Kenneth Lamar Noid walks into a Domino’s Pizza shop in Chamblee, Georgia. The smell of freshly
baking dough and tomato sauce fill the air. The man behind the counter smiles and asks Kenneth
what he can get him. After a moment's pause, Kenneth pulls out a gun. “I want $100,000,
a white limousine, and a book,” he says. “And if I don’t get it, I’m killing everyone in this store.”
Sean Burnsed freezes as the .357 Magnum is pointed at him. Adrenaline pumps through his
body as his fight or flight response engages. “Whatever you want man,” he
tells Kenneth. Burnsed fumbles with the cash register. He puts in the wrong code,
and the drawer doesn’t open. The gunman becomes visibly upset. He tries again,
and this time the drawer opens. The store itself doesn’t have $100,000 in the register or safe,
which means that Burnsed and his co-worker are about to become hostages.
Kenneth seems to want more than just cash, though. Burnsed and his co-worker
had opened the shop only minutes before Kenneth Noid walked in and took out his
gun. Originally they had just wanted to make it through the day so they
could get paid and go home. Now all they want is to get out of the store alive.
“Take everything in the register,” Burnsed tells the gunman. Kenneth looks at him,
becoming a little bit annoyed. He starts explaining that it's not just about the money;
Domino’s has been using his identity and making fun of him at the same time. He believes that
Tom Monaghan, the owner of Domino’s, owes him a lot of money because their new mascot is
based on him. Burnsed pauses for a moment with a confused look on his face. “The mascot?” he asks.
Burnsed glances at the poster hung up on the wall of the store. On it is the claymation mascot of
Domino’s called “ the Noid”. The man pointing a gun at him tells Burnsed that his name is Kenneth
Lamar Noid. Burnsed immediately realizes the mascot’s and Kenneth’s last name are the same.
This man is clearly not well as the resemblance ends there, but he isn’t about to tell him that.
Kenneth Noid had first seen Domino’s new mascot in a television commercial,
just like millions of other people in 1986. Domino’s had developed the
character to sell their groundbreaking new promotion: delivery of your pizza in
30 minutes or less or your cash back. In the commercial, “the Noid,” short for annoyed,
tries all sorts of crazy gimmicks to delay a Domino’s pizza from being delivered on time.
These commercials were a huge success. People not only loved the idea of getting their pizza
delivered quickly, but they loved the mascot as well. This started to bring Domino’s more and more
business, which meant they had big plans for the Noid. In fact, the Noid character itself became so
popular that he even made appearances in Michael Jackson’s musical film “Moonwalker,” video games,
and clothing lines. But Kenneth Lamar Noid did not like the new mascot one bit. He truly thought
that Domino’s was using it to directly make fun of him. This led Kenneth to the conclusion that
he needed to do something drastic to get Tom Monaghan’s attention. He decided that holding
a Domino’s store hostage was the best way to get what he rightfully deserved from the company.
Kenneth Noid yells at Burnsed to get Monaghan on the phone. In a panic, Burnsed starts to
tell Kenneth that he doesn’t know the number to reach Tom Monaghan. Employees are not normally
privileged to that information, but before he speaks, Burnsed remembers that he was given the
safety hotline number during his training. He dials this number; the phone begins to
ring. It seems like an eternity until a friendly female voice picks up. Burnsed looks at Kenneth,
who is still pointing the gun at him, and explains to the woman on the other line what is going on.
Kenneth Noid tells Burnsed to inform her of exactly why he wants to talk to Tom Monaghan.
The lady on the other line chuckles as she thinks this is some kind of joke. Then,
over the receiver, she hears a gunshot. The line goes deadly quiet. Another shot is fired
and can be heard through the phone’s speaker. Burnsed comes back on the line and tells her
that Kenneth Noid just fired two bullets into the ceiling to show he was serious. He pleads
with the woman on the phone to get in contact with the owner of Domino’s by any means possible.
She immediately picks up another phone and dials the police. On Burnsed’s line,
she can hear Kenneth screaming that he will kill everyone in the store if he doesn’t get
exactly what he wants. Kenneth Noid grabs the phone from Burnsed’s hand and continues
yelling into it. Then he hangs up and slams the phone back into its receiver. Shocked,
the woman working the safety hotline tells the police exactly what happened and the location
of the Domino’s store where people are being held at gunpoint. Officers are immediately dispatched,
and the Domino’s hostage situation over the Noid mascot officially begins.
