Frank Perdue

Franklin Parsons Perdue (May 9, 1920 – March 31, 2005 ), born in Salisbury, Maryland, was for many years the president and CEO of Perdue Farms, now one of the largest chicken-producing companies in the United States.

Early life Frank was the only child of Arthur Perdue and Pearl Perdue (nee Parsons).

Career Perdue Farms was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue with his wife, Pearl Perdue who had been keeping a small flock of chickens. Their son, Frank, joined the company in 1939 at age 19 after dropping out of college at Salisbury University.

Frank Perdue's promotion of the Perdue brand through high-profile advertising resulted in its being the first well-known brand of chicken in the U.S.

In the 1980s, Perdue twice sought assistance from then-Mafia boss Paul Castellano to fend off a union's effort to represent workers at his company, according to a federal commission on labor corruption. He turned over leadership of Perdue Farms to his son, Jim Perdue, in 1991.

Advertising In 1971, Perdue Farm embarked on its first major advertising campaign and had contracted the firm of Scali, McCabe, Sloves. The firm came up with the idea of putting Perdue on television himself, with the tag line, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken." This was fairly radical because at the time, CEOs were not usually public spokespeople for their firms. was ranked by Advertising Age as one of the best campaigns of the year.

Through this advertising, Perdue is credited with creating the first recognized brand for chicken.

The Franklin P. Perdue School of Business was established at Salisbury University in 1986 and named for Frank Perdue.

In 1991, Frank Perdue was honored with an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career.

Frank Perdue was a patron of treasure hunter Mel Fisher, helping fund his expedition to locate the wreckage of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which had sunk off the coast of the Florida Keys in 1622. Fisher eventually found the galleon and in 1985 and recovered more than $400 million in gold and gems. Perdue donated much of his portion of the recovered gems and coins to the Smithsonian Institution and to Delaware Technical Community College.