Diksha Sundriyal
Directed by John Lee Hancock, ‘The Founder’ stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, a bold man favored by fortune. Things hadn’t always been good for him, but they really took a turn for the better after he pursued the opportunity of getting his hands on McDonald’s, an emerging brand in the restaurant business. The business didn’t just bring him unprecedented success and wealth, but it also introduced him to Joan, the woman he would eventually make his third wife. Before she married Ray Kroc, Joan was married to Rawland “Rollie” Smith, who rescinded in the shadows when Joan and Ray’s love story picked up.
Rollie Smith Made a Fortune from McDonald’s But at the Cost of His Marriage
Rawland “Rollie” Smith was born in 1924 in Montana to Francis and Alma Mary Smith. He met Joan Beverly Mansfield as a teenager. They got married in 1945 and had a daughter named Linda. While the movie presents him as a restaurant owner who invested in McDonald’s by becoming one of the franchise owners, the truth is a bit different. Rollie was a Navy veteran who was employed at the Milwaukee Road railroad as a fireman. It was Jim Zien who owned the restaurant Criterion and invested in the business. Rollie came on board as a manager for one of Jim’s McDonald’s.
Rollie and Joan crossed paths with Ray Kroc in 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota, following which Rollie secured the job as the on-site manager for Zien’s venture. This was a huge turning point for him because not only did the business do really well, but Zien also generously split the profits between them, with Rollie receiving thousands of dollars worth of bonuses in their first year together. A scene in the movie shows Rollie and Joan proposing the idea of Instamix to Ray. This never happened, as the part about the milkshakes is heavily fictionalized in the movie and turned out pretty differently in real life. What the movie does get right is Ray and Joan’s increasing attraction to each other.
There was a point where Joan almost left Rollie and eloped with Ray. However, she changed her mind at the last minute and came back to her husband. By this time, Rollie had made enough money as a manager and was ready to open his own McDonald’s. For this, he took his family to Rapid City, South Dakota. It took twelve years for Joan to eventually get a divorce from Rollie and marry Ray. The couple officially split up in 1969. Despite the personal issues, Rollie did not let it affect his professional life. In partnership with Zien, he continued to make a serious profit by opening other franchises. However, he did all this away from the spotlight, which is why not much is known about him outside of his marriage with Joan. While it is not clear whether he remarried, there is a good chance that he did. He passed away at the age of 79 in Mesquite, Nevada.
Read More: The Founder: Is the Movie Based on Ray Kroc’s Story?
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