Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

John Constantine Fusi passed away on July 9, 2016. John led a very full and impressive life, starting his career at age 21 as an assistant college professor of Advanced Organic Chemistry. Over the yea...rs, he also taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), teaching Quality Control and Toy Development, and later as an instructor of Cosmology in the FDU FILL (Florham Institute for Lifelong Learning) program. At age 33, he was recognized in Who's Who of the Toy Industry, and in September 2016, his work was honored with the prestigious Toy of the Year Award. John also founded JCF Research Associates Inc., his engineering and product development firm, and ran it for more than thirty-five years. John leaves behind his loving wife, Sue, his daughter, Melissa, and his two granddaughters, Lyra and Kyara.Show more

Peter Cullen was born on July 28, 1941 and passed away on August 26, 2026 at the age of 85. Peter was best known as the voice actor behind Optimus Prime. Peter was born in Montreal and was part of ...the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada. In the 1960s and 1970s, Peter had a few different roles: he played an astronaut named Commander Bi Bi Latuque for the children's show The Buddies, he was the announcer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, had a reoccurring role in a segment on CBC Radio called Funny You Should Say That, and he was a regular on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. In the 1980s, Peter Cullen landed the voice acting role of Optimus Prime in the Transformers animated series. He reprised his role in the 2007 Transformers live-action film, the sequels Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, the reboot and its sequel, Bumblebee[8] and Rise of the Beasts and the video games based on the film series. He again voiced Optimus Prime in the video games Transformers: War for Cybertron, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Transformers: Devastation, and in the television series Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Prime and Transformers: Robots in Disguise. His performance in the premiere season of Transformers: Prime earned him a nomination for a 2011 Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program category. Aside from Optimus Prime, Peter voice many other famous characters, including Coran, Stride the Tiger Fighter, and King Alfor in the Lion Voltron series, the transforming spaceship/robot Ramrod, the heroic Commander Eagle and the villainous Nemesis in the 1980s anime series Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Commander James Hawkins in the Vehicle Voltron series, Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, the original voice of KARR in Knight Rider, Antor and Bomba, and Gunner, in Dino-Riders, Airborne, Zandar and Nemesis Enforcer in G.I. Joe. He played Mantor/Mantys in Coleco's 5 episode mini-series Sectaurs in 1986; Red Skull in Spider-Man (1981), Klaar and Zanzoar in Megas XLR and Mantus in The Pirates of Dark Water. In 2010, Hasbro inducted Peter as one of the first hour humans into the Transformers Hall of Fame. In 2023, Peter was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.Show more

Marjane was born on November 22, 1969 and passed away on June 4, 2026. She was an Iranian and French comic book author, film director, and children's book author best known for her graphic novel Perse...polis. Marjane garnered worldwide attention for her autobiographical comic books, Persepolis and Persepolis 2, which depict her childhood in Iran and adolescence in Europe following the Iranian revolution. In 2019, Persepolis ranked 47th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. In 2024, it ranked 48th on the New York Times's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Persepolis was eventually adapted to a film, which debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 80th Academy Awards. It also won Best First Film at the César Awards. Marjane went on to direct and act in a number of films while also being politically active. She contributed to the op-ed section of the New York Times as well. Marjane married Mattias Ripa, who passed away on April 8, 2025. Afer his death, Marjane was severely depressed and in April 2026, visited a clinic to help work through her depression. Two months later, she passed away. Her family said she had "died of sadness" over her husband's death.Show more

John was born on October 26, 1948 and passed away on June 1, 2026. He was a British fantasy and science fiction illustrator best known for his work on Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer Fantasy Rolep...lay, Warhammer 40,000, and Warhammer Age of Sigmar. He was also the art director for Games Workshop. It wasn't until 1977 that John got involved with Games Workshop, illustrating the cover art for issue 4 of their gaming publication White Dwarf. He continued working for them through the late 70s and into the early 80s. In 1986, the company moved to Nottingham, and it was at this time that John became art director. John also illustrated many fantasy gamebooks, including the Fighting Fantasy series. John retired in 2023, but continued to work in the miniature wargames industry, licensing his name to a range of paints inspired by his style.Show more

Robert Lee "Peabo" Bryson was born on April 13, 1951 and passed away on June 2, 2026. Peabo was an American singer and songwriter, and contributed to several Disney animated feature soundtracks throug...hout his career, including "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Whole New World." Peabo started his career at just 14 years old, singing backup for Al Freeman and the Upsetters. In 1976, he launched his own recording career with "Underground Music" on the Bang label. He recorded "A Whole New World," the main theme for Disney's animated Aladdin, in 1992, collaborating with Regina Belle. They went on to win a Grammy for their performance of the song in 1994. In 1993, he and Celine Dion also won a Grammy for their performance of "Beauty and the Beast."Show more

Matthieu was born on October 10, 1965 and passed away on June 3, 2026. He was a French businessman and board game designer best known for founding Cocktail Games. Through Cocktail Games, he created ga...mes including Contrario and Illico Presto. Matthieu also contributed to the development of the Union of Game Publishers and was involved in the Accessijeux board.Show more

Michael Kohner was born on September 3, 1943 and passed away on June 7, 2026. Michael was the son of Paul Kohner and nephew of Frank Kohner, founders of Kohner Bros., the company behind classics such ...as Pop-O-Matic Trouble and The Busy Box. After the company was sold in 1974, Michael founded The Michael Kohner Corporation, and spend decades working with inventors to bring their games to market. In recognition of their lasting impact on the industry, Michael and the Kohner family were honored with People of Play’s Lifetime Achievement Toy & Game Innovation Excellence (TAGIE) Award in 2014.Show more

Timothy Moodie, known by friends and family as "Moots," was born on October 24, 1954 and passed away on January 29, 2026. Tim grew up all over America and ended up settling in Minnesota. He attend...ed the University of Minnesota and studied Communications, Radio, & Television before starting his career as a voice talent for radio and television commercials. He also did a stint in advertising before starting his own business, which set him on the path toward a career in toys and games for over 40 years. Tim leaves behind his loving wife, Barbara, his son, Griffin, and his daughter, Colleen. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Greg Hyman was born on June 25, 1947 and passed away on May 1, 2026. He is best known as the creator of Tickle Me Elmo. Greg was born in New York and attended Cornell University for a short while ...before dropping out to focus on inventing. His early experiments including a hovering bumper car and an anti-siphoning device to protect gas tanks in cars. Eventually, Greg got into toy inventing with Larry Greenberg. An electric musical toy he created was acquired by Playskool in 1979, and from there, he created dolls that "drank" milk from bottles and another that had an audible heart beat when you pressed a toy stethoscope to its chest. He and Greenberg developed nearly 50 inventions together before Greenberg's death in 1992. Rob Dubren, another inventor friend of his, suggested developing a toy that could laugh, and Greg came out with Tickles the Chimp. Together the met with Tyco Toys, who were not interested in Tickles, but loved the giggling technology, and suggested subbing in Elmo for a monkey. After Tyco won the license to produce Sesame Street plush toys, Tickle Me Elmo was developed, and not only was it an instant hit, but it became one of the most iconic toys.Show more

Cris Lehman passed away on January 31, 2026 at the age of 69 following complications from pancreatic cancer. Cris was best known for his role as co-founder and CFO of University Games, and spent the m...ajority of his career building the company alongside Bob Moog, his college roommate, best friend, and business partner. Cris leaves behind a loving wife Melinda, and three children. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.Show more