Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Robert Dale Zera, Age 71, of Minnetonka died Sunday, February 19, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. Rob was preceded in death by his parents Casimir and Jean. He is survived by Peggy, his wi...fe of 44 years, sons Dan (Niki) and R.J. (Robert Joseph), sister Lynda (Jim) James, brother Rick (Diana) Zera, sisters Lori Zera and Lisa Zera-Polley, uncles Ray Weaver, Joe Saur, and Al Meyerl, brother-in-law Dan (Kathleen) Shea, many cousins, and close friends. He was an affectionate uncle to numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Rob was born in Washington, DC, lived in Bethesda, Maryland, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Concord, Massachusetts, Potomac, Maryland, and Brooklyn, New York, before moving to Minnesota and living in Edina, Minneapolis, and Minnetonka for the past 48 years. His creative journey began as an art student at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in the early 1960s. He was the art editor for the Winston Churchill High School Yearbook and went on to graduate cum laude from Pratt Institute in New York with a degree in industrial design. Rob utilized this degree as a product designer in the toy industry with various companies, including Team Windsor (Girsch Design Associates), Custom Concepts, Schaper Manufacturing, Tonka Toys, and his own company, Zera Industrial Design. Rob was a loving husband and father as well as a talented chef, landscape and visual artist, and home renovator. He freely shared his wit and his passion for music by including family and friends in concertgoing experiences. For Rob family always came first. We are so fortunate to have had him in our lives. A service of remembrance will be held at 11 am on Friday, March 17 with a visitation one hour prior at the Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel, 5000 West 50th Street & Highway 100, Edina. Memorials in Robert Zera's name may be directed to the Park Nicollet Foundation: Frauenshuh Cancer Center or Hospice Home Care. Washburn-McReavy.com Edina Chapel 952-920-3996Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0

John Sepenuk was the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Cryptozoic Entertainment based in Lake Forest, California. The following is a tribute from Nico Blau, President & CEO at BOTI Ltd & BOTI... Europe BV: Earlier this week I was informed my dear friend and former colleague John Sepenuk passed away. I was blown away, couldn't believe it and felt a deep dark colored emptiness. John died while he was exercising one of his favorite passions, kite surfing. He was only 54 yrs young and is now survived by his wife Tania and their beautiful young son Brandon. It is hard to imagine only 2 weeks ago we had a couple of beers and shared some memories and jokes at my booth in Nurnberg Toy Fair. REA MORE...Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0

John Sepenuk was the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Cryptozoic Entertainment based in Lake Forest, California.

VTech’s Julian Page passed away suddenly on January 3rd, and his funeral will be held next week. Julian spent over 25 years in the toy industry, holding a variety of positions with Hasbro, Mega B...rands and Mattel. Most recently, he has been working as National Account manager at VTech, a role he held for over six years. At just 54 years old, Julian leaves his wife Vicky and two daughters, whom he often referred to as his ‘Three Page Girls’. Julian was a great personality and was well respected, not just within the companies he worked at, but by all his customers past and present, his colleagues at VTech and his many friends within the UK toy trade and around the world. READ MORE...Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0

A Tribute from Steve Rehkemper: A Vietnam Veteran and a toy industry veteran, Denni Rivette, passed away in Hong Kong on January 20, 2023 at the age of 80. Denni was a gifted illustrator and produc...t designer throughout his long career which started in the 70's at Marvin Glass and Associates where he created many playful products, one of which has endured the test of time and is still sold today, the Hot Lips Telephone. After leaving Marvin Glass in the early 80's, Denni started a design consultancy in Chicago where he worked for many toy and consumer products companies. One of his earliest independent playthings was called Glazers, a squirtgun built into sunglasses. In the 90's Denni moved to Hong Kong to work for Tai Nam Industrial Co Ltd where he designed a continuous stream of toys across all categories for countless customers until he retired in 2007. Denni is survived by his wife Tammy Leung and was an extremely happy fun loving person until just days before his passing.Show more

Morrisett was a co-founder of Children’s Television Workshop, now called Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” and served as its chairman of the board of trustees f...or more than 30 years before becoming a Lifetime Honorary Trustee, according to the Workshop.Show more

Longtime CFO of game and toy distributor ACD Distribution Marilyn Maher passed away in Henderson, Nevada on January 2 after a brief illness. She was 71. The Maher family had gathered to celebrate th...e holidays in Nevada where she and her husband planned to retire. Maher became Chief Financial Officer of ACD after the purchase of the company in 2007 by her son Robert Maher, Jr. (who is CEO, see "Interview with ACD’s New Owner"), and had served in the role since then. She and her husband, Robert Sr., have been splitting time between Middleton, Wisconsin (where ACD is headquartered) and their home in Oak Brook, Illinois since the acquisition. Earlier in her career Maher also served as Executive Director of the YWCA in Freeport, Illinois.Show more

