Richard E. Davis (1926 – October 6, 2015) founded

KC Masterpiece KC Masterpiece is a barbecue sauce that is marketed by the HV Food Products Company, a subsidiary of the Clorox Company. History KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce was created in 1977 by Richard E. "Rich" Davis M.D., a child psychiatrist practicing ...

barbecue sauce Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern ...

. Davis began his career as a child psychiatrist, instructor and author. His academic posts included appointments as professor and acting chairman of the department of psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and later, as dean of the school of medicine at the University of North Dakota. He was the creator of K.C. Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce. In 1986, he sold the sauce to the Kingsford division of

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

Inc.

Early life and education

Davis, born in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jas ...

, graduated from

Topeka High School Topeka High School (THS) is a public secondary school in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12, and is one of five high schools operated by the Topeka USD 501 school district. In the 2010–2011 school year, there ...

in 1944, and served a year and a half in the army. After

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he attended

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,10 ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

. While at Washburn, he was initiated into the Kansas Beta Chapter of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. ...

. He received a medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1954.

Academic and medical career

Board Certified Adult and Child Psychiatrist. Board examiner in psychiatry and neurology 1972–1986. Co-academic founder as associate dean of the

Eastern Virginia Medical School Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded by grassroots efforts in the Southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS is not affiliated with an undergraduate institution and co ...

in Norfolk, Virginia. Vice-president of health affairs and dean of the medical school at the University of North Dakota, where he helped it gain accreditation as a four-year medical school. Published in the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', Davis identified manic-depressive i-polarsyndrome in childhood and its treatment. In 1983, he presented the use of lithium as a treatment at The World Congress of Psychiatry in Vienna.

Business

In 1977, he moved to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

and began marketing various culinary concepts, including ''Muschup'' (a combination of

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among o ...

and

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

Dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

ed Muschup, and K.C. Soul Style Barbecue Sauce. While Muschup and Dilled Muschup sold well, the barbecue sauce was the most popular, 3,000 cases of it quickly selling in Kansas City. He later changed its name to KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce. In 1986, he sold the sauce to the Kingsford division of the Clorox company, which took the barbecue sauce nationwide. Presently it is claimed by the manufacturer to be the number 1 selling premium barbecue sauce in the country. He retained the rights to use the sauce at restaurants he was to develop. At one time several restaurants were in operation, but all have since closed. A barbecue (dubbed the

Congressional Picnic The Congressional Picnic is an annual event held on the South Lawn (White House), South Lawn of the White House. Members of Congress and their families are invited to spend time with the president and other White House staffers in a relaxed setti ...

) is held annually on the south lawn of the White House. It is open to the president and vice president, all representatives and senators, and their families. Davis and his sons twice prepared barbecues for the Congressional Picnic, once for George H. W. Bush in 1992 and then for George W. Bush in 2004.

Unfinished business

Food World: An Idea With Global Proportions For Kansas City. The Kansas City Star. Dirck Steimel. February 28, 1990.

Music

A child prodigy on the piano, Davis composed many jazz and blues numbers. He created the words and music for the

Youth Volunteer Corps Youth Volunteer Corps,(YVC), is a non-profit service organization operating throughout the United States and Canada that was created to introduce, encourage, and support the spirit of volunteerism in youth ages 11 to 18 through consistent, well-or ...

of America's anthem. He also composed ''Two Piano Sonata on Themes,'' transcribed by Wally Bradford and performed at several Midwestern universities. In 1992 Davis recorded a two-piano jazz session with Grammy nominee Jay McShann.

Honors and awards

* UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management Regional Entrepreneur of the Year 1995: Rich Davis, K.C. Masterpiece Barbecu

* Founding chairman of the board of the

of America. * Founding chairman of the Alliance for Epilepsy Research board. * Davis was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation from the University of Kansas in 2002. * Stop the Violence Coalition award, the ''Kindest Kansas Citian'' Award. 1991. * Dr. Davis and wife Coleen were honored with the Salvation Army William Booth Award in 1993. * American Royal

Barbecue Hall of Fame The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The Future Farmers of America (now the National FFA Organiza ...

Legacy Inducte

* KC Masterpiece won the prestigious “Best Sauce on the Planet” award at the American Royal Barbecue Sauce Contest in 1980.

Books and articles

* The All American Barbecue Book (1988) Rich Davis & Shifra Stein, Vintage Books, Random House * All About Bar-B-Q Kansas City Style (1985) Rich Davis & Shifra Stein, Barbacoa Press * ''Grill Wars'', Forbes Magazine, June 16, 1986 * ''Best Barbecued Ribs'', Ladies Home Journal, August, 1984. (Rich Davis) * ''Kansas City Styled Barbecue Ribs'', Playboy Magazine, August 1985. (Rich Davis) * People Magazine, August 19, 1985. Vol. 24, No. 8. Dr. Rich Davis Gave Up Psychiatry to Put His Own Brand on Kansas City's Best Barbecue Sauce * Dr. Rich Davis, the Sauce Doctor—R.I.P. Barbecuebible.com. By Steven Raichlen.

* The Kansas City Star. Rich Davis, founder of KC Masterpiece and barbecue legend, dies.

* Legacy.com.

References

External links

KC Masterpiece television commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61GBmxFR_I
* American Royal Hall of Fame Biography http://www.barbecuehalloffame.com/p/getconnected/legacy-inductees/236 * KC Masterpiece founder Rich Davis passes away at 89. Fox 4 Kansas City.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rich 1926 births 2015 deaths American psychiatrists People from Kansas City, Missouri University of North Dakota faculty