Frank Carney, who co-founded Pizza Hut at age 19 in partnership with his older brother, only to use that distinction as a marketing cudgel when he became a Papa John’s franchisee years later, has died at age 82.
The Kansas native succumbed to pneumonia after rebounding from a case of COVID-19, according to news reports. They note that Carney had been suffering for years from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Carney served as president of Pizza Hut after selling the brand to Pepsico for about $320 million in stock in 1977. He bowed out of that job and the pizza business in 1980, but was drawn back in 1994 when a friend convinced him to try a pie from Papa John’s, then a regional brand hoping to establish itself as the sector’s quality player. Carney was so impressed that he signed on as a franchisee.
Spotting an opportunity, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter recruited Carney for the upstart brand’s first national TV commercial. The spot featured a fictional meeting of Pizza Hut franchisees. Carney bursts into the gathering in a Papa John’s apron and delivers the zinger to his supposed former peers, “Sorry, guys, but I’ve found a better pizza.”
Other than appearing in the ad, Carney kept a low profile in the restaurant industry after leaving Pizza Hut. He had founded the brand in 1958 as a 19-year-old student at Wichita State University. Looking for a way to pay for school, Frank convinced his 26-year-old brother, Dan, to start a pizza business with him. The pair borrowed $600 from their mother, and the venture became a hit.
He reportedly retired in his early 70s, after he was disabled by Alzheimer’s.
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