March 20, 1926 – December 31, 2022 A prolific designer who had a hand in designing a host of 1970s creations including the Raleigh Chopper, Bond Bug car and marble run toy has died. Tom Karen, who ...lived in Cambridge, died aged 96 on New Year's Eve surrounded by his family, a statement said. The industrial designer was born in Vienna, Austria, and arrived in England in 1942 during World War Two. A museum in Letchworth, Hertfordshire - currently hosting a dedicated exhibition - called him a "true great". In the statement confirming Mr Karen's death, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation - which runs the town's Museum at One Garden City - said he had overseen some of the UK's most iconic designs. READ MORE....Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0

Toy World is sad to report that industry veteran Les Cooke passed away peacefully at his home on 15th October. Les’s former colleague and close friend, Bob Brechin, shared his memories of Les wit...h Toy World. When Bob joined Palitoy in 1967 as a toy designer, Les was responsible for the marketing of Action Man, which had been licensed the previous year from Hasbro. Les famously once said: “I had the best job in the toy industry – Action Man’s first Brand manager.” “Les was quick to realise that Action Man provided more play scenarios than solely military adventures,” Bob explains. “Attending a research study, he noticed that one little boy was playing with the Mountain and Arctic Trooper Action Man as Scott of the Antarctic. This inspired Les to develop a range of adventure sets, which I was instructed to design. Action Man began to live up to his name, took on many roles and became a truly British icon.” Action Man was named Toy of the Decade in 1980, after winning the title Toy of the Year in its first outing. In 1968, the Palitoy brand and its Coalville factory were bought by new owners General Mills. Les became Marketing director and was instrumental in introducing many iconic lines, including the hairstyling and makeup toy, Girls World; pocket-sized fashion doll, Pippa and the Discovery Time pre-school range. When the Star Wars phenomenon exploded, Palitoy became the UK distributor of toys developed by sister company Kenner. Bob tells us that Les was loath to market the Star Wars range alongside Palitoy’s flagship Action Man concept, nervous about relying on the success of an unknown film to sell toys. He was persuaded by Kenner president, Bernie Loomis, who declared: “Star Wars will go on for twenty years.” After seeing the film, Les agreed with him. Palitoy owner General Mills began to pursue global branding, introducing more ranges from the US to add to the success of Star Wars. As the likes of Care Bears joined the company’s portfolio, many of the classic ranges developed by Palitoy – including Action Man – started to be phased out. Les resigned from the company to join outgoing UK MD Bob Wilson to establish Emblem Toys in Leicester. Later they would resuscitate the ailing Matchbox Company. “During my long association with Les Cooke, I have found him to be very committed, willing to embrace my ideas and always giving total support,” says Bob Brechin. “Everone I have talked to has demonstrated their respect and admiration for him. He had a strong affinity to toys and the long list of products he introduced attests to that. The British toy industry will mourn the passing of one of its stalwarts.” Bob added that his thoughts were with Les’s wife Diane, and his children and grandchildren, at this sad time. Toy World would like to add its condolences to the family and all who knew Les.Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0

Skies of Arcadia producer and team leader on the original Phantasy Star games Rieko Kodama has passed away at age 58. According to a Sega statement to IGN, Kodama passed away in five months ago in May... 2022. No cause of death was given. Word of Kodama's possible death began to spread after owners of Sega's Mega Drive Mini II retro console noticed her inclusion in the console's credits, which stated "In Memory of Rieko Kodama." In response to queries about the message, Sega Producer Yosuke Okunari confirmed fan suspicions, writing "as you understand it. We respected her." Kodama's three-decade career in video games (which she began under the name Phoenix Rie) spanned multiple console generations and game genres. She is often credited for being a trailblazing artist, director, and producer in an era when women's contributions to the video game industry were less-recognized. Her early games at Sega included work on games llike Champion Boxing, Sega Ninja, and Quartet. Her art appeared in several landmark Sega titles including Altered Beast and Sonic the Hedgehog. Most recently, she produced the Sega Ages series of classic game ports on Nintendo Switch. Many of those ports brought games she helped create to modern audiences. In 2019, the organizers of Game Developers Conference (disclaimer: our sibling organization) honored Kodama with the Pioneer award. In a message where she accepted the award, she gave thanks fellow Sega collaborators like Yoshiki Kawasaki for supporting her in her career. In a rare interview with Kotaku around the same time period, Kodama reflected on the success of Skies of Arcadia, which has remained a cult classic among fans of Japanese Role-Playing Games. "Portrayal of dark worlds was certainly what was trending in Japan at the time, but our team preferred to create an optimistic protagonist who explored the world," she said in reflection. "[That] gave birth to Skies of Arcadia’s scenario and characters." With Kodama's passing, the video game industry has lost one of the few women who has been a constant presence from the console industry's early days all the way into the modern era. Even fewer have worked on so many titles that would inspire game developers around the globe.Show more

Read Full Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029 0