From the Green Room: Cheese Doodles and Legacies

Death, while inevitable, is tragic. But for some reason, when great people pass away the heartbreak is particularly sad. The loss of folks who have made great contributions to the human condition feels somehow greater, if only because they are no longer among us to keep contributing. That is why today, I mourn Morrie Yohai, the inventor of the Cheese Doodle.
Good Ol' Morrie 
Morrie, we hardly knew ye.
 
Mr. Yohai was the president of Old London Foods, the wonderful folks who gave you Melba Toast. According to legend, Morrie was watching a cornmeal extruder machine expulse Dipsy Doodles, the rippled corn chip that most snack food connoisseurs prefer over Fritos if only because they don’t smell like feet, when inspiration struck and Morrie set about creating a tube-like snack coated in powdered cheese that revolutionized the industry. Baked, rather than fried (like the much greasier, and less addictive Cheetos), they were a lighter and "healthier" snack.

After Borden bought Old London Foods, Yohai served as Vice President until the company moved from New York to Ohio. During his tenure, Morrie was the man who chose the prizes that went into Crackerjack Boxes.  Before stumbling over this ripe tidbit of information today, I was unaware that there even WERE prizes in Crackerjack boxes. This, I now realize, must have been the reason why my pediatric gastroenterologist would always ask why I was eating whistles and plastic sherriff’s badges.
 
any Doodles on that table?What’s ironic about this sad event in snack food history is that Yohai’s son, Robbie, maintains that the Cheese Doodle was not his father’s only triumph. Apparently, he was also a WWII Marine pilot, a college teacher and administrator, a religious scholar, and an author. Yes, the grandfather of the snack food choice of Buddhist Monks everywhere (because the cheese powder is virtually undetectable on their orange robes) published a book of Torah poems. Amazon offers the Spanish translation of the paperback for $8.95. However, it’s currently out of stock.  
 
Yohai is the textbook definition of a renaissance man, and yet ultimately the only thing he will be remembered for is the Cheese Doodle. Not that it’s an unremarkable achievement, mind you; his place in the Junk Food Hall of Fame is right up there with the guy who decided to package Pringles in tennis ball containers. But one would think that a WWII Marine pilot and poet whose work was so genius it was translated into other languages would be celebrated for those accomplishments first.
 
poor Dan ResinIt’s like actor Dan Resin, a Broadway veteran who starred in "My Fair Lady," "Don’t Drink the Water," "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever," and originated roles in "Once Upon a Mattress," "Young Abe Lincoln," and "Fade Out, Fade In."  He was the Master of Ceremonies at the old Roxy Theatre, and also emceed at, no less, Radio City Music Hall. He made 14 major motion pictures, everything from "The Sunshine Boys" with Walter Matthau and George Burns to Brian DePalma’s "Wise Guys," and was the inimitable Dr. Beeper in "Caddyshack." He also made a number of commercials. And so, unfortunately, his passing was announced with the headline that featured the role he was most known for:
 
"Ty-D-Bowl Man, Dead at 79." 
 
You can be a classically trained Broadway veteran and a respected Hollywood character actor boasting a 54-year career…and your only legacy is that you were the guy in the yacht cap sitting in the rowboat in the toilet tank.  
 
Death, where is thy sting? Oh. There it is.