Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Julien Mayot passed away in November 2025. He was one of the co-founders of Blue Orange Games, and was heavily involved in the design and sale of Gobblet, the first Blue Orange game. At the beginning,... he took a three-month road trip across the country, covering 22,000 miles and visiting 500 stores with a jeep packed with 1,000 Gobblet games. The trip and the subsequent 10,000 games sale marked the official start of the business. He had a passion for creativity and kindness, and is fondly remembered by all those who knew him.Show more

Burt Meyer was born on April 18, 1926 and passed away on October 30, 2025. He is best known for his toy and game inventions, including Lite Brite, Mouse Trap, and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Burt gra...duated from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952. He worked as a design director and teacher at the Atlanta Art Institute and also designed trade show displays, cabinets, and jukeboxes. In 1960, Burt joined Marvin Glass & Associates, where he invited Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite-Brite, and Mouse Trap, among other toys and games. After leaving Marvin Glass in the mid 1980s, he started his own firm: Meyer/Glass Design. During this time period, he created the Pretty Pretty Princess board game; Catch Phrase, a word-guessing game; and Gooey Louie, which invited children to pick “gooeys” out of Louie’s nose. Burt was married to Marcia "Kass" Meyer, who passed in 2001. Together they had three children, six grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.Show more

Leigh Anne Brodsky was born on February 26, 1958 and passed away on October 3, 2025. Leigh Anne grew up in Glen View, IL, and Wyckoff, NJ, and went to Holy Cross for college. After graduating, she joi...ned United Media, which began her career in licensing. She is most well known for her role as President of Consumer Products for Nickelodeon, where she led the company's purchase of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nickelodeon's first acquired property. She also worked on brands including Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, South Park, and Beavis and Butthead. In 2011, she was inducted into the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon earned more than 35 industry awards including top licensing and Parent’s Choice honors in the toy, video, interactive gaming and apparel categories, according to Licensing International. Leigh Anne leaves behind a loving husband and two wonderful children.Show more

Norman was born on October 2, 1927 and passed away on October 29, 2025. He was the co-founder of LJN Toys, which he founded with Jack Friedman. LJN became one of the first toy companies to use TV. mov...ie, and personality licensing with big names like Rookies, SWAT, Emergency, Betsy Clark, Disney, Gumby and many others. Norman was married to Loretta Varon Lewis—they shared over 50 years together. They also raised three sons together, and went on to become grandparents to nine and great-grandparents to three. Outside of the toy industry, Norman loved golf, traveling, and spending time with his family.Show more

Richard Weintraub was born on September 25, 1947 and passed away on August 22, 2025. From a young age, Richard knew he would find a career in the toy industry, as his father, Lionel Weintraub was the ...President of Ideal Toys. Richie’s journey began at Ideal, and from there he made his mark at Galoob, Tyco, and finally Mattel, where he spent the bulk of his career as Senior Vice President of Research & Development. During his time at Galoob, Richie spent ten formative years in Hong Kong, expanding his horizons and deepening his global perspective. Outside of the toy industry, Richard was also a musician. He played in bands and performed in karaoke bars in all the cities he lived in. He was also a technology whiz: after retiring from toys, he was an Apple Genius at the Genius Bar in Manhattan.Show more

Mario Pasin was born on February 6, 1930 and passed away on August 18, 2025. Mario attended Notre Dame for college, and in the 1960s, he inherited his father's company, Radio Flyer, which he proudly l...ed from the 1960s through the 1990s. In 1959, he married Mary Kay, and the pair shared 66 years of marriage, 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Mario will be remembered for his kindness, patience, humility, generosity, and love for all things Radio Flyer.Show more

Sir Torquil Patrick Alexander Norman was born on April 11, 1933 and passed away on March 19, 2025. He was a British businessman, aircraft enthusiast, and arts philanthropist. He studied at Eton Co...llege, Harvard University, and Trinity College, Cambridge, served his Natinoal Service in the Fleet Air Arm, and worked as an investment banker in the United States for 11 years before returning to the United Kingdom and making his entré into the toy industry. He started out as the chief executive of Berwick Timpo toy company, but in 1980 founded Bluebird Toys, the company that created the Big Yellow Teapot House, the Big Red Fun Bus, and the Polly Pocket line of dolls.Show more

