Colonel Sanders' Crazy Real-Life Story

Every fast food restaurant needs a colorful mascot to help sell their food, but Kentucky Fried Chicken is rare in that their mascot was a real person.
Harland Sanders was born in Indiana in 1890, even though the Colonel Sanders persona was still a character he played. Sanders wasn’t a colonel in the military, but he was an honorary Kentucky colonel, and his iconic look of a white suit with a string tie and a white mustache and goatee only came near the end of his life. Let’s take a look at the crazy real-life story of Colonel Harland Sanders.
#ColonelSanders #KFC #Truth
A poor, rural, Southern early life | 0:00
A gas station shoot-out | 1:08
The origins of the Colonel | 2:01
Famous because of Duncan Hines | 2:55
The first KFC...in Utah | 3:49
Brand ambassador at age 73 | 4:53
20 years of the white suit | 6:02
He came to hate KFC food | 7:01
He got sued by KFC and lost | 8:17
Curse of the Colonel | 9:16
Read Full Article: www.grunge.com/102462/colonel...

[@GrungeHQ]

Which detail about Colonel Sander's life did you find the most interesting?

[@NellieKAdaba]

That he started his business at a gas station.

[@TeeNelly]

Claudia Sanders Restaurant!

[@violetteberrie3245]

The part where he STOLE the recipe from a black lady known in the area for HER chicken recipe... oh you must've forgot that part🤔

[@ht2007]

@@violetteberrie3245 oh bs

[@violetteberrie3245]

@@ht2007 what's BS

[@RatRod65]

In the mid 1970's The Col. visited his restaurant in Lake Isabella Ca. His image was so familiar to me that upon reading in the local paper that he was doing a meet and greet, As a young boy of around 10, I wanted to go meet him. My mother and I were the only people to show up. He invited me to sit and have lunch with him. I guess my mom had sat at another table, so it was just he and I. I ate and just asked him questions about his life. I only remember being thrilled by sitting with "The Colonel" I wish I remembered the conversation even a little.

[@delphiavillars]

It's to greasy today for me.

[@smoth7]

[@melissanoyb]

Oh wow dude! That is a deeply cool and surreal experience. For me, it would be like meeting Santa. I would have been hypnotised by everything about him

[@bonniehowell9206]

What a unique experience! If I was alive in the 70's and lived in that area I would have begged my mom to take me there as well.

[@charlesbarnett2724]

That's wonderful. What a great memory to have😀

[@brandonbushnell-smith4020]

Colonel sanders shot a guy impeding on his turf......effing legend

[@NellieKAdaba]

Yes

[@alansmlth7989]

YES, I LOVE IT, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU GOTTA PROTECT WHAT'S YOURS!

[@brad9956]

Not to mention the fact that it was self-defense.

[@raydavison4288]

You don't mess with cookin' Colonels.

[@flintson2268]

He was southern!

[@LVSkinny]

Never give up! He aint get success til his 70s 💯

[@KYLEJACKO86]

No matter what in life you have to believe in yourself from jump

[@lamarlamar2413]

After he stole recipe from black women. Do your research brotha👍👍💪

[@Cincinnatus1869]

Never give up learning proper English. ' he ain't get' ?

[@1982A]

@@Cincinnatus1869 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Dayummmmmmmm

[@rosscoeradio3741]

Took him 7 decades of lots of work and failures to find that “white privilege”. Haha

[@kevinandyogeeta]

You didn’t mention that he lived in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada from 1965 to 1980. We even have a hospital wing named after him

[@BrownEyedBeauty804]

The lady in your picture is gorgeous!

[@kevinandyogeeta]

@@BrownEyedBeauty804 Yes she is :)

[@lilianmaher2809]

Is that why they named some of the restaurants were named Champs

[@bramabull111]

I did not know that and I grew up there!

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

There's something truly beautiful about somebody so ingrained with US culture living the last 15 years of his life in Canada. Given the current situation here I'm certainly considering it myself.

