These are indeed sad days for anyone with a love of fried chicken in his heart. First came the unimaginable news that Kentucky Fried Chicken was going to change its time-honored name to, get this, Kentucky Fried and Grilled Chicken. (Yeah, that'll bring in the health-conscious consumer!) The weekend brought even worse news: Popeyes founder Al Copeland has died. Copeland was a living legend in his hometown of New Orleans, where he was frequently tooling around in his Rolls-Royces, and per his Daily News obituary, “outfitting his Lake Pontchartrain home with lavish Christmas decorations, including half-a-million lights and a 3-story-tall snowman.” Now that's what we want from our chicken moguls! Soon, no doubt, Popeyes will swap their mouthwateringly crusty and brittle breading in favor of skinless breasts to woo nonagenarians and stroller moms. We can only imagine that the state of fried chicken in America will have Copeland spinning in his grave.

Popeyes chicken founder dies [NYDN]