Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Candace Irving was the Public Relations Manager for Mattel Toys from April 1976 until March 2000. Over the course of her 24 years at Mattel, she worked in the Public Relations office managing brands l...ike Barbie, Hot Wheels, Masters of the Universe, My Child, Princess of Power, and other Mattel brands. After her 2+ decades at Mattek, Candace worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment as the Senior Account Executive of Sales for two years. Then, she joined Warner Bros. as an Account Executive.Show more

Jake Sivner passed away in April of 2022 at the age of 22. Jake Sivner joined the toy industry in 2018 as a sales and marketing intern at ZURU Toys in Hong Kong, where he quickly moved into sales a...nd account management positions for the Asia Pacific and EMEA regions. Later, he joined YWOW Brands as sales director before relocating to Los Angeles to start his own company. In April 2021, he opened JAS (Jake Alexander Sivner) Ultimate Solutions, which specialized in marketing consulting for launching toy brands within the North American market.Show more

Steve Webb passed away in March of 2022 after a short battle with cancer. Steve had recently joined Cartamundi as the head of retail. Prior to this role, he spent several years at One For Fun as s...trategic account manager, and prior to that, he worked at A.B.Gee as national account manager. Steve leaves behind his wife, Nic, and his two children, Gracie and Jack. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Don Rubin was born on April 6, 1945 and passed away on April 8, 2022. Don attended Boston University and began his career in education, but that eventually evolved into much more. Throughout his l...ife he was a creative consultant, scripwriter, game designer, photographer, puzzle maker, research historian, editor, and writer. His creation, "The Real Puzzle" was published in over 300 national and international newspapers and magazines. Each week, when he created a new puzzle, he became a mini expert in the field of the topic of the puzzle. He also wrote many books, including, "The Real Puzzle Book", "What's the Big Idea", "Those Incredible Puzzles", "Think Tank", "Brainstorms" and "More Brainstorms". After finding so much success in the print world, he decided to delve into the online world as well. He worked on interactive games at Shockwave, Firemint, Ringzero Networks, and Electronic Arts. He was also a member of the Screen Writers Guild, and won many awards for editorial design, art direction, television and film design, photography, game design, advertising copywriting, and Web content development. Don leaves behind his lovely wife, Caroline Judy. He is deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Eric Carle was born on June 25, 1929 and passed away on May 23, 2021. He is most well known as the author of the children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric was born in New York but grew up ...in Germany, where he attended the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart. Eventually, after World War II ended, Eric made his way back to the US with just $40 in his savings account to work as a graphic designer for the New York Times. He was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War as a mail clerk. After his was discharged, he returned the New York Times. Later, he became the art director of an advertising agency. Eric got his start as an illustrator in 1967. Author Bill Martin Jr. noticed Eric's illustration of a lobster he did for an ad, and asked him to illustrate his picture book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? The book became a best seller, and thus Eric's illustrating career took off, only soon he was the author as well. His first books has both the author and illustrator were 1, 2, 3, to the Zoo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. What makes Eric's art so unique is the collaging technique he uses. He cuts and layered hand-painted paper to form very bright, eye-catching images. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 66 languages and in total has sold over 50 million copies. In total, Eric has illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also authored. More than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world. In 2003, Eric was awarded the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now the Children's Literature Legacy Award) by the American Library Association. Eric's also received the Japan Picture Book Award, the Regina Medal, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators. In 2012, The Very Hungry Caterpillar was voted the number two children's picture book (second only to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Eric and his second wife, Barbara Morrison, lived in Massachusetts, but also spent time in their vacation home in Key Largo, Florida. Eric had two children, a son and a daughter.Show more

David Spears, or Paul David Spearsm was born on June 9, 1939, and passed away on July 13, 2020. David founded his own company, Spears Marketing, and worked with big names like Mattel throughout hi...s 50-year career in the toy industry. Outside of the toy industry, David loved music, reading, working in his yard, and spending time with family. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Atsuko Tanaka was born on November 14, 1962 and passed away on August 20, 2024. Atsuko was born in Japan and became interested in acting at a young age. She attended Ferris University, and while sh...e studied she also worked as an extra at Shochiku. A few years later, she enrolled in Tokoyo Announcement Academy and jointed the talent agency Mausu Promotion. She also had a passion for dancing, though she ultimately chose acting over dancing. She was best known for her portrayal of Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell film and franchise, and she also voiced Konan in Naruto, Caster in Fate/stay night, Lisa Lisa in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Chun-Li in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Claudette in Queen's Blade, Karura in Utawarerumono, Bayonetta in the Bayonetta franchise, Hanami in Jujutsu Kaisen, and Kyrie Ushiromiya in Umineko no Naku Koro ni, among others.Show more

Today, we are all Luke, and he is our father, because the farm boy born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, later raised by his grandparents on a farm near Wellston, Michigan, is the one who said “I am your ...father.” He said it like he meant it, and we believed it in our bones, because that’s where Jones’ voice rattled and purred as Darth Vader in “The Empire Strikes Back” and other “Star Wars” pictures. Jones, who died Sept. 9 at the age of 93 at his home in Dutchess County, New York, took on Shakespeare, the Greeks, Jean Genet and a hundred comedies, yet it’s the voiceover work that everyone’s talking about today. He is, after all, the man who said “This is CNN” and CNN was instantly and for decades classier, more distinguished for it. Today, or tomorrow, or any day, another hundred or thousand or million people will hear his voice once again, or maybe for the first time, as Mustafa in “The Lion King.”Show more

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Rachael Lillis was born on July 8, 1969 and passed away on August 10, 2024. She was best known as the voice behind Misty and Jessie in the first eight seasons of the English dub of the TV series Pokem...on. Rachael attedned Smith College, where she was a premed student. She also trained in opera before she became a voice actor, and ended up studied voice acting in Boston before moving to NYC in 1996. Rachael was most famous for voicing Misty and Jessie, but she also voiced other Pokemon, including Goldeen, Jigglypuff, Vulpix and Venonat. In total, her voice appeared in 423 Pokemon episodes. She also voices various Pokemon int he Super Smash Bros video games, as well as some other games and shows. Rachael was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2024, which quickly spread to her spine, leaving her unable to walk. She moved into a nursing home to receive care, ultimately passing away in early August at the age of 55.Show more

Leonardo Riggio was born on February 28, 1941 and passed away on August 27, 2024. He was the founder of what we know as Barnes & Noble as well as GameStop. Leonardo attended New York University, a...nd while he was a student, he opened the Student Book Exchange in 1965. He then acquired the Barnes & Noble bookstore in NYC in 1971, adopted the name, and expanded on his network of bookstores by acquiring hundreds of them throughout his career. He is responsible for the B&N Superstore concept—adding cafes and comfy reading nooks to the stores. When Amazon became popular, Leonardo launched BarnesAndNoble.com to compete, and ended up opening a successful video game retail operation, which grew to become GameStop. Outside of his executive career, he also bred and raced horses for Thoroughbred racing. He also was the benefactor of many organizations and charities, including his alma mater and Dia:Beacon art museum in Beacon, New York. He also had his own private collection of art specializing in Minimalist art. He established Project Home Again to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.Show more