Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Murray Handwerker Of Nathan's Hot Dogs Dies At 89
By
Jen Chung
Published May 15, 2011
Modified May 15, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 15, 2011
Modified May 15, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Murray Handwerker, who took his father Nathan's Coney Island hot dog business national, died at age 89 in Florida yesterday. His son told the Daily News, "He was a visionary entrepreneur. He had such a passion for Nathan's and Coney Island and what they represented."
Nathan Handwerker founded Nathan's Famous at Coney Island in 1916. According to the News, Murray Handwerker "returned from World War II in the 1940s and helped his parents open locations in Times Square and Long Island. He took over as chairman in the early 1970s, rapidly expanding Nathan's through dozens of franchise deals across the country after taking it public... Handwerker also helped expand the Nathan's brand to supermarkets, turning its hot dogs into a household name." Today, the chain is also featured prominently on national television with the ESPN-broadcast Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest.
In 1954, Handwerker, while his father was on vacation, once displayed a dead 70-ton finback whale at the Coney Island location, thinking "crowds lured to gape at the spectacle would want a dog and a soda to go with it.... But things took a turn for the worse when an unexpected heat wave hit Brooklyn, and the giant decomposing carcass began to smell very odd. Potential customers steered clear of the rotting whale -- and Nathan's." Eventually, after complaints from other businesses, the Health Department got involved and Handwerker had the whale cut up and put in the sea. Needless to say, Nathan Handwerker was not happy.
Handwerker's favorite hot dog was plain in a bun.
Tagged
brooklyn
coney island
hot dog
hot dogs
Murray Handwerker
nathan's famous
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .