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Baskin-Robbins co-founder dies

Irvine Robbins, the man who brought Jamoca-Almond Fudge, Rocky Road and Mandarin orange chocolate ice cream to the American public died Monday at age 90 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. (AP Photo / Tony Korody / May 7, 2008)

Los Angeles Times

May 7, 2008

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Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins, whose penchant for creating unusual ice-cream flavors helped push post-World War II America far beyond its chocolate-vanilla-strawberry tastes, has died. He was 90.

Robbins, who opened his first ice-cream shop in 1945 in Glendale, Calif., died Monday of complications related to old age at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, said his daughter, Marsha Veit.

With his brother-in-law and partner, Burton Baskin, Robbins displayed a keen sense of fun and a flair for marketing that helped turn some of their frozen treats into cultural touchstones.

When the Dodgers came to Los Angeles in 1958, they were greeted with Baseball Nut, complete with raspberries for the umpires. Lunar Cheesecake was launched the day after man landed on the moon in 1969.

At the height of Beatlemania in 1964, a reporter asked Robbins what flavor would salute the Fab Four; Baskin-Robbins had yet to invent one, but Robbins replied, "Uh, Beatle Nut, of course" and had it in stores in five days.

He delighted in inventing new flavors and naming them, including his personal favorite, Jamoca Almond Fudge. By the time he retired in 1978, the company was selling some 20 million gallons of ice cream a year in more than 2,000 stores around the world.

In 1953 the partners renamed the company Baskin-Robbins, deciding the order of names with a coin toss. The "31 flavors" concept was introduced that year to bring attention to a deep menu that featured a flavor for every day of the month.

Baskin-Robbins had 43 stores by the end of 1949, more than 100 by 1960 and about 500 when the ice-cream empire was sold to United Fruit Co. for an estimated $12 million in 1967. Six months later, Baskin died of a heart attack at 54.

Robbins stayed with the company for 11 more years.

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