American entrepreneur
Mike Fry
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1960-10-25
)
October 25, 1960
|
---|
Died
| November 4, 2012
(2012-11-04)
(aged 52)
Indianapolis, Indiana
|
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Occupation(s)
| Entrepreneur
,
Trainer
, Entertainer, Marketing expert
|
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Website
| mikefrylive.com
|
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Michael L. "Mike" Fry
(October 25, 1960 ? November 4, 2012) was an American serial
entrepreneur
, entertainer, trainer and marketing expert. He was the original
Happy the Hobo
on the
children's television series
Happy's Place
, and the creative mind behind and owner of
Fancy Fortune Cookies
.
Entertainer
[
edit
]
Mike Fry was born in
Watseka
,
Illinois
[1]
but grew up in the
Huntington
,
Indiana
area.
[2]
He was the state
Tae Kwon Do
champion in 1979.
[3]
He began
juggling
at the age of fourteen, after finding out that his grandfather used to juggle dirt clods on the farm in rural Illinois. By the age of 17 he was juggling for audiences in the local area.
[4]
Fry was accepted to the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College
, in
Venice
,
Florida
at the age of 19, graduating in 1981. He toured with the circus for the 1981 and 1982 season. He had the honor of being trained by three of the world's four
Master Clowns
:
Lou Jacobs
,
Frosty Little
, and Bobby Kay.
[5]
[
failed verification
]
He trained in heavy object balancing, which included six-foot tables, small canoes, a twenty-five foot ladder, a running chainsaw, other people, sofas, and a television set. In 1981, he became a
Guinness Book of World Records
record holder as part of a group that
juggled
the most objects at one time.
He left Ringling Brothers in 1982 and made the transition to television, where he wrote and co-produced
Happy's Place
, one of America's highest-rated children's television shows, from 1982 to 1990.
Happy's Place
aired on
Fox
affiliate
WFFT-TV
in 207 cities for eight years. At the height of the show's popularity there was a two-year wait for tickets to the show. He hosted a variety of guests from
The Harlem Globetrotters
to
Jerry Mathers
and
Tiny Tim
.
[6]
After leaving
Happy's Place
, Fry trained at
The Second City
sketch comedy
group in
Chicago
. While in Chicago he also auditioned to play the role of
Bozo the Clown
, and did some writing for the show as a result. He was also an instructor at the Illinois Juggling Institute for one year while he lived in Chicago.
[7]
Inventor
[
edit
]
During his role as Happy the Hobo, Fry became interested in inventing. In 1988 he started marketing his first viable invention, America's first gourmet flavored
fortune cookies
. Since 1988 the company has greatly expanded on his original concept of gourmet fortune cookies, specializing in flavored, chocolate-dipped, giant, and decorated fortune cookies.
[8]
In 1990 Fry started developing and marketing another of his inventions, the "Always There Bear". He spent twelve years developing, marketing and refining the idea, culminating in his invention being purchased by
Hasbro
toys in 2002. His story is featured in the book
The One Minute Millionaire
, by
Mark Victor Hansen
and Robert Allen. Fry worked with both Mark and Robert on the deal with Hasbro.
[9]
His products have been used by
Donald Trump
,
Ozzy Osbourne
,
Jay Leno
,
Conan O'Brien
,
Steven Spielberg
and many other noted
celebrities
.
[10]
Trainer
[
edit
]
In 2004 Fry joined up with his long-time friend and mentor Linda Chandler as a part of her Core Value Training Program. He used his experiences as a marketer, entrepreneur and entertainer to teach internet marketing strategies to thousands of international business owners.
[11]
Other works
[
edit
]
Prior to his death, Fry was working on publishing his own children's joke book, using jokes from his live kids' show.
[
citation needed
]
He had collected kids' joke books for many years, and he had a huge collection of them. Fry was also working on a book pertaining to goal-setting based around hours of interviews with
adventurer
and author
John Goddard
, who greatly influenced Fry to start his own life-list at age 23.
[
citation needed
]
Death
[
edit
]
On November 4, 2012 it was announced that Mike Fry had died at the
IU Medical Center
in
Indianapolis
.
[12]
He had suffered from an immune disorder for about 12 months. He was awaiting a liver transplant when he succumbed to the illness.
[13]
[14]
Media appearances
[
edit
]
Books
[
edit
]
- Purple Cow
(on-line edition) - Seth Godin: Seth Godin chose Mike Fry's Fancy Fortune Cookies as one of the most unusual niche food companies.
- The One Minute Millionaire
- Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen: Used Mike Fry's invention and story as the basis for a fictional storyline.
- Wake up and Live the Life You Love
- Steven E. and Lee Beard: Featured Mike Fry's inspirational story along with that of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Mark Victor Hansen, and John Assaraf.
- Be Unreasonable
- Paul Lemburg: Used Mike Fry's Fancy Fortune Cookies idea as an example of an "unreasonable" breakthrough and innovative business idea.
- Fortune Cookie Chronicles
: Featured Fancy Fortune Cookies, and Mike Fry's invention of the gourmet fortune cookie as part of the history of the fortune cookie.
Magazines
[
edit
]
- Indiana Business Magazine
: "It's No Secret: Four important business trends revealed in Indiana's Growth 100 companies"
Newspapers
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
- QVC: Fry appeared along with his Fancy Fortune Cookies on the show, sold out in less than three minutes.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"In Memory of Michael L Fry"
. Archived from
the original
on 18 January 2013.
- ^
"Children's TV icon, Happy the Hobo, passes away"
. 2012-11-05. Archived from
the original
on 2012-11-08
. Retrieved
2012-11-24
.
- ^
Huntington Herald Press
"Five Are Awarded Tae Kwon Do Honors". October 1979
- ^
Glader, Paul (August 7, 1995).
"Triple time: Mike Fry doesn't clown around when it comes to juggling his three careers"
.
The Indianapolis News
. pp. D-1,
D-2
. Retrieved
June 8,
2023
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Indianapolis News
: "Hoosier Creates A New Idea In Fortune Cookies!" 1993
- ^
Huntington Herald Press
"Seeking Cookie Fortune". December 15, 1988
- ^
Fort Wayne News Sentinel
"Clown moves to happier place". October 17, 1990
- ^
Excelerations: Indiana's Growth 100. November 5, 1998
- ^
One Minute Millionaire - The Toy Story: An Inventor’s Dream Come True
Archived
2006-10-21 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
"Wise Crackers: Hoosier inventor adds flavor buffet to fortune cookies". August 5, 2007
- ^
CoreValue Training - CoreValue Team & Instructors
Archived
2008-12-04 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Michael L. Fry Obituary: View Michael Fry's Obituary by The Indianapolis Star"
. Legacy.com
. Retrieved
2012-11-10
.
- ^
"Happy the Hobo Dies"
. 2012-11-05. Archived from
the original
on 2012-11-08
. Retrieved
2012-11-24
.
- ^
"Fort Wayne TV icon 'Happy the Hobo' dies"
. 2012-11-05. Archived from
the original
on 2013-01-30
. Retrieved
2012-11-24
.
External links
[
edit
]