Inventor of McDonald's Big Mac Dies at 98

When Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee Michael "Jim" Delligatti spent weeks nearly 50 years ago tinkering like a gastronomical mad scientist on a new sandwich creation for the fast-food chain, his intent was simply to put a bigger burger on the menu. In the end, his double-decker wasn't just a bigger burger. The Big Mac's impact on American and even global pop culture proved to be huge.

Delligatti's creation has become an enduring icon, arguably as recognizable as Ronald McDonald himself. How many other sandwiches can have their seven-ingredients — "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" — rattled off in melodic fashion, thanks to a 1970s jingle?

"I would never have dreamed that my creation would turn into a piece of Americana," Delligatti said about the Big Mac, a quote that McDonald's posted online Wednesday after the fast-food giant learned the inventor of one of that corporation's signature products had died.

Delligatti — one of the Oak Brook-based company's first franchisees — died Monday surrounded by his family in Pittsburgh, according to the obituary from the family. He was 98.

An Army veteran who served in Europe during World War II, Delligatti created the Big Mac in 1967 in the kitchen of his original McDonald's franchise in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, according to a 1993 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report. Not only did he develop the Big Mac's "secret sauce" (a mixture of mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, mustard and spices), he also incorporated a middle bun slice so the stack wouldn't be so messy to eat.

The sandwich — then called the Big Attraction — was introduced in 1967 at Delligatti's Uniontown, Pennyslvania, McDonald's. He eventually rolled it out at to all of his 47 western Pennsylvania locations, and by 1968, it was launched nationally as the Big Mac.

The Big Mac now is offered in 100 countries, and the Golden Arches sells about 550 million of the burgers annually in the United States. Delligatti did not get a percentage from Big Mac sales or a raise for creating the sandwich, telling the Post-Gazette that he only received a plaque.

The sandwich's ubiquity, however, has led to Delligatti's creation developing a life of its own.

McDonald's marketers turned the Big Mac into Officer Big Mac, an anthropomorphized police officer for its McDonaldland kids campaign. The sandwich also has its own museum in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, which was opened in 2007 and features the largest Big Mac statue in the world.

The burger's international status — "le Big Mac" — was even namechecked in a well-known scene from Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" in 1994 (warning: the following clip contains some brief bad language):

Devotees of the Big Mac are legion.

A Wisconsin man holds the Guinness World Record for eating the most Big Macs. Don Gorske of Fon du Lac, as of August 2016, has eaten 28,788 Big Macs in his lifetime, according to Guinness. (His Wikipedia page claims he's downed 36,000 of them.)

Donald typically eats 14 Big Macs each week, purchasing them in bulk and microwaving them at home. In the last forty-four years, there have been only eight days in which he did not eat a Big Mac - most recently, on 23 November 2000.

The Big Mac might be Delligatti's most lasting legacy, but it wasn't his only contribution to McDonald's. He was a key mover in bringing breakfast service to the fast-food chain, creating the company's pancakes-and-sausage menu item to target steel workers coming home after overnight shifts. He also co-founded Pittsburgh’s Ronald McDonald House in 1979.

"Jim was a legendary franchisee within McDonald’s System who made a lasting impression on our Brand. … He is an exemplary individual who embraced the community and championed many causes and organizations that benefitted children," a McDonald's release stated concerning Delligatti's death. "We will remember Jim as an insightful franchisee, a knowledgeable businessman, and an honorable gentleman who left a legacy of four generations of family members running great restaurants in Pennsylvania and North Carolina."

Delligatti is survived by his wife, Ellie, and his sons, James and Michael.

And, of course, the Big Mac.

Michael "Jim" Delligatti with his creation, the Big Mac. (photo via McDonald's)

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