Burnsed and his co-worker are stuck behind the counter. Kenneth points his gun at them
as every phone in the store begins ringing at once. The sound of sirens can be heard in the
distance. The Domino’s employees can clearly see that Kenneth is unhinged. They don’t know
if they will make it out of the pizza shop alive, but they do their best to remain calm.
As police cars surround the Domino’s shop and blue flashing lights flood through the window,
Kenneth Noid fires four warning shots into the ceiling. The police realize just how dangerous
the situation is. They don’t fire back, but they draw their guns and cover all of the exits.
Kenneth locks all of the doors and stays away from the windows. Officers get a
glimpse of him every now and then but cannot safely take a shot at Kenneth.
The phones continue to ring as negotiators try to get through to the man holding the
store hostage. Finally, Kenneth Noid picks up. On the other line is a negotiator. They talk for
a few minutes while the negotiator listens and builds a profile of the man he’s speaking to.
Kenneth explains how Domino’s is using the Noid to make fun of him and how the company
owes him a lot of money for what they’ve done. The negotiator actively listens to Kenneth and
tells him that he’s being heard but that he needs to release the hostages as a sign of good faith.
Kenneth Noid loses his cool and begins screaming at the top of his lungs. The negotiator becomes
worried that he might do something drastic. He talks Kenneth down and continues to listen to
what he has to say. Although he is coherent, a lot of the things Kenneth is communicating
are irrational. He also no longer just wants money but a getaway plane to Mexico as well.
The negotiator has Kenneth go back to the beginning of his story and explain
once more why he is holding the people within the pizza shop hostage. The police are biding
their time as they formulate a plan to get everyone out of the Domino’s store alive.
Kenneth goes through his whole convoluted story of how Tom Monaghan created the Noid mascot to
taunt him and make him look stupid. There is no reasoning with Kenneth Noid at this point,
so the negotiator just listens. Kenneth explains that he still wants the money,
but he also requires the police to bring him a copy of a science fiction book called “The
Widow’s Son”. The negotiator says they can get the book first and will work on
the rest as securing the money and plane will take time. Obviously, the police are
not getting Kenneth a plane or the money, but they need to keep him talking. As negotiations
continue, chaos breaks out at the Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The executives of the company meet in a boardroom to closely follow the hostage
situation. They inform the police that they are willing to provide them with anything
they need in order to get their people out safely. Monaghan even goes as far
as to offer them his private jet if it will help with the negotiations. The police tell
the executives they’ll be kept in the loop, but for now, everything is under control.
Even with this reassurance, the heads of the company can’t help but worry.
They have all of the televisions in the conference room on. Every major news
station in the country is reporting on the hostage situation. Headlines flash across
the screens as reporters speculate what the most likely outcome will be. At any moment,
Kenneth Noid might snap, and people could be seriously injured or killed.
Back in Georgia, the police get their hands on a copy of “The Widow’s Son.”
The negotiator informs Kenneth that they have the book for him,
but he will have to release one of the hostages in exchange for the novel.
This does not sit well with Kenneth. He once again begins screaming into the phone about
the conspiracy Domino’s has been perpetrating to make him look like an idiot. Kenneth Noid
then tells the negotiator he doesn’t want the book anymore and is keeping all the hostages.
The law enforcement agents on the scene regroup to come up with a new plan. It might be time to
consider using force. They must either get into the pizza shop to confront Kenneth or find some
way to get him to let the hostages come out. While the police formulate their next course of action,
Burnsed takes matters into his own hands. He knows that the officers outside are trying their best,
but it might not be enough. He can see how disgruntled Kenneth Noid is becoming
and is afraid that if he doesn’t calm down, someone could get hurt.
Burnsed begins to talk to Kenneth. He tells him that he believes his story and that he feels
awful for what Domino’s has done to him. Burnsed then asks if he can get Kenneth anything. They
have been in the shop for a few hours now, and everyone is nervous and exhausted. Kenneth Noid
looks up at the menu and thinks for a moment. He asks for an “ExtravaganZZa” pizza. Burnsed
tells him it's no problem at all and gets to work making the pizza with his co-worker.
