Al Copeland | Popeyes founder, 64

Al Copeland, 64, founder of the Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken chain, died yesterday at a clinic near Munich, Germany. He had been diagnosed shortly before Thanksgiving with a malignant salivary gland tumor. Growing up in New Orleans, Mr. Copeland sold his car at age 18 for enough money to open a doughnut shop, and spent 10 modestly successful years in that business. The opening of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in New Orleans in 1966, however, caught his eye. Inspired by KFC's success, Mr. Copeland in 1971 used his doughnut profits to open a restaurant, Chicken on the Run. After six months, Chicken on the Run was losing money. In a last-ditch effort, Mr. Copeland chose a spicier Louisiana Cajun-style recipe and reopened under the name Popeyes Mighty Good Fried Chicken, after Popeye Doyle, Gene Hackman's character in The French Connection . The chain that grew from the one restaurant became Popeyes Famous. Franchising began in 1976, and the chain grew to more than 800 stores in the United States and several foreign countries by 1989. In 1983, he founded Copeland's of New Orleans, a casual Cajun-style restaurant that later expanded as far as Maryland and west into Texas. He also started Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro, Fire and Ice restaurants, and Al's Diversified Food & Seasonings. In 1989, Popeyes purchased Church's Chicken. The purchase was heavily financed, however, and escalating debt forced Mr. Copeland's company to file for bankruptcy in 1991. Although he lost both Church's and Popeyes in the bankruptcy, he retained the rights to some Popeyes products. - Associated Press