Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

John McMeel, a founder of what began as a basement operation in a rented ranch house in Kansas — with a mail drop on Fifth Avenue — and grew into the largest newspaper syndication company in the w...orld, died on July 7, 2021 at his home in Kansas City, Mo. Mr. McMeel and Jim Andrews were holding day jobs in the late 1960s — Mr. McMeel as a salesman for Hall, a newspaper syndication company in New York City; Mr. Andrews as managing editor of The National Catholic Reporter in Kansas City — but they were already moonlighting as the syndication moguls they would one day become. Before their company had any clients, it had a name, Universal Press Syndicate, which they chose because it sounded grown-up and corporate and as if it had been around forever. Mr. Andrews gave himself a pseudonym, John Kennedy, for the president he had idolized. Mr. Andrews, a cerebral former Roman Catholic seminarian living in Leawood, Kan., trawled for content creators like Garry Trudeau, whom he found in the pages of The Yale Daily News. (Mr. Trudeau was a Yale junior writing a strip called “Bull Tales” about a college quarterback named B.D. — the character who became the world-weary warrior in Mr. Trudeau’s “Doonesbury” — and the partners had to wait for him to graduate, and for the threat of the military draft to pass, before signing him up.) Mr. McMeel, a waggish and charming law school dropout, was the salesman.Show more

Maki Kaji, the Japanese man known as the "Godfather of Sudoku", has died at the age of 69. Kaji gave the number puzzle its name after publishing it in his magazine Nikoli in the 1980s. Since then the ...popular game - involving placing the numbers 1 to 9 in each row, column and square of a 9 by 9 grid - has spread around the globe. Tournaments take place across the world and it is estimated that millions play versions of the game each day. (source: BBC)Show more

Duccio Abolaffio (CEO Diaframma) told Toy World: “Adele’s career at Diaframma spanned over 30 years. Through the good and the bad, her presence was constant. Even during Diaframma’s most difficu...lt years, she decided to stay on without pay. She single-handedly built the company into the international business that it is today. She loved her work – selling was always fun for her. Even more so being told no, that just made her go at it even harder. Adele was at every single toy fair for over 30 years. She seemed to own every room she walked into and had the rare gift of capturing the attention of anyone she spoke to. She was the heart and soul of the party; those who partied with her will definitely agree. Adele was an inspiration – as an individual, as a wife and mother, and as a colleague.Show more

Owner and CEO of Hunter Products Pty Ltd. in Melbourne, Australia, a toy and sporting goods import business. Jeff passed on December 23, 2021.

Uemura was an instrumental figure in the formation of Nintendo as the video game company we know and love today — his hardware design credits date back to the 1970s, and he also has a fair list of s...oftware producer credits to his name. It's no exaggeration to say that millions of players across the world have his engineering skill and expertise to thank for the systems we played in our youth and the great memories we formed with them.Show more

(October 13, 1923 – December 14, 2021) Henry was a Polish-American toymaker, professional poker player, and entrepreneur. A survivor of the Holocaust who came to the US as a refugee after the war, h...e held more than 100 patents, including for the Transformers toyline. He made a fortune as a toy designer and manufacturer.Show more

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy designer Mark Taylor passed at the age of 80 years old on December 24, 2021.

Barry was a highly talented and creative individual. He always found a way to make things he developed work and as such sell at retail and set the standard for the popup greeting card genre that exis...ts today.Show more

1945 - 2020 The doll world lost a renowned and beloved artist Oct. 14 with the death of Dianna Effner due to cancer. Born in 1945, Effner began designing and making porcelain dolls in the late 1970...s, designing for a variety of manufacturers as well as producing and finishing dolls herself. Many of her designs have been released as vinyl dolls, but she is best-known for her porcelain dolls and her work as a mentor for other artists. She and her family established Expressions in 1992 to produce doll molds for the hobby, allowing other artists to reproduce her designs in porcelain. She also founded the Doll Dreamers Guild as part of her ongoing support of aspiring artists. Her designs continue to be popular with collectors and artists today. Read more about Effner’s remarkable career as a doll artist in this 2017 feature story from DOLLS magazine https://dollsmagazine.com/doll-world-mourns-renowned-artist-dianna-effner/Show more

The toy industry is saddened by the sudden loss of Bryan G. Stockton, former chairman and CEO of Mattel, and past chairman of the Toy Association board of directors. Stockton joined Mattel in 2000 ...as executive vice president of business planning and development, eventually moving up to CEO (2012-2015) and chairman (2013-2015). Stockton died in a car accent alongside his friend, attorney Peter Devereaux. “We are saddened by the news of Bryan’s sudden passing,” says Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel. “The entire Mattel community joins me in sending our deepest condolences to his family. Bryan was a beloved leader at Mattel whose many contributions to the toy industry will live on for years to come.” Since leaving Mattel in 2015, Stockton explored his love of classic cars, music, and photography, the latter of which took increasing focus in recent years. “I served many board chairmen during my 45-year career, and Bryan was one of the most highly professional,” says Carter Keithley, former president & CEO of The Toy Association. “He was the very model of a successful MBA in action, and he combined that professionalism with energy, creativity, and grace. He had a lot left to give the world, and we are in a poorer place without him.” Stockton was also a member of the board of Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, served as chairman of World Trade Week Southern California, and served as a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Otis College of Art & Design. He served on the executive and strategic planning committees of UCLA Anderson School Board of Visitors and served on the Board of Directors of the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games Los Angeles. Additionally, both Stockton and Devereaux served on the board for the United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara Counties (UCPLA). Read More here https://toybook.com/bryan-g-stockton-obituary/Show more