Curtis Blake

{{Short description|American businessman and philanthropist (1917–2019)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | image =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Curtis Livingston Blake | birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|04|15}} | birth_place = Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|5|24|1917|04|15}} | death_place = Hobe Sound, Florida, U.S. | other_names = | occupation = Businessman and philanthropist | years_active = 1935–1979 | known_for = Co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/08/28/friendly-and-its-founders-are-aging-well/8DcHv5OPkLeVUpplTWGbGJ/story.html|title=Friendly's and its founders are aging well|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=28 August 2014}}</ref> | relatives = S. Prestley Blake (brother) }}

'''Curtis Livingston Blake''' (April 15, 1917 – May 24, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Tim|url=http://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/Co-Founder-of-Friendlys-Ice-Cream-Celebrating-100th-Birthday-419476263.html|title=Co-Founder of Friendly's Ice Cream Celebrating 100th Birthday|website=NBC Boston|date=14 April 2017|accessdate=30 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Tim|url=http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Co-Founder-of-Friendlys-Ice-Cream-Celebrating-100th-Birthday-419476263.html|title=Co-Founder of Friendly's Ice Cream Celebrating 100th Birthday|website=NECN|date=14 April 2017|accessdate=30 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Sy Becker|url=http://wwlp.com/2017/04/13/friendlys-co-founder-curtis-blakes-100th-birthday-celebrated|title=Friendly's co-founder Curtis Blake's 100th birthday celebrated|website=WWLP|date=13 April 2017|accessdate=30 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kinney|first=Jim|url=https://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2017/04/friendlys_co-founder_curtis_blake_celebr.html|title=Friendly's co-founder Curtis Blake celebrates 100th birthday|website=Masslive|date=April 2017|accessdate=30 April 2017}}</ref>

==Biography== Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Herbert Prestley Blake and Ethel Stewart Blake, Curtis and his elder brother, Stewart Prestley Blake (known as "S. Prestley Blake"), jointly founded the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (later known more commonly as "Friendly's"). Their first restaurant opened in 1935, during the Great Depression, in Massachusetts. By the 1970s, the brothers began to fight over the direction of the business. The company was sold to Hershey Foods in 1979 for $164 million.<ref>[https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/05/curtis-blake-friendlys-ice-cream-co-founder-dead-at-102.html "Curtis Blake, Friendly’s Ice Cream co-founder, dead at 102"], Dave Canton, ''Masslive'', 27 May 2019. Accessed 14 September 2019. "Born April 15, 1917 in Jersey City, New Jersey to Herbert Prestley and Ethel Stewart Blake, Curtis Blake was a member of the 11th generation of the Deacon Samuel Chapin lineage, co-founder of the city of Springfield."</ref>

Under Hershey Foods, Friendly's grew to more than 800 eateries, the highest number in its history. But the chain began to flounder because of high labor costs and intense competition. Donald Smith, a veteran restaurant executive, bought Friendly's for $375 million in 1988. Most analysts believed he paid far too much for the struggling firm, strapping the company with a huge debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2014/10/friendlys_springfield_community_celebrates_s_prestley_blake_100th_birthday.html|title=Friendly's co-founder S. Prestley Blake nears 100th birthday; Springfield to celebrate|website=Masslive|date=October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/08/28/friendly-and-its-founders-are-aging-well/8DcHv5OPkLeVUpplTWGbGJ/story.html|title=Friendly's and its founders are aging well|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=28 August 2014|accessdate=21 September 2018}}</ref>

Blake died on May 24, 2019, in Hobe Sound, Florida, at the age of 102.<ref>[https://www.boston.com/food/obituaries/2019/05/26/friendlys-ice-cream-cofounder-curtis-l-blake-dies-at-102/ Obituary of Curtis Blake], ''Boston.com'', 26 May 2019.</ref>

==Other== A former patron and benefactor of the Springfield, Massachusetts-based American International College, Blake asked that his name be removed from the school's campus following the decision by the AIC to close the off-campus [https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/03/springfields_curtis_blake_day.html Curtis Blake Day School] in June 2015 for 37 students with language-learning disabilities, reportedly due to declining enrollment. The Children's Study Home Students, also of Springfield, stepped in to provide for the children, who would otherwise have been displaced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/friendly_co-founder_curtis_bla_2.html|title=Friendly's co-founder Curtis Blake has AIC remove his name from campus building|website=Masslive|date=October 2015|accessdate=21 September 2018}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Curtis}} Category:1917 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American men centenarians Category:American restaurateurs Category:Businesspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey Category:Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts Category:20th-century American businesspeople