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Clara Peller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clara Peller (born August 4, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois - died August 11, 1987 in Chicago, Illinois), was an American character actress who, at the age of 81, starred in the legendary 1984 "Where's the beef?" advertising campaign for the Wendy's fast-food restaurant chain. Peller's "Where's the beef" line became an instant catchphrase, with even presidential candidate Walter Mondale using it.
Popular belief is that she lost her role with Wendy's after she appeared in a dog food ad, proudly proclaiming "I found the beef!" The actual reason for her termination from Wendy's was an ad for Prego spaghetti sauce in 1985 in which she exclaimed "I found it!" and "I finally found it!", in reference to "Where's the beef?"
On April 14, 1984, Peller made an uncredited cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live which was guest hosted that night by 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. She also made an appearance in the low-rated, low-budget 1985 Neal Israel comedy, Moving Violations, along side John Murray, Sally Kellerman, Fred Willard and Jennifer Tilly, where she played the straightman friend to Nedra Volz's character who was a haphazard driver needing to renew her license at traffic school. In that film, Peller uttered "Where's the bags?"- a reference to her Wendy's commercials fame. In Larry Cohen's The Stuff, she appeared with Abe Vigoda in a commercial shouting "Where's the Stuff?". On April 7, 1986, she even made an appearance at the WWF's Wrestlemania II pay per view event which featured guest appearances by numerous celebrities.
Peller died at the age of 85 on August 11, 1987 in her native city of Chicago, Illinois and is buried in Jewish Waldheim Cemetery.