Wednesday, March 7, 1934
Daily Ncbraskan
Pago 5
I Ja--t -'- -vi .-TU lT7Tf TUSTM
The most talked-about actress in America sat
silently while her director determined whether the
camera angle was right. Even though there was a
flurry of activity all around her, she appeared to be
so calm she might have been getting ready to go to
sleep.
"W ell be set in just a minute" the director said to
her.
The actrcc3 nedded her assent.
This was not Meryl Streep, Debra Winger or Goldie
Hawn. Who talks about them?
This was Clara Teller, the woman in her late 70s
who has rocketed to fame on the strength of one line
of dialogue:
"Where's the beef?"
Feller a Chicago widow who used to work as a
manicurist is the star of Wendy's Hamburgers
l Bob
s w Gmane
commercial in which she uttered her now-immortal
line. In that commercial, Pellcr paired with two
other elderly women stood at a counter that was
designed to look like part of one of Wendy's competi
tors' restaurants. When the tiny hamburger arrived
on a huge bun, Peller looked at it and said . . . well,
you know what she said.
"Where's the beef?" quickly became a national
catchphrase. Political cartoonists use it with their
drawings. Bar patrons say it to one another as they
wait for drinks. Crowds at college basketball games
chant it during time-outs. Ministers base their Sun
day sermons on it.
And now Wendy's was preparing to shoot a sequel
to the commercial. The cast had been reassembled;
along with Peller there were Elizabeth Shaw and
Mildred Lane, the two women who had appeared
with her in the first commercial. All eyes in the room
were on Clara Peller, though; she was the one who
had said the magic words in all of those living rooms,
and she was the new superstar.
Joe Sedelmaier, the director of the "Where's the
beef?" commercials, conferred quietly with his assist
ants and technicians. Off to the side, William Welter,
executive vice president of Wendy's, looked at the
scene and marveled.
'This is amazing" Welter said. "Our business has
increased dramatically as a direct result of these
commercials, and there's no doubt that Clara is the
big reason why. People just love her. She's not some
32-year-old sexy broad; she's real. She appeals to
everyone from 2-year-olds to 90-year-olds. We know,
because we see the fan mail."
Wendy's does not like to talk about it, but they
almost lost Clara Peller last week. After the success
of the first commercial she hired an attorney, and
for a few tense days it seemed as if the Wendy's
attorneys and Peller's attorney might not be able to
reach an agreement on a contract for the new com
mercial. But things had been worked out. Now, as she
waited for Sedelmaier to start shooting, she sat with
her two fellow actresses.
"I heard they were going to make posters of us,"
Elizabeth Shaw said.
v 7 n Daily 'n
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"I thought it was placemats," Mildred Lane said.
"Whatever," Elizabeth Shaw said. "IH just talk to
my agent." She turned to Clara Peller. "You're the
star," she said. "We're just the background."
Peller stared down at the floor, where a tape mark
had been placed to show her where to stand when
the shooting started. Behind the three women was a
sign that said "HOME OF THE BIG BURGER."
Sedelmaier was ready. Aides carried a Styrofoam
cup of icewater to Peller. She took a sip.
"All right," Sedelmaier said. "Let's do it."
The women stood up. The idea was that the three
were supposed to be back in the restaurant again
this time trying to complain to the manager. In the
commercial they stand at the counter, in front of a
huge bun and a tiny burger, and Mildred Lane holds
a telephone ostensibly trying to call the manager.
The camera rolled. Mildred Lane said into the
telephone, "We know it's a big, fluffy bun."
Elizabeth Shaw stage-whispered to her, "Talk to
the manager."
Down on the floor, hidden from sight, a produc
tion assistant named Dwight Irwin sat with his right
hand grasping the hem of Clara Peller's dress. Peller
is hard of hearing; it is difficult for her to hear her
cues. So when it i3 time for her to speak, Irwin's job is
to pull on her dress as a signal.
As soon as Mildred Lane had said, "It is the man
ager," Irwin pulled on Peller's dress.
And Clara Peller blurted out, like an angry fog
horn: "Where's the beef?"
"Really let 'em have it," Joe Sedelmaier said.
"Where's the beef?"
"Where's the beef?" Clara Peller bellowed again.
"Wait until he tugs on your dress," Sedelmaier
said.
Wendy's is spending $11 million on the "Where's
the beef?" campaign. Clara Peller, the most valuable
part of the $1 1 million expenditure, readied herself
for another take. America, America.
1S34, Tribune Company Syndicate, Inc.
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