Jim Delligatti, Who Created the Big Mac, Dies at Age 98

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

Jim Delligatti, Who Created the Big Mac, Dies at Age 98

McDonalds special burger heralded an era of growing reliance on novelty in fast food

By James R. Hagerty

[e-mail]
http://twitter.com/jamesrhagerty

Updated Nov. 30, 2016 12:45 p.m. ET

As a McDonalds Corp. franchisee in the Pittsburgh area, Jim Delligatti in the mid-1960s believed the burgers-and-fries menu needed something bigger and jazzier. He came up with the Big Mac, tested it in one of his restaurants and saw it swiftly become a national sensation, heralding an era of ever-increasing reliance on novelty in fast food.

Mr. Delligatti died Monday at his home in Fox Chapel, a suburb of Pittsburgh, his family said. He was 98 years old.

He came up with the idea for the Big Mac in 1965 and first served it at his Uniontown, Pa., McDonalds outlet in 1967. The hamburger features two beef patties, a mildly tangy sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions slathered over a soft sesame-seed bun sliced into three layers. The original price was 45 cents, compared with an average of about 5 today. McDonalds put the Big Mac on its national menu in 1968.

Mr. Delligatti acknowledged that the Big Mac was derived from double-deck hamburgers made popular by rival fast-food restaurants. This wasnt like discovering the lightbulb, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1993. The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket. Even so, his initiative helped launch McDonalds on a long-running diversification of a menu once limited to little more than basic hamburgers, fries, shakes and soft drinks.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/jim-delligatti-who-invented-the-big-mac-dies-at-age-98-1480522190

---

This will make the news on all three TV networks tonight.

I haven't eaten at a McDonald's in nearly forty years. The last time I had any of their products, I stopped at a McDonald's in Cumberland, Maryland, in 1977 or 1978. I probably bought two Big Macs. The next morning, near Manila, Pennsylvania, I had a Big Mac attack. I said to myself, "why are you eating this stuff?" or words to that effect. Since then, I haven't had anything of theirs to eat.

[Kingofalldems]

1. I submit that the Big Mac is a copy of the Mighty Mo--created

at Hot Shoppes in DC.

[Ccarmona]

27. I submit the Big Mac

Was McDonalds' response to the Bob's Big Boy sandwich, established in 1939 in Glendale, CA

[Kingofalldems]

28. Could very well be, which means the Mighty Mo was second.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

33. I remember Hot Shoppes well.

The Hot Shoppes: Teen Twists, Mighty Mo's, and Pappy Parker's Fried Chicken

They're all gone, but the recipe is online.

Hot Shoppes Mighty Mo

Ooooh, the onion rings too. I loved those.

MIGHTY MO

Full disclosure: Long ago, my grandfather's accounting firm handled the accounting for Bill Marriott. This was back in the 1930s.

[Kingofalldems]

36. Yep. Delicious food.

[LisaM]

2. I kind of like Big Macs, though I haven't had one in a while.

I always thought it was originally based on the Big Boy, which has a lot of similarities. Well, RIP, Mr. Delligatti.

[Crabby Appleton]

20. Indeed

[kebob]

3. He Lived to 98?

Obviously, he didn't use his own product much!

[dhill926]

4. haha....my thought as well....

[treestar]

18. Exactly!

[saltpoint]

5. Condolences to Mr. Delligatti's

friends and family, but will say that the media should have given at least as much time and space to the passing of Leonard Cohen as to the guy who "invented" Big Macs.

Does thinking so make me a coastal liberal?

[bluedigger]

17. I think it makes you a victim of confirmation bias.

Cohen was a widely known entertainer for decades who received a lot of press upon his death. Delligatti was an obscure cultural touchstone whose day in the public eye required his demise to achieve fleeting fame.

[saltpoint]

22. I sure do appreciate Leonard Cohen's

music, his novels, and his poetry.

A good man.

[AngryAmish]

6. About every two months I eat a Big Mac

Properly executed they are delicious.

