It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken... BALTIMORE - With a beak-like nose, beady eyes and thin lips, Frank Perdue looked like he was born to sell chickens. It wasnt until he put his face on TV commercials, however, that his fathers backyard egg business rapidly grew into one of the worlds largest chicken companies.
Perdue, who became famous for his folksy television pitch It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken, died Thursday at his home in Salisbury after a brief illness, his company said. He was 84. Perdue was one of the first CEOs to pitch his own product on television in 1971 and remained the companys public face for the next two decades. Chicken magnate Frank Perdue dies at 84 | 
