Chili Dog Champ Paul Pink Dies

Paul Pink, who turned a dusty Hollywood street corner into an exuberant pink Mecca for chili dog lovers and late night noshers, has died at age 87.

The co-founder with his wife of Pink’s Famous Chili Dogs stand suffered a heart attack Thursday at his La Brea Avenue eatery that is a favorite of movie stars and the merely hungry.

“He sat down at the desk, where he’s been for the last 57 years, and just leaned back and passed away,” said his son, Richard.

The stand, where Bruce Willis reportedly proposed to Demi Moore, did not close to mark the death.

“We kept it open. That’s the way my father would have wanted it,” explained Richard Pink, whose wife, Gloria, now manages the place. “I don’t think my father would want to sadden people who came to Pink’s. He was always interested in them having fun.”

Two years ago, Pink’s held a weeklong celebration for its 55th anniversary. Among the guests were soul singer Ike Turner and longtime patrons who chowed down on Pink’s hot dogs with grilled onions and peppers.

“I can’t believe it,” Paul Pink said at the time., “A million-dollar business with a lousy hot dog.”

He always credited his wife, Betty, who died in 1994, with the hot dog idea.

That 1939 concept was simple: a $50 cart that sold 10-cent wieners at the then-unpaved corner of La Brea and Melrose avenues. At night, they worked by candlelight because the couple couldn’t afford electricity. Paul Pink had an accounting degree and was working as a $15-a-week bookkeeper. Betty had been a florist.

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In 1942, they built a small structure around the cart. In 1946, today’s building replaced it and began to accumulate its beloved hangings of autographed photos of music stars and wannabe Hollywood starlets.

The menu expanded over the decades to include hamburgers, turkey burgers, a bacon burrito dog and a 12-inch jalapeno dog. Still, the basic chili dog remains the star at $2.10 a crunchy serving. Pink’s sells more than 1,500 hot dogs a day of the traditional Hoffy brand.

The business keeps its reputation as a spot where Hollywood night owls can satisfy hunger pangs. It opens seven days a week at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 2 a.m. weekdays and 3 on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“Orson Welles used to come here at least once a week,” Paul Pink said in 1984. “He’d eat anywhere from 12 to 15 hot dogs at one sitting.”

Pink, who lived nearby in the Fairfax district, often turned down offers to create a franchise chain. He “didn’t want the headaches and felt he would be diverted from the family,” his son recalled.

Aside from his son, Pink is survived by his daughter, Beverly Wolfe, four grandchildren, two sisters and a brother. The funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City.