Exclusive! Death of Hardee's founder is the eighth demise of a fast food legend this year. So far.

The story is simple:

Fast food pioneers and legends are dropping like flies on the grill in 2008.

Sooner or later, the mainstream media will be forced to catch on.

Wilbur Hardee, founder of the Hardees's chain, makes eight. Eight deaths of fast food moguls in the first six months of 2008. So far.

Today, we add Wilbur Hardee to the list of the dead:

Carl Karcher
founder of Carl’s Jr. (January 11);
Lovie Yancie
founder of Fatburger (January 23);
Al Copeland
founder of Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken (March 23);
Herb Peterson
inventor of the Egg McMuffin (March 25);
Irvine "Irv" Robbins
co-founder of Baskin-Robbins (May 5);
J.R. Simplot
king of the frozen french fries (May 25);
Neil Baker
Baker's Drive-Thru and Taco Bell (May 31)
Wilbur Hardee
founder of Hardee's (June 20)
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The list speaks for itself. No?

Hardee's first drive-in restaurant didn't have tables or carhops, but built a loyal following o who stopped in for 15-cent hamburgers cooked on a charcoal broiler. The menu also featured cheeseburgers for 20 cents, French fries, sodas, coffee and apple pie.

Today, there are 1,900 Hardee's across the Midwest and Southeast and in 200 international locations.

Hardee's Monster Thickburger contains 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.

Wilbur Hardee died Friday of unspecified causes.

He was 84.