Rest In Play - 2010 thru 2019

William "Bill" Dohrman was born on January 25, 1935 and passed away on January 14, 2018 at the age of 82. Bill began his career in advertising in Chicago, but in 1968 he moved to the Boston area to... work in research and development for the toy and game industry. He worked for Parker Brothers and Hasbro over the years and discovered and developed hundreds of games including the Nerf Ball and Boggle. Outside of work, Bill had a deep love for history, philosophy, and literature, and reviewed many works as a contributing editor of The Readers Exchange. Bill is survived by his wife of over 25 years, Linda Ritchey Post, and his three children from his first marriage, William, Natalie, and Ross. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Walter Frederick Morrison was born on January 23, 1920 and passed away on February 9, 2010. He is most famous for inventing the Frisbee. Walter came up with the idea for Frisbee while innocently th...rowing a popcorn can lid back and forth with his girlfriend, Lucille, whom he ended up marrying and having three children with. After denting the popcorn can lid, he realized that cake pans flew better. A year later, while tossing the cake pan back and forth on a beach in Santa Monica, they were offered 25 cents (which is now equivalent to $5) for the cake pan. And thus, the inventor became the entrepreneur. Together, Walter and Lucille started selling Flyin' Cake Pans on the beaches of California. It wasn't until 1946 that Walter sketched a design for the flying disc. In 1948, Warren Franscioni paid for molding the design in plastic, and together they named it the Flyin-Saucer. Unfortunately, sales weren't great, and they parted ways. In 1955, Walter and Lucille designed the Pluto Platter, and in 1957, they sold the right to Wham-O. They changed the name to Frisbee, and the rest is history. Walter invented many other toys and games for Wham-O, but none were as successful as the frisbee, which is still popular today, and can be found in most garages. Walter and Lucille had a son and two daughters before divorcing, getting back together, and then divorcing again. Lucille died in 1987, and Walter lived out his days in his home in Monroe, Utah.Show more

Frank Brilando was born on June 29, 1925 and passed away on May 5, 2019. Though he is most well known for competing in the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics as a cyclist, he also was an engineer who helpe...d create the Sting-Ray and the first deraileur-equipped mass-produced bicycles in the U.S. Frank started at Schwinn in 1951 as a draftsman before becoming chief engineer. In helping to create the Sting-Ray and the first deraileur-equipped mass-produced bicycles, he developed the quick-release hub retention device, reflector bracket, and the unicycle frame.Show more

Ralph Baer was a German-American inventor, game developer, and engineer who is considered "the Father of Video Games." He was born in Germany on March 8, 2022, and his family fled to the United States... just before World War II. Baer served in the American war effort before becoming interested in electronics. He was the first person to conceive of playing games on television screens. Along with his employers, he designed the Brown Box, which later became the blueprint for the first home video game console, licensed by Magnavox. Throughout his life, he was also involved with the production and development of many video games, including Simon, Super Simon, and Maniac. Baer was recognized as a pioneer in the video game field and won the following awards: G-Phoria Legend Award, IEEE Maseru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award, the Game Developers Conference Developers Choice "Pioneer" award, the IEEE Edison Medal, and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's Pioneer Award. In 2006, Baer was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President George W. Bush. In 2010, Baer was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Baer donated many of his inventions to The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where many of them along with his workshop are on permanent display in the Innovation Wing.Show more

Milton Levine, co-founder of Uncle Milton Toys, was born on November 3, 1913 and passed away at the age of 97 on January 16, 2011. Milton was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, near his uncle's farm.... as a child, he collected ants in a jar while visiting his uncle's farm. He served in World War II as an engineer, and afterwards, formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, E. Joseph Cossman. Together, they sold the potato gun, toy shrunken heads, and balloon animals. In 1956, while at a Fourth of July picnic, Milton spotted a mound of ants, and it was this moment that inspired him to found Uncle Milton's Toys, which is best known for the Uncle Milton Ant Farm. Milton sold the original ant farms for $1.29 and were 6 inches by 9 inches. They became incredibly popular for after school programs. After purchasing the ant farm, one would have to put in a mail request for a shipment of 25 ants. At the time of Milton's death, over 20 million units were sold. Milton also published two books, one in 1970: Uncle Milton's Ant Facts and Fantasies, and another in 1993: How I Made $1,000,000 in Mail Order-and You Can Too!Show more

French Inventor Of Etch A Sketch September 23, 1926 – January 16, 2013

Peter Mayhew, a British-American actor best known for his role as Chewbacca, passed away on April 30, 2019. At age 8, Mayhew was diagnosed with gigantism, reaching a peak height of 7 feet 3 inches.... Mayhew starred as Chewbacca in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 original to The Force Awakens in 2015. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Film Awards in 1997. He also wrote two books for younger audiences: Growing Up Giant and My Favorite Giant.Show more

Ralph Kaufman passed away at age 99 on November 21, 2017. He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and went to officer training school upon his graduation. In April 1944, R...alph married Dorothy Ellen Borden, his wife of 67 years, and soon after was deployed to Europe to serve in World War II. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After returning from war, Ralph joined his father-in-law in the family toy business: Jaymar Specialty Company, which he eventually took over and ran as President until his retirement in the 1990s. The most successful toys were the Jaymar puzzles and Jaymar pianos. His work often brought him to Japan, where he developed a lasting appreciation for the country and made lifelong friends.Show more

Tom Kremer, game designer and inventor, marketer, publisher, and entrepreneur, passed away on June 24 2017. He is best known for his discovery and popularization of the Rubik's cube. He also founded t...he publishing house Notting Hill Editions. Kremer studied philosophy at Edinburgh University and completed post-graduate research at the Sorbonne. He saw the Rubik's Cube for the first time in 1979 at the Nuremberg toy fair and licensed it to the Ideal Toy Company. Kremer was a cofounder of Winning Moves Games and chairman of the board. Kremer was married to Lady Alison Emily Kremer.Show more

Leonard Greenberg, son of Maurice Greenberg, who founded Coleco, passed away in July of 2017. He was deeply involved in the family company, being the first to move the company toward leathercraft kits..., which, in 1954, was selected as a Child Guidance Prestige Toy. Because of this, Coleco, at this time known as Connecticut Leather Company, permanently committed to the toy business. Leonard also encouraged the company to adopt the emerging technology of vacuum formed plastic, which led to the production of a wide variety of plastic toys and wading pools.Show more