[@jonahmayo2622]

I’m proud to be from Kentucky. The colonel finally getting much love for his enormous brand. One of the biggest there is. Rest In Peace. I’ve always loved the popcorn chicken Harland. Have since I was little.

[@maryclark5329]

My Mom was manager at a KFC in the late 70's our house was very popular with the neighborhood kids as she would bring home buckets often. Lol

[@johnyoung9874]

Mary Clark. Yes, the chicken was GREAT back in the 70's, I was a Deputy Sheriff back then and sometimes the manager would call the Sheriff's Office and the dispatcher would have me to swing by KFC . The manager gave us Buckets of chicken and all the sides, that is when they opened the first store in our area. They also gave me chicken to take home from time to time. The goog old days when the food was actually good. My youngest daughter became Store Manager at the same KFC Several years later. 🍗🍗 .

[@ChickenMcThiccken]

You’re family lived like kings

[@appletherapy]

@@johnyoung9874 Awww, that’s nice . How is it compared to todays KFC? I know corporations usually ruin good things. All they care about is bonuses for making more money.

[@maryrafuse3851]

A not bad story but missing his whole connection to Canada and the fact that he lived for a while in the Great White North. Harlan Sanders was our very popular adopted Canadian son. Like a lot of folks from the US he loved Canada and was in turn deeply loved by Canadians. In Canada he was a huge celebrity visiting grand openings of his locations from coast to coast. Same as the USA. He just fit in with his southern glamour and love for the maple leaf. I doubt if we will ever see someone like him again. The Colonel was a dear caring person the world needs so many more like him. All the best to everyone from Nova Scotia.

[@elainesetzler4230]

Even though he sold the business for over a million dollars he gave much of his money away. The KFC stores in Canada used to give profits to charity. He was never a rich man just a man who gave richly! I worked for KFC for over 25 years and he was much loved. The Colonels gravy was made with dried milk, cracklens from the fryers and boiling water. Cracklens were the flour that was was left in the fryers at night. Boy was that good gravy! My boss made a promise to the Colonel to always make it his way, when KFC went to just bag gravy the boss sold the business because he couldn’t keep his promise. This was done very well.

[@D-FensDogG]

Great comment, ELAINE! Thanks for the inside scoop on the good gravy!!

[@kevinandyogeeta]

KFC today is not the same as it was years ago

[@oldenweery7510]

Y'got that right! Stay safe.

[@lilianmaher2809]

Yup

[@nicoleharrington9086]

I was about to write this

[@jasminebolten3290]

NO IT IS NOT!!!!! I DO NOT KNOW WHY HUMANS JUST DO NOT GET TO JUST STAY WITH THE ORIGINAL RECIPE!!!!!! HUMANS JUST DO NOT KNOW THAT THE OG RECIPE IS WHY THE FOOD IS SO DAMN GOOD. SHOOT, TOO GOOD!!!!!! NOTHING IS WHAT IT USED TO BE WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BETTER!!!!!!!

[@jasminebolten3290]

@@DaisyMae439 EXACTLY!!!!!!

[@lawrencemunroe6798]

As a kid I knew I spotted him on a BC ferry, the only thing that was different was he was wearing a blue suit and he told me after asking him for an autograph I had the wrong guy. I will never forget our interaction in the stairwell of the vessel unless of course, he had a twin. Remember seeing Bruno Gerussi driving a Honda prelude over the second narrows bridge, you don't easily forget this kind of stuff.

[@ruthpullis9279]

It could have been him. Or one of his brothers

[@joshuavernaccini2527]

Nice lie

[@HaightTheGreat]

Mario Lopez is playing Col. Sanders on Lifetime. Crazy.

[@Swnsasy]

It was a 15min satire type thing.. The sexy Sanders.. Lol

[@lindamaemullins5151]

@@Swnsasy 😉😋

[@thomasaquinas5262]

My instructor for restaurant management had known the Colonel. He was very similar to Gordon Ramsay. Absolutely relentless about food quality and cleanliness. Also like GR, he never backed away from a fight, even with his franchisees. Finally, again like Gordon, he had a 'rich vocabulary' that would make a sailor blush. When he was displeased, you knew it until it was fixed or until he grabbed the special fryer and put it on the back of his car, taking away your franchise...

