Post #1 - November 25th, 2010, 6:52 amPost #1 - November 25th, 2010, 6:52 am
My friend Doug Blush produced a documentary about David Klein, the inventor of Jelly Bellies, who has been all but erased from the company's history. It will be shown today at 7:00 on the Documentary Channel and, I'm sure, several other times as well. It's a very interesting story and worth checking out.
Candyman tells the amazing true story of David Klein, an eccentric candy inventor from LA, who in 1976 had a once in a lifetime epiphany and came up with the concept of Jelly Belly jellybeans. These colorful beans came in numerous shockingly realistic flavors and were a radical new product. They became a pop culture phenomenon and revolutionized the candy industry. It didn't hurt that no less a personage than Ronald Reagen, president of the USA, proclaimed Jelly Bellies as his favorite sweets. David's eccentric personality and peculiar sense of business led him to give up the business just as it was about to explode. He has struggled with bitter regrets ever since. Jelly Belly has grown into a billion dollar enterprise, and the company has deliberately erased him from its history. There is no room for an eccentric genius like this in the modern corporate world. The movie is all about both sides of the American dream. It tells how Klein lost his beans, but kept his soul.
Steve Z.
“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.” ― Ludwig van Beethoven