The two Domino’s employees put four kinds of meats, a plethora of veggies,
and extra mozzarella cheese onto the pizza. They slide it into the oven and wait. Time
ticks by. There has been no communication from the negotiator for a while now. Kenneth Noid paces
back and forth across the store. The oven dings and the steaming pizza is pulled out and placed
onto the counter. Burnsed reaches for a pizza cutter when Kenneth starts screaming at him.
“Don’t touch that!” he shouts. Burnsed freezes and drops the pizza cutter in his hand.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you were going to attack me with the pizza cutter?”
Kenneth asks. Burnsed had no intention of trying to fight off a man with a gun
using only a pizza cutter. But Kenneth doesn’t believe him. He tells Burnsed
to just leave the pizza as it is, and he will eat it without having it cut into slices.
Burnsed shrugs and hands the uncut pizza over to Kenneth. He begins chowing down on the pizza as
the two Domino’s employees stand in the corner of the store. On the other side of the front door,
dozens of police officers aim their pistols at the shop. Across the street, a crowd of people
has gathered. News reporters give minute-to-minute updates while pedestrians look on in anticipation.
Even though Kenneth Noid has been given one of the most expensive pizzas on the menu, he is
still dissatisfied. He continues to ask where his money and plane are. No matter what the negotiator
says over the phone, no headway seems to be made. The officers in charge decide that they
need to go into the shop to talk to Kenneth. The face-to-face interaction will give the police a
better idea of his mental and physical state while also allowing them to check in on the hostages.
The negotiator calls the store and waits for Kenneth to pick up. When he does,
the negotiator calmly explains that they need to have an in-person meeting to talk
about what the next steps will be. After going back and forth,
Kenneth finally agrees to let officers into the store. Everyone gears up and prepares
for the meeting. However, no one could have predicted what would happen next.
It is clear that Kenneth Noid is unstable. The negotiator puts on a bulletproof vest just in case
things go sideways. He hopes that by talking to Kenneth in person, he can convince him to release
at least one of the hostages. The last thing anyone wants is a shootout, but this is still
a very real possibility, and the police know it. They tell everyone who is watching the situation
unfold to stay back. This is a crucial moment for the hostages and the mission as a whole.
The negotiator signals to Kenneth that he’s ready to proceed. Kenneth has become extra
cautious at this point. The police brought him the book he requested but haven’t met any of
his other demands. He knows that they might try to shoot him if he goes to the door himself. So,
Kenneth tells Burnsed to unlock the door and let the negotiator in.
Burnsed slowly walks up to the front door. He reaches out and turns the deadbolt. The door
unlocks with a loud click. Burnsed looks back at Kenneth and sees that he is several feet away and
hiding near the counter. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes for a moment, and then pushes the
door wide open. He rushes out and sprints as fast as he can towards the nearest police car.
The whole time he is running, all Burnsed can think about is how easily Kenneth could just
shoot him in the back. But he had to get out of the store. Although Kenneth hadn’t harmed him or
his co-worker yet, he was slowly becoming more and more unhinged. It was only a matter of time before
Kenneth Noid did something crazy, and Burnsed was not going to wait around for it to happen.
Burnsed pushes his body as hard as it will go. Officers run out
from behind their cover and escort him to safety. Burnsed collapses and tells
the police everything he knows about the situation inside. Every piece of
information is vital if they are going to end the standoff without anyone getting killed.
Kenneth Noid begins to scream as one of his hostages escapes. He runs towards the door
but thinks better of it. Kenneth turns and sprints towards the counter and hides behind
it. As he turns his back to the door for a moment, Burnsed’s co-worker makes a mad dash for the exit.
The co-worker bursts through the opening and runs to safety. The police have secured both hostages,
but the gunman is still held up in the Domino’s store. They are really hoping the situation can
end without any casualties, but Kenneth is armed, dangerous, and now extremely mad.
