Rob Wills The real-life Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, may have died more than 40 years ago, but did you know one of his current incarnations lives in Sudbury? KFC Canada commercials starring Rob Wills as Colonel Sanders launched on television and social media in early April.

Sanders has been voiced by impressionists in radio ads, and from 1998 to 2001 an animated version of him voiced by Randy Quaid appeared in television commercials. In May 2015, KFC brought the Colonel Sanders character back in new television advertisements, played by comedian Darrell Hammond.

The 62-year-old Wills, who, besides Sudbury, has lived in North Bay and Timmins, said he's worked as an actor on and off his whole life, but this is probably the most recognizable part he's ever gotten.

In interviews, including in a 1970 New Yorker article, he was so upset by the quality of the food that he would tell reporters that the gravy "ain't fit for my dogs." In fact, he was so open about his disdain for the alterations made to his signature recipes that KFC sued him for libel in 1978.

Colonel Sanders was the recipient of the Horatio Alger Award in 1965. In 1976, the Colonel was named world's second most recognizable celebrity. At the age of 90, the Colonel was stricken with leukemia. Until his death in 1980, he traveled 250,000 miles a year, visiting the KFC empire that he had founded.

18 celebs and spices - and one original recipe Over the years, that philosophy still stands: one person can't play Sanders, but many people can! Ahead, see all of the celebrities who've worn the Colonel's iconic white suit, black tie, and signature facial hair.

Harland Sanders was born in 1890 in the little town of Henryville in southern Indiana. The “colonel” was given to him in 1935 as an honorary title by the governor of Kentucky in recognition of his accomplishments, and ever afterward everyone called him “The Colonel”.

Colonel Sanders officially started KFC when he turned 40, back in 1930. He bought a roadside motel in Corbin, Kentucky, and started serving his southern style chicken. But Colonel Sanders didn't perfect his unique blend of 11 herbs and spices that are still used today, and still top secret, until 1939.

Founder Harland Sanders initially developed his "Colonel" persona as a low-cost marketing tool. The Colonel's image is still used extensively in the chain's advertising. The chain is well known for the "finger lickin' good" slogan, which originated in 1956.

Colonel Sanders was the recipient of the Horatio Alger Award in 1965. In 1976, the Colonel was named world's second most recognizable celebrity. At the age of 90, the Colonel was stricken with leukemia. Until his death in 1980, he traveled 250,000 miles a year, visiting the KFC empire that he had founded.

At some point, KFC changed the “secret recipe” for their chicken and gravy, leading an angry Sanders, who already gained a reputation for outbursts, to refer to the food as “the worst fried chicken I've ever seen.” He even went as far as referring to the potatoes and gravy as “sludge” and “wallpaper paste.”

KFCKFC Pakistan / Parent organizationKFC Corporation, doing business as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with 22,621 locations globally in 150 countries as of December 2019. Wikipedia