Donald Edward Goerke (August 8, 1926 – January 10, 2010) was an American business executive and food developer. While working for the Franco-American division of the Campbell Soup Company in 1965, he invented

SpaghettiOs SpaghettiOs is an American brand of canned ring-shaped pasta pieces that are always in tomato sauce. It is marketed to parents as "less messy" than regular spaghetti. More than 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year. They are sold in ...

, and was thereafter known as "The Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs."

Biography

Born in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area tha ...

, Goerke played for the Waukesha South High School basketball team that won the Wisconsin state championship in 1944. He served in the

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and received a bachelor's degree from Carroll College after the war. He also received an M.B.A. from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. Goerke began his career as a market researcher for Blatz Brewery in Wisconsin. He worked for the Campbell Soup Company for 35 years from 1955 until 1990. In the early 1960s, Goerke was marketing research director of Campbell's Franco-American division when he was tasked with developing a canned pasta that would appeal to children. Goerke's team reportedly considered and rejected pasta in the shapes of baseballs, cowboys, spacemen and stars. Goerke settled on the "O" shape to make the pasta more resilient to canning and reheating, provide easier consumption using a spoon, and minimize the mess associated with children eating long pasta. The product, promoted in commercials with

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

singing the jingle, "The neat, round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon: Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs," became a major success. Goerke attributed the product's enduring popularity with mothers and children to the fact that "it was 'spoonable' and didn't make a mess." Goerke earned the nickname the "Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs", and served as a goodwill ambassador for the Campbell Soup Company. He appeared on the television program "

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

". and "hobnobbed with celebrities" including President Ronald Reagan and

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...

. He would occasionally autograph a can of SpaghettiOs and appeared on

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

to celebrate the 30th anniversary of SpaghettiOs. In his 35 years with Campbell Soup Company, Goerke also created the company's "Chunky" soup line. He later served as the president of Campbell's Champion Valley Farms division that produced Recipe Dog Food, the sponsor of the Lassie television series. Goerke died from heart failure at his home in

Delran Township, New Jersey Delran Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,896, reflecting an increase of 1,360 (+8.8%) from the 15,536 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

, in January 2010 at the age of 83.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goerke, Donald 1926 births 2010 deaths American food industry business executives People from Delran Township, New Jersey People from Waukesha, Wisconsin Wisconsin School of Business alumni Campbell Soup Company people Carroll University alumni American business executives Businesspeople from Wisconsin 20th-century American businesspeople