Marion A. Trozzolo (1925 – June 30, 1992) was an innovator,

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of business at

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He was the first manufacturer of teflon coated cookware in the United States, and was the developer of the Kansas City entertainment district River Quay.

Biography

Early life and education

Trozzolo was born in

Castrolibero Castrolibero is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Twin towns * Siemiatycze, Poland * Għarb, Malta References

Cities and towns in Calabria {{Calabria-geo-stub ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and was one of three brothers. His family immigrated to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1927 for a better life for their children. A veteran of

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 opposin ...

, Trozzolo earned a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

for his service. After the war, he attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

where he received a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and a Master's degree in Business Administration.

Career

Trozzolo moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1951 to pursue a career as a professor of business administration and economics at Rockhurst University.

The Happy Pan

In 1957 he founded Laboratory Plasticware Fabricators producing plastic-coated scientific utensils, including a

Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...

-coated magnetic stirring rod. He eventually experimented with coating pans and E. I. duPont deNemours & Company executives endorsed the plan. In 1961 he unveiled the "Happy Pan", a Teflon coated frying pan. Trozzolo sold the company in 1972. An original Happy Pan is now in the collection of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. During the Presidency of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Trozzolo marketed Teflon coat mementos in honor of the "Teflon president." He also donated a Teflon coating for the fence around the

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

home in

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

River Quay

The name "Quay" means a landing place by a body of water, and the pronunciation is "key". The name was selected because the area's northern boundary is the Missouri River and the district is the site of Westport Landing, a stopping place for explorers and settlers of the West. This is where Kansas City began. As early as 1958, Trozzolo discovered the charm of the old buildings surrounding the city market. Over the years he acquired over 30 buildings. By 1971, a real community of small shops was forming and on June 30, 1972 River Quay was officially born. In two years it grew to include over 80 shops and restaurants which attracted thousands of people each year. The entertainment district was similar to

Ghirardelli Square Ghirardelli Square is a landmark public square with shops and restaurants and a 5-star hotel in the Marina area of San Francisco, California. A portion of the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Pioneer Woolen ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Old Town, Chicago Old Town is a neighborhood and historic district in Near North Side and Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, home to many of Chicago's older, Victorian-era buildings, including St. Michael's Church, one of seven buildings to survive the Great Chic ...

. Its initial slogan was "The New Old Town."Revitalization Without Wreckage - Associated Press via Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Illinois, April 18, 1972 In 1973, he said, "We have a real feeling of community. People are happy here. Even the shoppers and business people who come just for lunch are smiling and more relaxed." Perhaps that is why River Quay's slogan became "A community in downtown Kansas City, rich in leisure, arts, craftsmanship and 19th century flavor." Trozzolo was especially creative in his marketing campaign of "The River Quay". He imported three red double-decker buses from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and began to run bus routes all over town. Promoting and encouraging people to "Come see... The River Quay" (the official slogan) with bill boards and painted signs. During 1981 Trozzolo joined with Kansas City Star newspaper columnist Frederick Louis Richardson in developing a motion picture project based upon the mafia incursion into the River Quay. The screenplay by Richardson entitled "Battle for the River Quay" was promoted by the Rivery Quay Company, a corporation in which the writer and Trozzolo were partnered. The chairman of Paramount Pictures, Barry Diller had expressed an interest in reviewing the script, however the project stalled before being abandoned.

Marriage and children

He was married to his wife Phyllis for 35 years. They had seven children, Alexandra, Angela, Andrea, Anita, Peter, Jon and Alisa.

Death and afterward

Trozzolo died of cancer June 30, 1992.

References

External links

Marion Trozzolo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trozzolo, Marion A. 1925 births 1992 deaths American military personnel of World War II Deaths from leukemia Italian emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Recipients of the Silver Star University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni 20th-century American inventors 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from cancer in the United States People of Calabrian descent