How to Get Inducted Into White Castle's Hall of Fame
Join Alice Cooper and the stars behind "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle."
— -- Want to be a true burger king or queen? Since 2001, 7,645 people have tried to be admitted into White Castle's Hall of Fame, but only 170 have been inducted.
How do you join this venerable list of White Castle fans, the latest of whom is rocker Alice Cooper?
Unless you're Cooper, who was invited to be inducted, you just have to apply online.
White Castle accepts applicants year-round on its website, though only entries submitted by July 31 will be considered for White Castle's 14th annual Cravers Hall of Fame contest. Applicants simply submit their "story" behind their love of White Castle, a photo and basic information.
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A panel of judges then rates the stories and selects any number of finalists, according to Todd Hutchins, a White Castle spokesman.
Hutchins said the company can get, say, 1,600 applications and narrow the pool down to 20 or 40 people. Then the panel can select as many as a dozen people for the Hall of Fame.
Inductees include the creators and actors of the 2004 film, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," and a woman who first dated her husband of more than 32 years at the fast food chain.
Cooper was inducted into the White Castle Cravers Hall of Fame at the home office in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday. Cooper did not apply, Hutchins said.
"Alice grew up in Detroit and he has basically been a White Castle 'craver' since he was a child. He has made mention of that in the past," Hutchins said.
Bill Ingram, CEO of White Castle, happens to be friends with Cooper's manager and invited the rock star to become inducted. The ceremony took place this week while Cooper was in Ohio for an unrelated performance.
The other inductees will take part in a ceremony in October at the headquarters, with transportation and lodging paid for by the company. After an office tour and meeting White Castle executives, inductees tell their story in a ceremony and then get a plaque.