Threatening to kill Col. Sanders of KFC fame is almost as bad as threatening Santa Claus — at least for those of us who grew up on the 11 herbs and spices.
We last reported that the FBI opened a file on the legend after he asked for an autograph from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
But apparently there’s more.
The Associated Press reports that released FBI documents from the 1970s show someone threatened the life of Sanders.
AP reported that someone wrote a hand-written note addressed to Sanders and his wife who lived in Kentucky. It stated that he was in “grave danger of being murdered.”
AP reported that the note said “for details go to any recruiting station and call the Los Angeles Nike Missile Base.” The note was signed “The General.”
Sanders died in 1980 at age 90. He had leukemia.
KFC spokesman Rick Maynard told AP that Sanders received millions of correspondence and virtually all were positive.
“While it was prudent for the Colonel to take this isolated threat seriously, we have no reason to believe the anonymous letter was anything more than a prank,” Maynard said in an e-mail.
The FBI files were first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader on Thursday.
