Maurice Kanbar (1929–2022), creator of Skyy Vodka and the sweater defuzzer
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2 min readMaurice Kanbar was an inventor and entrepreneur whose creations included Skyy Vodka and the D-Fuzz-It device for sweaters.
- Died: August 20, 2022 (Who else died on August 20?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in San Francisco at the age of 93.
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Inventions
Born Moshe Shama in Palestine, Kanbar came to the U.S. with his family as a child. His first success as an inventor came in the early 1960s, when he noticed that brushing against a rough concrete wall removed fuzzballs of lint from his sweater. Inspired, he began working on a way to replicate the effect in a small, handheld tool. He ended up with the D-Fuzz-It, a comb-like device that immediately became popular, with $200,000 in sales in its first year. Kanbar went on to invent many other products, including a cryogenic cataract remover and a hypodermic needle protector. In 1992, he launched Skyy Vodka, the result of his search to find a distiller who could make a vodka that wouldn’t cause hangovers. Its distillation process removes congeners, which are believed to lead to the unpleasant sensations of a hangover. Kanbar also opened one of the first multiplex theaters in the U.S., Manhattan’s Quad Cinema.
Notable quote
“I’m never bored. I keep thinking what else can I do.” —from a 2015 interview for the Jewish News of Northern California
Tributes to Maurice Kanbar
Full obituary: The New York Times
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