Last July, Gidget, the talking prima donna Chihuahua best known for making Taco Bell's fast food look cute (and, at times, even edible), passed away at 15 after complications from a massive stroke. Now comes word that the last bell tolled for Taco Bell founder Glen Bell Jr. on Sunday, when the 86-year-old entrepreneur, who'd battled Parkinson's Disease since 1985, died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. "Glen Bell was a visionary and innovator in the restaurant industry, as well as a dedicated family man," Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell, said in a statement posted on the chain's website.
Bell, a fast food maverick who first opened Bell's Drive-In, a hamburger and hot dog stand, in 1948, apparently thought Mexican food would be a hit, too, so he expanded his menu and began doling out tacos for 19 cents each, a career move that eventually led to hundreds of Tacos Bells and millions of dollars.
¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!