Jim Shooter was born on September 27, 1951 and passed away on June 30, 2025. He is best down as the Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics. Jim's interest in comics began in the hospital at age 12 when h...e had a lot of time on his hands following a minor surgery. He immediately took a liking to Marvel Comics, which had begun publication only two years earlier. He thought that if he learned to write the types of stories that Marvel published, he would be an asset to DC Comics, who he felt were slightly behind. He spent about a year reading and studying comics from both companies. At age 13, he wrote and drew comics featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes and sent them to DC Comics. The next year, Mort Weisinger, an editor at DC Comics, called Jim and said he wanted to purchase the stories he'd sent and commissioned him to write Supergirl and Superman comics. Eventually, this led to a full time position, and at age 14, Jim worked for Legion. He was involved on Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, Princess Projectra, and the Fatal Five. He also created the Superman villain Parasite. In 1969, Jim got into New York University and attended briefly, but simultaneously got a job at Marvel. He found he was unable to juggle all three commitments: school, Marvel, and DC, and decided to quit school and DC Comics. He worked at Marvel for just three weeks after being unable to afford living in New York. He returned to Pittsburgh, where he grew up, and did a bunch of odd jobs before applying again to marvel and DC. He received offers from both and ultimately landed back at DC, as he was offered the chance to write Superman and The Legion of Super-Heroes. In 1975, Marvel editor-in-chief Marv Wolfman offered Jim an editorial position. By 1978, he was Editor-in-Chief. During his nine-year tenure in this position, he oversaw Chris Claremont and John Byrne's run on the Uncanny X-Men, Byrne's work on Fantastic Four, Frank Miller's series of Daredevil stories, Walt Simonson's crafting of Norse mythology with the Marvel Universe in Thor, and Roger Stern's runs on both Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man. After his time at Marvel, he founded a new company: Voyager Communications, which was unde rthe Valiant Comics umbrella. In 1993, he founded Defiant Comics, but this brand failed to secure an audience and went out of business about a year later. In 1995, he founded Broadway Comics, but its parent company, Broadway Videos, sold the properties to Golden Books. In the early 200s, Jim worked for a number of different companies writing comics, including Illustrated Media, DC Comics, Valiant Entertainment, and Dark Horse Comics. In his later years, he worked as consulting editor and freelance writer for custom comics company Illustrated Media.Show more

George Soulakis, Jr. was born on January 11, 1936 and passed away on June 6, 2025. After high school, he joined the US Navy before graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in mechanical ...engineering. George started his career at Mattel and was promoted to Vice President of Orient Development. He's best known for designing Sizzlers, a Hot Wheels brand, in 1970. Part of his success with his brand came from his visit to General Electric, where he had a special battery made, which resulted in the first rechargeable nickel cadmium battery. In 1972, he suggested that Mattel use the Tampoprint process to apply graphics on the Hot Wheels, which was adopted and resulted in more style and flash. George has over 30 patents revolving around the mechanisms for launching toy cars, giving their wheels sound, toy car remote control driving, and a helical racetrack system.Show more

Peter Brown was born in 1944 and started his career in the toy industry in 1966 with Mettoy. He went on to lead the U.S. subsidiary of Britains Petite's until 1983. He then returned to the UK, where h...e worked to form Tomy UK, and was involved in the establishment of brands like Silvanian Families, Zoids, and games like Pop-Up Pirate. In 1990, he joined the Fence Club and served as the Chairman in 2003/2004. He was also the Chairman of the British Toy & Hobby Association. In 2011, he was honored with the Toy Retailers Association's 'Personality of the Year award' and the Lifetime Achievement award. In 1999, he founded Flair Products, which brought many brands including Plasticine, Sticklebricks, and Sylvanian Families. Flair was acquired by Giochi Preziosi in 2008.Show more