- Elaine Wong

Oscar G. Mayer, retired chairman and grandson of the founder of one of the biggest beef frank brands in America, Oscar Mayer, has died at the age of 95.

Mayer was the third-generation descendant of Oscar F. Mayer, a German immigrant who started the family’s beef frank business after responding to a “help wanted” poster for a retail meat market apprenticeship in Detroit. He retired as chairman of his grandfather’s company in 1977.

In 1989, after several years of exploding sales, private and later public ownership, the Mayers sold the business to Kraft Foods, making it part of one of the largest food companies in the world. Oscar Mayer is currently one of Kraft Foods’ billion dollar brands. The company spent $23 million advertising the beef frank brand in Q1 2009 alone, per Nielsen. (Figures do not include online spend.)

In 1966, Mayer assumed president duties after his grandfather passed away. His father, Oscar G. Mayer Sr., meanwhile, was named chairman.