This Texas Man Will Forever Be Known as the “Bubble Gum King”

You probably never knew that Texas was extremely important to the mass production of bubblegum but we are. It became available to everyone after World War II and it was all because of one man from McAllen, Texas: Andrew (Andy) J. Paris.

How did Andrew Paris become the Bubble Gum King of Texas?

While Andrew was born in Detroit, his family would start a business importing candy from Mexico into the United States and he would help out the family business. After the World War II ended, Andrew built a factory in South Texas after taking a trip to Mexico in 1947. He visited a latex factory in Monterrey & bought a huge supply of latex to bring it back to the States. Why? To create bubble gum!

Well it was more than just that; according to Andrew himself, he explained that there was a very small amount of bubblegum in the country & after seeing kids fight over a stick of gum, he decided to create it himself. And he did make gum...A LOT of it.

Andrew Paris became a local celebrity after he invented his own brand of gum called "Paris Bubble Gum". He once dated Marilyn Monroe & even taught Natalie Wood how to blow bubble gum bubbles. It was during this time that Life Magazine dubbed Andrew Paris as the "Bubble Gum King". Andrew Paris died of a heart attack in 1997 at the age of 78.

Today there exists an art gallery dedicated to Andrew Paris at the University of Texas at Austin as well as a movie about Andrew's life called "Andy Paris: The Bubble Gum King" that was created by Andy's son, John Paris.

That's not all though; the very same Paris Gum Factory in McAllen, Texas has its own historical marker that was erected in 2012. The building is now a called the "Trapped Escape Room" but right in front of the building, the marker is still standing where the gum factory used to stand.

Thank you Andy for your love & dedication to bubble gum so that we may enjoy it everyday in Texas.

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