[@kyleshiflet9952]

He famously said "if I find out that my chicken isn't being prepared right I'll back my Cadillac up and take away your fryer

[@TJS483]

He later became a Christian and repented of all those sins you mentioned. He cleaned up his mouth and was an extremely generous man.

[@rjlong89]

Why did the colonel walk into KFC? To see the chicken strip

[@stacylarge5636]

Clever

[@NellieKAdaba]

😆👍🏿

[@axelkane3459]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@ShonA777]

🤣🤣🤣

[@rafidehsan6307]

yeah I can nugget what youre talking about.

[@Digitalhunny]

Really, _really_ miss the original gravy & coleslaw. ☹

[@DBAllen]

Try the coleslaw on a hot dog.

[@alextrebek8293]

that was a really long time ago. in my 50's now but when i was a kid sometimes we'd get a bucket of kfc after church on sundays. you also got soft dinner rolls which was great for dipping in the gravy and the chicken was way better back then too

[@gracealexandre3381]

The taste, the quality of his chicken has really gone downhill since he 'kicked the bucket'.

[@batman1169]

Wonderful story. Totally forgot the Canadian connection. 🇨🇦 He kept his Canadian restaurants near Toronto airport in the city named Mississauga where he lived in a modest home and died. He loved his Canadian operations he would just come in at talk to people. He donated some of his money into the local hospital expansion and is referred by staff as The Chicken Wing . Colonel Harland Sanders Family Care Centre, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics for his love for children. ❤ 😢🍗🍗

[@jgrab1]

FUN FACT: Dave Thomas of Wendy's fame designed the paper bucket for the chicken.

[@johnyoung9874]

John. That is True !

[@jimbrewer498]

Those Japanese are so quirky! I was stationed there for a few years in the air force and they also celebrate Christmas (or their version of it) by mackin' out with the colonel. I mean they preorder their KFC months ahead! I think that their two favorite American imports are baseball and KFC!

[@alexanderbrown4250]

They love KFC in the Philippines and China. I teach English to Chinese kids. They call the Colonel KFC Grandpa.

[@bobthetvfan]

KFC came to Raleigh in 1963; Pete Rinaldi had the franchise for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area and he had the best KFC I've ever eaten. He was a stickler for following the Colonel's recipes. A few years later, when KFC bought out practically all the franchises, Rinaldi opened a new place in Durham and the Colonel actually came down for the grand opening! Coincidentally, his Raleigh franchise opened at around the same time the Colonel appeared on "What's My Line?" and became nationally famous. BTW, I've eaten at Claudia Sanders' Dinner House twice and I can assure you that the chicken tastes the way the Colonel meant for it to taste. If you''re ever in Kentucky and have never eaten there, it's located just off I-64 in Shelbyville; the house he lived in is next door to the restaurant but is not open to the public since someone else lives there.

[@dirtcop11]

I used to cut up the chicken for the KFC in my home town. I used a meat bandsaw and was very efficient at it. The meat store I worked at would sell about 20 boxes of cut-up chicken to them every day.

[@lindamaemullins5151]

I’m impressed ❤️

[@deboralee1623]

the highway was moved, affecting Sanders' business. shades of the Bates Motel's history.

[@raydavison4288]

Then later, I75 was built and it ruined a lot of small towns. I75 and I64 intersect in Kentucky and both highways have created hundreds of ghost towns along their routes. Eisenhower had a choice between expanding the American railway system or building the interstate highway system. Had he gone with rail, most of those small towns would have thrived, but he allowed the oligarchs to talk him into building the Hitler-inspired interstate highway system which played a major role in spoiling hometown American culture.

[@southbender5676]

Part 2- He morphs into an ex-'90s sitcom latino

[@mr.voidout4739]

Huh, never woulda guessed Colonel Sanders, Ali, and Bob all held the same honor.

