<P> The company's familiar logo comprising a red apple, leaves, green grapes, currants, and purple grapes forms a widely recognizable trademark . The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer . In TV commercials for the brand, actors play the roles of only four of the logo's parts: the apple, green grapes, purple grapes, and leaves . The role of "Apple" is played by Rad Daly, and the "Leaf" was at one time played by Academy Award - winning actor F. Murray Abraham, and has been played by Gene Steichen since the Fruit Guys were re-introduced to the public in 2001 . "Green Grapes" is played by Richard Steven Horvitz . "Purple Grapes" is played by Wayne Wilderson . </P> <P> Fruit of the Loom acquired Russell . Brands includes Russell Athletic, Brooks Running and Spalding among other names in athletic wear . </P> <P> The Fruit of the Loom brand dates back to 1851 in Rhode Island when Robert Knight, a textile mill owner, visited his friend, Rufus Skeel . Skeel owned a small shop in Providence that sold cloth from Knight's mill . Skeel's daughter painted images of apples and applied them to the bolts of cloth . The ones with the apple emblems proved most popular . Mr. Knight thought the labels would be the perfect symbol for his trade name, Fruit of the Loom--an expression referring to clothes, paralleling the phrase "fruit of the womb" meaning "children", which can be traced back to use in the Bible (Psalm 127: 3). </P> <P> In 1871, just one year after the first trademark laws were passed by Congress, Knight received trademark number 418 for the brand "Fruit of the Loom". </P>

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