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Vincent Marotta, a creator of Mr. Coffee, dies at 91

 
Vincent Marotta helped introduce the Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker in 1972.
Vincent Marotta helped introduce the Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker in 1972.
Published Aug. 4, 2015

Vincent Marotta, who as a creator of the Mr. Coffee machine helped bury the percolator, died on Saturday at his home in Pepper Pike, Ohio. He was 91.

One of the first automatic drip coffee makers designed for home use, Mr. Coffee was first marketed in 1972. The brainchild of Mr. Marotta, then a real estate developer, and his partner, Samuel Glazer, who died in 2012, it was intended to replace the prevalent, problematic household percolator.

The percolator operated by repeatedly forcing boiling or near-boiling water through a perforated metal basket of grounds. Because the percolator circulated the same water through the same grounds again and again, what emerged could be a bitter third- or fourth-generation brew. At the time, the only commonly available alternative was instant coffee. But that preparation, many consumers maintained, made perked coffee taste delicious by comparison.

Mr. Coffee quickly became a market leader. By 1979, Forbes reported, the company was generating $150 million in annual sales and held a market share of at least 50 percent versus rivals like Norelco, General Electric and Proctor-Silex.

Much of the brand's success owed to its ubiquitous TV ads featuring Joe DiMaggio. Mr. Marotta, a former pro football player who had also signed with Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, personally recruited the former Yankees star.