We lost an American icon recently. The man who wrote the the "Oscar Meyer Wiener Song" has passed away. Richard Trentlage died of congestive heart failure on September 21st at a hospital in Libertyville, Ill after a full and happy life. He was 87.

Mr. Trentlage had ties to Fort Collins. My wife, Jenny, works with his daughter, Becky Trentlage, at CSU.  Becky is the  Department Business Officer for the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology at Colorado State University. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Becky and her family.

About Richard Trentlage

This a small portion of the bio provided by the Trentlage family for the funeral home that laid him to rest:

Richard, composer of The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song, was relatively unknown to the general public, but his outpouring of mindsticking advertising ditties was unprecedented in the adbiz: "Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener", "WOW! It sure doesn't taste like tomato juice (V-8)", "Buckle up for safety, buckle up!","McDonald's is your kind of place!" are examples of his work. His Wiener Song was heard in 21 English-speaking countries over a span of 52 years, a record-breaking run in light of the fact that most jingles have a life of 8 to 13 weeks, partly due to residual payment requirements.

Here is a YouTube video of the Oscar Meyer Wiener commercial from 1965:

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