[Freddie]

29. Yes

Once in a while it really hits the spot.

[madokie]

30. I think so

the workers here at our big mac shop are used to seeing me

Small town and not much to pick from...

what can I say

[TeamPooka]

7. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. nt

[Solly Mack]

11. My thoughts exactly.

[PJMcK]

26. Damn, how come I remember that jingle, too?! (n/t)

[SpankMe]

8. I love Big Macs.

They taste great. But, I limit myself to one per year because they are close to 700-calorie behemoths. (I lost 50 LBS a few years back and am painfully aware of calorie content now. That's why I limit myself to one Big Mac per year.)

But I honestly like them - even though they're unhealthy. I wait for some special occasion - like when my son's baseball team wins the division or something - and then a Big Mac. No fries, and a diet soda.

When I was a kid, it was a Big Mac with fries, a coke, and a chocolate shake. More than once a year, to be sure! (Dipped the fries in the shake.) I'm surprised I made it to my twenties eating that way.

[splat]

10. They're getting smaller, down to 563 calories now! n/t

[Tommy_Carcetti]

25. When I was a teenager, I would usually order two Big Macs in a single sitting.

I could also down an entire pizza pie on my own.

I had an awesome metabolism back then.

I miss those days.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

34. "two Big Macs in a single sitting"

Me too. I've eaten my share of them.

[splat]

9. I had them first as the Howard Johnson's 3-D burger in the early '60s

Here's the recipe for the sauce: http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0715S07.htm#4

[Miles Archer]

12. Here you go...

[splat]

15. Yes! Yummy. Thanks! n/t

[RobinA]

37. Howard Johnson's...

Still my favorite in roadside food, even though they disappeared from my travels decades ago. Never to be adequately replaced.

[Plucketeer]

13. I eat there

maybe twice a year on average. I used to like the fish sandwich, but over time it got to be a minnow sandwich.

[HAB911]

14. 98????????? He must have never eaten one!

[C Moon]

16. I had them twice when I was in my 20's (I'm vegetarian now), but both times

they made me feel sick afterward; so I never indulged after that. I remember thinking they tasted good back then—a little overly salty, though. My friend (band mate) called them candy.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. More from the obit:

Mr. Delligatti is survived by his wife, Ellie, two sons, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. His two sons and two of his grandchildren are McDonald’s franchisees. In all, the family owns and operates 21 McDonald’s restaurants in western Pennsylvania.

In 2007, the family opened a McDonald’s Big Mac Museum Restaurant in North Huntingdon, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

Mr. Delligatti also innovated by coming up with an early version of the chain’s breakfast offerings—hotcakes and sausages initially aimed at steelworkers returning home from overnight shifts.

[hollowdweller]

21. if he lived to 98 wonder how many he actually ate?

Just sayin

[BumRushDaShow]

23. If anything, the famous jingle for it probably tops the marketing charts

along with Clara Peller's "Where's the Beef?" retort ads.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

24. Shame me all you like. I like a good Big Mac from time to time.

They're not great burgers by most objective measures, and certainly not food that's in any way healthy, but they hit a certain spot for me. And I'm not going to apologize for that.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

35. There's no shame in that.

You should see me with a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips.

Don't blink, because the bag will be empty in no time.

In moderation, of course.

[RobinA]

38. I Don't Think

a Big Mac is any less healthy than plenty of other stuff we eat out. Really, what's wrong with it? Granted, it's not health food, but very little is. Including many "salads" you get that weigh in at way more calories than the 530 cal Big Mac.

[JonLP24]

32. He didn't eat his Big Macs

[mainer]

39. One Big Mac is perfect for sharing

hubby and I always share a Big Mac but we each get our own orders of small fries.

[mainer]

40. speaking of which, WHY did they discontinue the Big and Tasty?

That was the only other McDonald's burger that included lettuce, onion, and tomato.

Now we prefer Burger King. Because their burgers have veggies.