Co-founder of iconic Mr. Coffee brand dies in suburban Ohio home at age 91

CLEVELAND – A co-founder of the iconic Mr. Coffee brand that helped revolutionize how Americans make their morning brew has died. Vincent Marotta was 91.

He died Saturday at his home in suburban Cleveland.

Marotta and business partner Samuel Glazer turned Mr. Coffee into a household name after asking two engineers to create a drip brewing system like those found in restaurants. The brand’s fortunes received a boost when Marotta persuaded retired New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio to become the Mr. Coffee spokesman.

Marotta and Glazer sold North American Systems Inc., the company they created in 1972 to manufacture and market Mr. Coffee machines, for $182 million in 1987. Glazer died in 2012.

Marotta, of Pepper Pike, is survived by his wife Ann, six children and 11 grandchildren.