Alfred Nu Steele (April 24, 1900 – April 19, 1959) was an American

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

businessman most known for being the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Pepsi-Cola Company PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufa ...

from 1949 until his death in 1959.

Life and career

Alfred Steele graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1923, where he played football, and became an ad executive. He first worked for

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

, as vice president of marketing. He became the

of the

in 1949. Under his management, sales tripled between 1955 and 1957. He reduced the sugar content of Pepsi products and introduced them to developing countries. Under Steele's leadership, Pepsi built a new headquarters at 500 Park Avenue in New York City. He worked for Pepsi until his death from a heart attack in April 1959, five days shy of his 59th birthday. He was the fourth and last husband of actress

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

(married May 10, 1955, in Las Vegas). Herbert L. Barnet, Steele's handpicked successor as chairman and CEO, appointed her to the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. In Joan Crawford's later career,

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

for Pepsi was included in several films, including ''

Strait-Jacket ''Strait-Jacket'' is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by William Castle, written by Robert Bloch and starring Joan Crawford. Its plot follows a woman who, having murdered her husband and his lover decades prior, ...

'' (1964) and ''

Berserk! ''Berserk!'' is a 1967 British horror-thriller film starring Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors and Judy Geeson in a macabre mother-daughter tale about a circus plagued with murders. The screenplay was written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel ...

'' (1967). Crawford would remain on the board of directors of the Pepsi-Cola Company until 1973. The two had their ashes interred in a crypt together upon Crawford's death in 1977. They are interred in

Ferncliff Cemetery Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located at 280 Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff ...

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Greenb ...

. His crypt marker incorrectly lists his middle initial as "M" for no explained reason. Steele was portrayed by

Harry Goz Harry Goz (February 16, 1932 – September 6, 2003) was an American musical theater actor and voice actor. Career Goz debuted in the 1956 Broadway production of ''Bajour'', co-starring Chita Rivera and Nancy Dussault. Goz played Tevye in th ...

in the 1981 film ''

Mommie Dearest ''Mommie Dearest'' is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Published in 1978, it attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic m ...

''.

References

1900 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American chief executives of food industry companies Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Northwestern University alumni People from the Nashville metropolitan area PepsiCo people {{drink-bio-stub