He lived to the rip old age of 90.
How much income tax did he pay in his lifetime?
$100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000?
Watch the movie by AARON RUSSO CALLED "AMERICA FREDOM TO FASIUM"
How much did he pay in Electric bills over his life time?
Can a man like tis guy bribe some one with a ice cream?
Do you think he could trade 1 ice cream cone for a tank of $3.95 per gallen of gas? I THINK I WOULD CHECK OUT TO AT HIS TIME IN LIFE.
GOD BLESS THE NICE MAN.

ASG1936 09:02:06 PM May 07 2008

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I once tried to make Hawaian Punch Sherbert using Hawaiian Punch concentrate and milk and sugaa and freezing the mixture, it was good but on the icy side in texture so i would rather have somebody else make it and i buy it

ASG1936 08:53:50 PM May 07 2008

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I stopped by Baskin Robbins recently, as rick nelson would say i got a feeling that i could go back there in august and see the same flavors implying baskin robbins current atttude is we have plenty of customers in 2008, we dont need to be creative anymore. Cherimoya Ice Cream would be different, ice cream with mand m/s or other items mixed up in it is just more ben and jerrys ice cream which is just ice cream with so much other stuff in it you get very little real ic cream

Lynar2005 08:44:06 PM May 07 2008

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The jews really know how to run a sucessful business!!

Jjbwnyc 08:31:50 PM May 07 2008

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he looks like a "sweet" man. Made so many people happy. Isnt that great!

ASG1936 08:20:01 PM May 07 2008

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Two signs in the background of Alice's Birthday, a 1960 dennis the menace tv story one says Banana Ice Cream another sign says Hot Fudge Shortcake A La Mode, what ever that is