[@parkerbohnn]

Babe Ruth, Muhammed Ali and Phil "The Power" Taylor. The Colonel is grouped with the 3 greatest athletes in sports history.

[@berrytharp1334]

Col. Sanders and Ali are buried near each other at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

[@42.0fmthefever5]

Fun fact Colonel Sanders help Wendy's Dave Thomas with chicken sandwich believe it or not and didn't want any money from Dave

[@lindamaemullins5151]

Cool ❤️

[@johnyoung9874]

Dave worked for the Colonel for years , then he was a franchisee of KFC , he had a few stores. Then he decided to go into the Hamberger business. His daughter"s name is Wilinda and her siblings couldn't say her name, they called her Wendy,- the rest is history.

[@charlesbarnett2724]

Fascinating. I had no idea about any of that. Cheers guys.

[@FairroFerrari]

This was very informative and hilarious😂😂 at the same time. Colonel Sanders is a national hero!

[@literallytrotsky7775]

Leon Trotsky left the USSR in February 1929 The first KFC opened in March 1930

[@neoamaru]

So when's the Netflix movie coming out??? I'd definitely watch it

[@JamesKing-lw1xp]

Yes! Me too!

[@mrbobsshow]

Actually its gonna be on Hulu

[@RosesAreRed0407]

Watch a recipe for seduction

[@TonyHendren]

He became a Christian late in life, and began donating much of his money to charity, including The Salvation Army, and scholarships for students across the country.

[@stupendous1068]

2:20 He looks like a young Patrick Swayze here.

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

It's Colonel Sander's 40th death anniversary. What's your tribute to his death anniversary? My tribute: I used to eat KFC when I was a kid to preteen. I like his style of fried chicken and I hope for more in the future. Thank you for the effort for making good meals and fast food chains during your time after opening a restaurant since '52! And for the people of many generations to come, we'll all stay safe.

[@somosgenel]

" What's the matter Colonel Sanders??? CHICKEN??? < Line from the movie Spaceballs

[@billyboucher2629]

The Baseball player for the Tigers. Randy Bass is my cousin. It was 2 years after that game he attended my dad's funeral in Lawton Oklahoma. Randy was a Oklahoma congressman last i heard.

[@travisking9321]

This edutainment at its very best. Nicely made mini biography.

[@oldenweery7510]

This is the second Col. Sanders bio I've watched in the last week or so and each has offered up a new fact or three. I like KFC chicken, though the Colonel was right: their gravy is gravy in name only, certainly not in flavor and texture. Also, their prices have pretty well gone beyond my desire to pay! Another thing I used to love is probably unknown to most people today: _H Salt Fish,_ The company made some sort of deal or buy-out of a company ("H. Salt, Esq. Authentic English Fish and Chips") and offered it, along with their regular menu, back in the 1970s. It was, IMHO, the best fish I ever ate! Thanks, your damn' video made me hungry---in the middle of the night... Stay safe, everybody.

[@Desertfox92308]

I remember they had a store in Dublin, California in the early 70's!

[@oldenweery7510]

@@Desertfox92308 "H. Salt?" I Googled it to see if my memory was any good and Wiki says they have 11 fish and chips stores in California, you lucky dogs! I've very seldom had fish anywhere near that good in about 40 years. (And here I am again: hungry in the middle of the night!) Stay safe.

[@shelleykentner4900]

In Canada it was “H Salt Fish and Chips”. Great for fish and fries for years and years when I was growing up. They had a dory (row boat) hanging on their sign.

[@oldenweery7510]

@@shelleykentner4900 Best fish and chips I've ever tasted and I wish Mickey Dee's still sold it (though, judging by the Filet o' Fish, it would probably cost an arm and a leg). Some Californians are lucky to live close to the shops there... Stay safe.

[@jessehaaland7689]

Interesting story!

[@lexielovingu206]

Damn he was about that life 😳😳

[@stargazeronesixseven]

Colonel Harlan Sanders would be so disgusted by today's KFC Worldwide Standard! KFC should maintain the Original Recipe to win back the Royal KFC Fans ...

