AP Photo/Chris GardnerCurtis Allina, who came up with the idea of putting character heads on PEZ dispensers, died recently.

Did you hear that Curtis Allina died a few weeks ago?

Never heard of him?

Well, you've probably taken a bite out of one his candies.

Allina is credited with the addition of heads on the dispensers for PEZ candy. For nearly three decades after World War II, Allina was the vice president in charge of U.S. operations at what is now PEZ candy. In 1955, at his urging, what had been an Austrian confection for adults took on vibrant new life as a children's product. That year, the first character dispensers were issued. Check out the New York Times' fascinating obituary.