Burt Shavitz, the Burt behind Burt’s Bees, dies at 80

PORTLAND, Maine — Burt Shavitz, the Burt behind Burt’s Bees who co-founded the natural cosmetics company, died Sunday. He was 80.

A spokeswoman for Burt’s Bees said in an emailed statement Shavtiz died of respiratory complications in Bangor, Maine, surrounded by family and friends.

Shavitz is known for being a character from the backwoods of Maine, but he grew up around New York, served in the Army in Germany and shot photos for Time-Life before leaving the city.

He was a hippie making a living by selling honey when his life was altered by a chance encounter with a hitchhiking Roxanne Quimby. She was a single mother and a back-to-the-lander who impressed Shavitz with her ingenuity and self-sufficiency.

In the 1980s she began making products from his beeswax, and they became partners. An image of Burt’s face – and his untamed beard – was featured on product labels.

The business partnership ended after Quimby moved the company to North Carolina in 1994. The company continued to expand, but Shavitz moved back to Maine. He has said he was forced after having an affair with an employee. In 2007, Clorox purchased Burt’s Bees for $925 million.

Shavitz received an undisclosed settlement — and 37 acres in remote corner of Maine. He also continued to make appearances on behalf of the company.

“What I have in this situation is no regret,” he said last year while sitting in a rocking chair in his home in Parkman. “The bottom line is she’s got her world and I’ve got mine, and we let it go at that.”

He tried leaving Maine once before, spending a winter on a warm island, but was drawn back to Maine. The reclusive former beekeeper was the subject of a documentary, “Burt’s Buzz.”

“Burt was a complex man who sought a simple life in pace with the seasons of nature on his land,” the company said in a statement. “If there is one thing we will remember from Burt’s life, in our fast-paced, high-tech culture, it’s to never lose sight of our relationship with nature.”

In recent years, Shavitz lived in a cluttered house with no running water. A converted turkey coop that used to be his home remained on his property. He liked passing the time by watching wildlife.