Who created the Speedee character used in McDonald's early branding?

Richard McDonald created Speedee, the chef mascot used in McDonald’s early branding. Speedee appeared as a smiling little chef and represented the restaurant’s original fast-service identity.

The McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice, opened their first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1948. Their Speedee Service System emphasized a limited menu and rapid preparation, so the mascot’s name referred directly to speed. The character predates Ronald McDonald and the modern Golden Arches emphasis.

Ray Kroc later expanded McDonald’s nationally, but he did not create Speedee. McDonald’s gradually retired the character as its branding shifted toward the arches and Ronald McDonald. Speedee is therefore associated especially with the company’s pre-1960s visual identity and its original operating concept.