From a Single Stand to an International Network : W. Hamlin; Orange Julius Creator

Willard (Bill) Hamlin, a real estate broker whose long-ago penchant for chemistry resulted in what the world knows today as the fruit drink Orange Julius, is dead at the age of 90.

Hamlin, who retired 20 years ago from the firm he helped found in 1926, saw his innovation grow from a downtown Los Angeles lunch counter into an international network of 700 red-and-white stands in eight countries and territories around the world.

According to a company history, Hamlin--who died May 29 in a Glendora convalescent home--was approached more than 60 years ago by a man named Julius Fried who was seeking a site for a stand where he could sell freshly squeezed orange juice.

Slow at the Start

Hamlin found him one at 820 S. Broadway and Fried began taking in a modest $18 a day. But Hamlin, who also became a regular customer, found the acidity of the juice upset his stomach and suggested adding something to the juice to make it more palatable.

What that something was and is remains a company secret but Hamlin’s daughter, Judy Roach, said it involved crushed ice, a simple syrup and some powder containing “pure food products” based on her father’s study of chemistry.

Interest in Fried’s stand (where the banter of the day began with “How about an orange, Julius?”) spread and sales increased to $118 each day.

The Hamlin beverage was dubbed “Orange Julius” and within a few weeks Fried, Hamlin and contractor William Larkin formed a corporation.

Hamlin traveled the country leasing locations for new stands adorned with the motto he conceived--”A Devilish Good Drink”--while Larkin built the stands.

$3-Million Gross

Within three years the corporation had stands on both coasts and was grossing $3 million a year.

Hamlin bought out Fried, and added hot dogs to the menu in 1949 and hamburgers in 1955. Otherwise the original concept remained unchanged.

In 1967, with Orange Julius stands in the United States, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Puerto Rico, Hamlin retired, selling the company to International Industries Inc.

Besides his daughter, he is survived by three grandsons.