Harry Lewis | Hamburger Hamlet, 93

Harry Lewis, 93, founder of the Hamburger Hamlet chain, whose regular customers included Ronald Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor, died Sunday at a convalescent home in Beverly Hills.

Mr. Lewis was an actor who appeared in the 1948 movie Key Largo before founding Hamburger Hamlet chain in 1950 with his future wife, Marilyn.

The restaurants were decorated with movie memorabilia and offered customized hamburgers long before the idea became trendy. Mr. Lewis' son, Adam, told the Los Angeles Times that his father was compulsively driven by attention to detail and would cook 30 hamburgers at once.

At its peak, the chain had 24 restaurants nationwide. Today, there are five. Mr. Lewis and his wife sold the chain in the 1980s for $30 million. - AP