When Greek immigrant Thomas Carvel started the Carvel College of Ice Cream Knowledge in the late forties , his intent was to educate his internal-combustion engine emollient workshop franchisees in the proper handling and statistical distribution of the soft serve cone he had invented back in 1934 . Famously strict about his scooping protocol , Carvel would arise upset if he discovered a shop possessor dished out only three snow leopard of vanilla extract to save money , not his required 3.5 ounce . client — especially kids — could recount the deviation .
" Once a kid bring in he is n’t getting his full strobile , you ’ve lost a client , " CarveltoldThe New York Timesin 1985 . " And that ’s the way you lose an entire chain . "
Carvel ’s unbending standards sometimes stirred up objection , as in the case of the antitrust cause file in 1979 by franchisees over his insistence they buy Carvel - supplied napkin and other goodness at inflated toll . But it was his ingenuity that pass the 865 - locationCarvel chainto a sensational $ 300 million in sales event by 1985 .
That increment was spurred in heavy part by the company ’s distinctive crank cream cakes , including Hug Me the Bear and Fudgie the Whale . But no confection drew as much attention as Cookie Puss , the cone - nosed birthday treat made famous in a serial of 1970s commercial message , a 1983 Beastie Boys song , and a legendary number onThe Howard Stern Show .
Although store oftentimes pluck the Cookie Puss design , it never cast far from its original inspiration : theface of Carvelhimself .
( L - R ): Cookie Puss , Cookie O’Puss , Tom Carvel . Courtesy of Carvel
Carvel ’s ice cream imperium began with a monotone tire . In 1934 , he had borrowed $ 15 from his fiancée , Agnes , to get an ice emollient truck on the road in Hartsdale , New York . The hand truck go bad down , but customers did n’t seem to mind the mince ice emollient — in fact , they seemed to love it .
Carvel jumped on the opportunity , cobblestone a soft - serve machine together in his garage and obtain a patent for it . When he realized that betray the machines led to frequent substance abuser error , he founded the Carvel Corporation in 1947 , draw states — and his pockets — with Carvel - post frozen treat storefronts .
Carvel recognized that it would take more than his name to help distinguish the stock from other ice pick shop . Their ice cream sandwiches were dubbed Flying Saucers in 1951 ; Carvel invited franchisees to brainstorm other unequalled product ideas .
In the early seventies , an attender at the College of Ice Cream Knowledgepresented Carvelwith a cake in a mistily humanoid shape . With a retinal cone to mimic Carvel ’s bulgy nose , Carvel was impressed . He also pull in anthropomorphized cake would be a cagy way to further the Carvel brand . An entire line — include Fudgie the Whale and Hug Me the Bear — were twine out , 50 - something ounce of wintry cake good that shops could decorate for personalized birthday greetings .
Carvel even issued stuff toys of Cookie Puss and Fudgie in 1985 , hope the $ 5.98 dolls would become Carvel ’s version of Ronald McDonald , a intellectual nourishment mascot that transcended corporate direction .
In 1991,The Howard Stern Showdragged Cookie Puss back into the spotlight when Stern drop an inordinate length of timeberatingstaffer Fred Norris for giving his female parent a Cookie Puss for Mother ’s Day . Using audio effects , Sternraisedhis pitch to resemble Cookie ’s distinctive voice :
Stern : Hey , Fred . How fall you did n’t get your mom a Fudgie the Whale ? Because Cookie Puss is turn one , veracious ? … I think you really did n’t think about your mother .
Norris : give thanks you for judging me , Cookie Puss .
relentless : Tom Carvel was a uncanny guy . I bid he could have cite me Rambo . Rambo the Cake .
Puss ’s efflorescence total to an end in 1993 , when Carvel ’s new possessor ( Tom Carvel had sell the business in 1989 to investment bankers for $ 80 million)hiredan actual ad agency to create a refined campaign . Carvel himself died in 1990 , and was afterwards the subject of abizarre claimby his niece that he had been murder so his aides could lay claim to the Cookie Puss destiny . The allegement was laterdropped .
Today Puss , Fudgie , and the others canstill be foundat the 400 - left Carvel localisation ; the company ’s slightly retroactive history currentlyclaimsthat Cookie Puss is in reality an alien from the Planet Birthday .
But whatever its fabricated tale might be , Cookie Puss still bears a secure resemblance to Tom Carvel . The inspiration for Dumpy the Pumpkin , however , remains unidentified .
