Rest In Play - 1980 thru 1989

Eleanor Abbott was born on September 9, 1910, and passed away on December 10, 1988. The idea for Candy Land came in 1948, when a polio outbreak hit San Diego. Eleanor was recuperating from the dis...ease in a hospital surrounded by many children who were suffering alone. Once Eleanor returned home, she sketched out her idea for Candy Land before returning to the hospital and teaching the children how to play. They loved it! Finding such success with the children in the hospital, Eleanor sent her game to Milton Bradley. The game hit shelves in 1949, where you could buy it for a single dollar. To date, over 50 million copies of the game have been sold. Eleanor donated much of the money she received from the game to children affected by polio and lived a modest live in San Diego. She lived most of her live in a home she shared with her sister, Betty Ann. Tragically, Eleanor was devastated by Betty Ann's death in 1987 and died by suicide the following year at 78 years old.Show more

Cliff Freeland was born in 1915 and passed away in 1987 at the age of 72. He was an American artist known for both landscape painting and commercial art. Cliff attended Pratt Institute of New York,... and later worked for Louis Marx Company, where he was the art director, and traveled all over the world in this position. He created the original Disneykins, studied magic under Blackstone, and taught President Dwight D. Eisenhower how to paint.Show more

Louis Marx (August 11, 1896 – February 5, 1982) was an American toy maker and businessman whose company, Louis Marx and Company, was the largest toy company in the world in the 1950s. He was describ...ed by some as an experienced businessman with the mind of child.[1] Marx was known by numerous nicknames, including "Toycoon," "the Henry Ford of the toy industry," "the hawk of the toy industry," and "the toy king of America. (from Wikipedia)Show more

January 19, 1942 – June 25, 1989) was an American businessman best known for being the chairman and chief executive officer of Hasbro from 1980 until 1989. In 1980, Stephen's father Merrill died, an...d Stephen took over control of Hasbro. From 1980 to 1986, Stephen Hassenfeld increased Hasbro's profitability by 85% annually. Only two Fortune 500 companies have achieved such a high rate of growth in profitability. Forbes magazine rated Hasbro number one in a thousand-corporation survey of increased value during the first half of the 1980s, well ahead of other successful companies such as Wal-Mart and Berkshire Hathaway. In 1983, Hassenfeld established the Hasbro Charitable Trust, and in 1984, he created Hasbro Children's Foundation. The two charities help to improve the lives of children and their families throughout the world by providing management of grant donations in operating areas, product donation, matching gifts to higher education, special community projects, and volunteering. Also, in 1990, the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders was created. The Children's Center is affiliated with NYU Langone Health, and under its current director, Dr. Elizabeth Raetz has been making remarkable strides in alleviating the worst of children's suffering. (from Wikipedia)Show more