Curtis Allina
Encyclopedia
Curtis Allina is credited with the addition of heads on the dispensers for PEZ
candy, a design feature implemented while he was an executive at Pez-Haas, then the name of the company that now makes Pez
candy.
Allina was born in Prague
, in what was then the Czechoslovak Republic
, and raised in Vienna
, in what was then the First Austrian Republic
. As a child, he lived across the street from Sigmund Freud and he and his friends would peer through the window watching the renowned doctor smoke a cigar while listening to his patients lying on the couch. Ironically, Allina never believed in psychoanalysis.
A Sephardic Jew, he was imprisoned in various Nazi concentration camps
, from 19 - 23. After four years and countless horrors, he was the sole survivor of his family. He retold stories of having barely survived random executions; after an attempted escape at one camp, a selection of prisoners were lined up; every third one was to be shot. A guard miscounted, and Allina survived. After another group of prisoners were caught trying to escape, Allina, who had been sent on an errand, was counted among the escapees. He was the final prisoner to have the hangman's noose placed around his neck, but at the last second that prison guard vouched for him, saving him for his usefulness in speaking Czech, German and Russian. This was the theme of his life... his ability to survive.
In the post-war period, he emigrated to the United States
and settled in New York
. He learned English by watching Tom Mix movies over and over again. Having worked his way through the slaughterhouses in New York during the 1940s, he eventually found himself working for Pez Candy. At that time, Pez was a successful European company, but going nowhere in the U.S. Allina went from an on-foot sales rep. to running Pez's North American operations for nearly 30 years. It wasn't until he had the idea of putting character heads on dispensers and filling them with child-friendly flavors that the company really took off. Allina is responsible for making Pez into the pop culture icon that it became. The first sculpted Pez dispensers (the candy had previously been distributed in tins) were introduced in 1955; Santa Claus and a robot.
His travels took him to the square in Cuba the day Fidel Castro marched in, and was present in Argentina listening amongst the crowds to Eva Peron's final speech. Later in his life, he participated in and was filmed for Steven Spielberg's Shoah project.
Allina opted to move to Washington State for the latter part of his life, saying he felt a calling to go there. Perhaps it reminded him of the countryside in Vienna where he spent his childhood.
Allina died at 87 in December, 2009. He lived in Olympia
, Washington.
PEZ
Pez is the brand name of an Austrian confectionery and the mechanical pocket dispensers for the same...
candy, a design feature implemented while he was an executive at Pez-Haas, then the name of the company that now makes Pez
PEZ
Pez is the brand name of an Austrian confectionery and the mechanical pocket dispensers for the same...
candy.
Allina was born in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, in what was then the Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)
The First Czechoslovak Republic , refers to the first Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938. The state was commonly called Czechoslovakia . It was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia...
, and raised in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, in what was then the First Austrian Republic
First Austrian Republic
The Republic of Austria encompasses the period of Austrian history following the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of September 1919, the settlement after the end of World War I which put an end to the Republic of German Austria, continuing up to World War II...
. As a child, he lived across the street from Sigmund Freud and he and his friends would peer through the window watching the renowned doctor smoke a cigar while listening to his patients lying on the couch. Ironically, Allina never believed in psychoanalysis.
A Sephardic Jew, he was imprisoned in various Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, from 19 - 23. After four years and countless horrors, he was the sole survivor of his family. He retold stories of having barely survived random executions; after an attempted escape at one camp, a selection of prisoners were lined up; every third one was to be shot. A guard miscounted, and Allina survived. After another group of prisoners were caught trying to escape, Allina, who had been sent on an errand, was counted among the escapees. He was the final prisoner to have the hangman's noose placed around his neck, but at the last second that prison guard vouched for him, saving him for his usefulness in speaking Czech, German and Russian. This was the theme of his life... his ability to survive.
In the post-war period, he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He learned English by watching Tom Mix movies over and over again. Having worked his way through the slaughterhouses in New York during the 1940s, he eventually found himself working for Pez Candy. At that time, Pez was a successful European company, but going nowhere in the U.S. Allina went from an on-foot sales rep. to running Pez's North American operations for nearly 30 years. It wasn't until he had the idea of putting character heads on dispensers and filling them with child-friendly flavors that the company really took off. Allina is responsible for making Pez into the pop culture icon that it became. The first sculpted Pez dispensers (the candy had previously been distributed in tins) were introduced in 1955; Santa Claus and a robot.
His travels took him to the square in Cuba the day Fidel Castro marched in, and was present in Argentina listening amongst the crowds to Eva Peron's final speech. Later in his life, he participated in and was filmed for Steven Spielberg's Shoah project.
Allina opted to move to Washington State for the latter part of his life, saying he felt a calling to go there. Perhaps it reminded him of the countryside in Vienna where he spent his childhood.
Allina died at 87 in December, 2009. He lived in Olympia
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, Washington.