[@NellieKAdaba]

👍🏿

[@rcacase]

I read somewhere that he was a lawyer but got disbarred for having a fist fight in court with his client

[@NellieKAdaba]

Wow 😳

[@_PAIGE94]

Very nice story

[@jplatt812]

My brother worked at the original Cafe in Corbin when they came out w/the Chicken🐔 Pot Pie. They were doing renovations on the place when i was there few months ago.

[@joltinjack]

I frequented the one in Marietta, GA that has the Big Chicken out front. I killed a whole bucket of chicken after a long night out on the town.

[@jackf.clarke8167]

Very MOTIVATIONAL

[@TeeNelly]

Very Interesting!

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I have to admit I did not expect the part with the Japanese baseball team. That was weird but in a good way.

[@catsweetie6853]

Amazing

[@chrizzle6222]

imagine being vegan and not being able to eat fried chicken

[@Digitalhunny]

Never! Not in a billion years!! 😂😂😂

[@GhostDrummer]

*Imagine CHOOSING to be vegan and not eating fried chicken...

[@eugenegilleno9344]

I’m not vegan, or a vegetarian, and I’ll never eat this KFC crap.

[@Digitalhunny]

@@eugenegilleno9344 - I wouldn't eat it the USA, but in Canada.... sure! Different standards & practices.

[@arami187]

It would be like cutting off your 🥒!

[@bigpoppa6968]

My great grandmas father/mother was good friends with him. My grandfather on my dad’s side worked at a store in Monticello and apparently Colonel Sanders stopped by and ate some of the chicken they made and said it was pretty good.

[@DizzyGrave]

I'm from Corbin we always have construction going on at the KFC but I feel lucky to know I've got famous actors and restaurants here.

[@lindamaemullins5151]

❤️

[@09roushsupercharged26]

The original dinner rolls were epic over todays biscuits.

[@wendytisue3419]

Yes!!!!!

[@djquinn11]

The chocked isn’t as good as it was years ago either.

[@christineferreira2181]

😋 hell yeah!

[@Justiniaan]

as a type of person who would wear suits everyday if he could, i think its insane that colonel sanders wore a *white suit everyday…*

[@jplatt812]

I really miss the sliders they sold in the mid-late '80s.

[@emilynewman2760]

Love it classic

[@terencethomas7891]

Just like his signature white suit , The Colonel life story is made for a biopic , he didn't reach success until later in life , got drafted in the army at age 15 after he lied about his age , heavy shit 😳

[@kathydavenport4422]

I love this guy he is nice and has a beautiful soul

[@Crazcompart]

He didn't like when corporate came up with the "Extra Crispy" variety in the mid 70s... He stated that it tasted like "An excess fried doughball"... The original also started tasting different to me after he passed in 1980, and it sure doesn't taste the same now!

[@delliscool4924]

Colonel Sander may your soul rest in peace..you inspired a lot , found jobs for alot, fed alot (including me)..thank you for your distinguished contribution to the way we eat.

[@TheBlackDogChronicles]

I would like to commend both the script writer and the narrator for correctly using the phrase 'suffice it to say', rather than the incorrect form most people on the internet use. To me, this demonstrates a desire to be accurate in the relaying of information. Thank you for doing your part to combat the laziness with which most things are presented on places such as KZbin.

[@johnsinger9156]

What's the incorrect way of saying 'suffice it to say'? "Suffice to say" maybe? Just curious but would appreciate a reply for the record. Thanks in advance to The Black Dog Chronicles!

[@semperparatus678]

I will never look at a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken again...... damn it man!!!!

[@extremeconcepts1]

Wonder why Kentucky Country Ham tasted like?

[@michaelmacdonald7886]

Yeah, I was wondering where I should visit next...now I know.

[@donaldhawk5431]

I was lucky enough to go to a KFC on a day that Col Sander's was visiting back in the 60's. the Colonel had made the gravy that day. You could tell right away the difference and believe me it was awesome. Still remember it.

[@KatoDavid-tp4sk]

Great....

[@shyman9023]

The quality was much better when he was still alive.

[@Sussy-hotdog]

The real story is how Colonel Sanders became a rockstar phenom in China as the mascot for KFC. I think it’s his dress and elderly sage appearance that draw the Chinese to him. They love him in a familiar way, and his life size statue appears outside many of the almost 5000 KFC’s in China.

[@harlandrodriguez1501]

Love it here in Panamá

[@charist3471]

colonel: the legend

[@funnybonesbuck1745]

Now that I've watched this video I'm very hungry!

[@edvaard123]

Not sure the music in the background was appropriate. A good story but hard to focus with the music.

[@stacylarge5636]

Very entertaining

[@sandraburbidge8038]

And all along I thought he was a colonel from kentucky!!!!! Love the chicken!!!!!!! Love kentucky too!

[@mcronn1002]

The extra crispy is still garage. After all these years.!! R.I.P. colonel.

[@browncarp]

LOL @ an 80+ year old man throwing his plate of food on the floor and calling it GD slop!

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

A week before his 40th death anniversary. Just estimating US time zones.

[@justinnardine8564]

The colonel could be fowl!

[@troy528986562]

I used to see him walking around the streets of Utah

[@stacylarge5636]

Omg i so agree with a pat of butter 🧈 lol damn I'm old but I also loved the original chicken littles sandwiches yummie 😋

[@leela1970]

He was adorable... Good hearted old fashioned gentleman

[@tepoztlitlacatl634]

I like the part where he literally shot a guy

[@abhinavsb6331]

@@tepoztlitlacatl634 dumbfuck it was self defence don't make me angry

[@musicalneptunian]

All his life came to in the end was a gaming console chicken warmer.

[@unexpectedvixen5685]

I miss the popcorn chicken. Mix that with the mashed potatoes and gravy🤤

[@veltonmeade1057]

@5:11; "We serve Sunday dinners seven days a week", lol.

[@JasonBrown-tx4lq]

Wow crazy 😮

[@christineferreira2181]

You forgot to mention Reba was the Col also 🧐

[@mirm0n]

Holy shit, the gun fight thing is crazy

[@lifewithlee6298]

Sounds more like a mobsters life than a chicken 🍗 man

[@JacionBryant]

Somebody had this same video 2 years ago

[@pattyheitzman8635]

You didn't mention when Colonel Sanders saw any cook not doing his/her job right, he banged his cane on the table and yelled at that cook to start cooking the item over and do it right.

[@NellieKAdaba]

Wow

[@HEADKICKMMA]

This man basically threw a Hail Mary in business

[@baconunteggs]

My Grandpa used to tell me that Col Sanders claim to good health was eating a can of Sardines every day. Has anyone else heard this? I can't find anything on the net.

[@OFFICIALKTV]

My man’s went to war behind his store👌🏽

[@justiningram6640]

Member the original biscuits made of lard?

[@NellieKAdaba]

👍🏿

[@user-xu1oi7sd5h]

I didn't expect I could hear about Hanshin Tiger 'sue` in this story.😄 I hope many Americans don't misunderstand Japanese.😂

[@JohnDoe-bw7bq]

Is this a horror flick or a success story?!? Either way, I'll have some chicken please!

[@ronblack2700]

I guess we can say he was the first Gordon Ramsey?

[@RobertJamesChinneryH]

how disrespectful a "tribute" to a great man

[@mikebe9919]

I heard he brought the 11 herb and spices recipe from a black woman for around $1600 dollars

[@veltonmeade1057]

I did also. You're only the second person to bring that up too. Interesting.

[@ketolife591]

The original recipe was found in the basement of a home that had just been bought by a blk woman and the new owners of KFC bought it back from her for much more than $1600

[@kermitTHEdinosaur93]

This would certainly make a great biopic story. But who would portray Colonel Sanders? Hmmm............

[@crypter27]

Colonel Sanders was a gangster!

[@cnc3ful]

My dad cooked a meal for him once for a Boy Scout event. I think my dad was like 12 at the time

[@darranhill5408]

They forgot to mention how he stole his original recipe from a slave.