The sun is setting over the small town just outside of Atlanta. It has been nearly five
hours since Kenneth Noid entered the Domino’s pizza. Through the windows,
police can see that Kenneth appears to be talking to himself. This man is not well,
and they are worried that he could hurt himself or do something drastic if they
don’t get to him soon. The negotiator gets back on the phone and talks to Kenneth.
Kenneth Noid no longer has any hostages or leverage to get what he wants. The negotiator
tells him that it’s over, but he still wants to help. If Kenneth surrenders willingly and
without incident, the judge will be lenient as he hasn’t hurt anyone yet. There is a pause on
the other line. Kenneth hangs up the phone. The negotiator doesn’t know what will happen next.
All eyes are on the pizza shop. Kenneth Noid approaches the front door and opens it. Every
officer in the parking lot has their gun aimed at him. Kenneth places his firearm
on the ground and puts his hands over his head. Police officers slowly approach him,
place his hands behind his back, and arrest him. The hostage situation caused by a misunderstanding
over the Domino’s mascot has come to an end. But the Noid’s story is not quite over yet.
Kenneth Lamar Noid is placed in jail to await his trial. He is charged with kidnapping,
aggravated assault, and theft by extortion. During his trial,
Kenneth explains to the court that Tom Monaghan was entering his apartment and snooping around
at night. He states that Monaghan then used the information he gathered on him to create
the Noid mascot. It is clear from Kenneth’s testimony that he is paranoid and mentally ill.
After some deliberation, the judge finds Kenneth not guilty due to insanity. He is
placed in the care of a psychiatric ward, where he receives the help he needs to move past his
delusions. For several years Kenneth receives psychiatric care. His progress is slow and he
continues to believe in the delusion that the Noid mascot is out to get him. The doctors
give him medications and have him in therapy multiple times a week, but nothing seems to help.
At the same time that Kenneth is being treated, Domino’s continues to use the
Noid in their commercials. Even if Kenneth didn’t like the mascot, other people did,
and it was helping the company sell pizza. The Noid continued to try and thwart Domino’s pizza
delivery personnel from getting to their customers in 30 minutes or less. He used a
freeze ray to try and make Domino's pizza cold upon delivery, but no matter what the Noid did,
he would always fail. It is these commercials that led to the Noid becoming a small but
memorable part of peoples’ lives. The nostalgia that they felt for the Noid helped the character
come back in future adventures, even after the hostage situation at the pizza shop.
But as Domino’s continued to promote their products and the business continued to grow,
things started getting worse and worse for Kenneth Noid. He was still receiving psychiatric help,
but his delusions persisted. Then in 1995, Kenneth Noid passed away
tragically. It was around this same time that Domino’s stopped using the Noid mascot.
The timing may have been coincidental as no official statement was made. Some
spokespeople in the company said Domino’s was just going in another direction,
and their former mascot wasn’t in line with their marketing strategy anymore. But others speculated
that the decision to stop using the Noid had to do with Kenneth’s passing. Either way,
by the mid-1990s, the Noid mascot stopped appearing on merch and in new commercials and
became just a memory for many. However, the Noid would one day appear again.
When Domino’s started tossing around the idea of self-driving delivery cars,
the Noid was brought up as the perfect villain for their commercials. However, nothing ever came
of this. In 2011 Domino’s created the “Noid’s Super Pizza Shootout” Facebook game to promote
their brand on social media. This was short-lived and didn’t seem to help sell very many pizzas,
but it did show that the Noid was still in the marketing department’s bag of tricks.
In fact, the Noid made a much more recent appearance in 2021 in the Crash Bandicoot
video game franchise. The game Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! includes a level
where the player has to dodge the Noid’s freeze rays in order to complete the level.
The hostage situation that developed as a result of a mentally ill man having
the same last name as the Domino’s mascot was tragic. Kenneth Lamar Noid needed help,
and the day he walked into a Domino’s with a loaded gun asking for reparations from the
pizza company for using his identity was the beginning of the end for both him and
the Noid. Even though the Domino’s mascot still makes an appearance now and then, the hostage
situation likely put a damper on the company’s future plans for the mascot in the 1990s.
Now watch “Insane Way Bank Robbers Executed Perfect Bank Heist (Stole
$20 Million).” Or check out “Why Diplomats Can Commit Any Crime.”