Owner of Ohio hot dog diner linked to 'M*A*S*H' diner dies

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The man who bought the northwest Ohio hot dog eatery made famous on the TV series “M*ASH” has died. Robert G. Bennett was 76.

A spokeswoman for Maumee-based Bennett Management Corp. says the Sylvania resident died Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic after a short illness.

Bennett gained national attention in 2011 when he won the $5.5 million bid in the court-ordered sale of the Tony Packo’s hot dog restaurant chain. Spokeswoman Beverly Benner says Bennett was CEO and chairman of Tony Packo’s Toledo LLC and Bennett Management, which owns Burger Kings in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Toledo native and actor Jamie Farr made Tony Packo’s famous in the 1970s portraying a U.S. soldier in the Korean War who longed for the eatery’s hot dogs. Packo’s still draws tourists.