Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Robert Stull was born on February 2, 1967 and passed away on April 17, 2025 after a battle with cancer. Robert graduated from the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston and went on to be a renowned g...raphic artist, designer, and creator. Rob rounded Ink on Paper, a production studio specializing in illustration for comic book, magazine and print media and was a partner in True Elements Publishing LLC. You can see Rob's art in Spider-Man Adventures, Iron Man, X-Force and Wolverine, to name a few. Rob is also featured in Black Comix: African American Independent Comics, Art and Culture as well as The History of American Graffiti. Rob created and curated Sequential Art: The Next Step, a traveling exhibit that spotlights the contributions of African Americans to mainstream comic book art. In 2019, Stull was the first African American artist-in-residence at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where he collaborated with muralist Rob “Problak” Gibbs on “The Mural Project.”Show more

Jack Katz was born on September 27, 1927 and passed away on April 24, 2025. He's best remembered for his graphic novel, The First Kingdom. Jack attended the School of Industrial Art in NYC and bega...n working for comic book publishers in the 1940s, or what is now known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Jack wrote under a variety of pen names: Jay Hawk, Vaughn Beering, Alac Justice, Alec Justice, and David Hadley. He began his career in the C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza Studio. He worked as a letterer in Jerry Iger's studio, and from 1946-1951 he worked as an art assistant on various King Features Syndicate comic strips. He worked on Thimble Theater, Terry and the Pirates, and Standard Comics. In 1954, he began working under Stan Lee at Timely comics. In 1955, he left mainstream comics to paint and teach art at the YMCA. He spent 14 years on a sort of hiatus until he was impressed by Jim Steranko's Captain America, and decided to reenter mainstream comics. He joined Stan Lee again at Marvel Comics, and then worked at DC for a short while before leaving to write and illustrate for Jim Warren. Around 1970, Jack started working at Skywalk Publications. He worked on Zangar and The Plastic Plague and finally, in the early 70s, he started writing The First Kingdom. It was Jack's move to California that began his interest in underground comics. It took Jack 12 years to complete The First Kingdom, a 24-issue, 768-page graphic novel. He finished two books per year, ending with a total of 24 in order to mirror the number of books in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. After finishing The First Kingdom, Jack taught art at a community college in California. In 2014, he started working on beyond the Beyond, a 500-page graphic novel, and though he finished it in 2019, it was never published. In 2020, Jack had a solo exhibition titled "The Golden Age and Beyond." In 2021, Sharpy Publishing released The Unseen Jack Katz, which was a collection of unpublished works from the 1970s and 1980s. In March 2025, Katz's collection of his own original comic art and personal items was gifted to Rice University by his former wife, Caroline Gold. In 1982, Jack received an Inkpot Award at San Diego Comic-Con. In 2023, he received the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award. Jack was married three times and had four children.Show more

David Strang, founder of Wicked Vision, unexpectedly passed away on April 21, 2025. Wicked Vision, an online company that sells products like boomerangs, discs, high bounce balls, and yoyos, was a ...passion project for David. David was a big supporter of active play and made many friends in the industry. Eolo Toys acquired Wicked Vision in 2024, and throughout the past year, David worked closely with the team at Eolo to integrate the creativity he was so known for into the group.Show more

Mike Wood was born on September 1, 1952 and passed away on April 10, 2025. Mike was best known for his role as the founder of LeapFrog. Mike attended Stanford for his undergraduate degree, and late...r attended the Haas School of Business to earn his MBA and US Law San Francisco to earn his JD. From 1978 - 1991, he practices corporate law at Reed Smith, and then from 1991 - 1994, he was a partner at Cooley LLP. After quitting, he founded LeapFrog Enterprises in 1995 and launched the LeapPad, perhaps the company's most notable product in 1999. Mike was the CEO of LeapFrog from March 2022 - February 2004. He was the Vice Chairman from September 1997 - September 1, 2004, when he retired. Mike married Susan Cotter in 1985 and they had one child together, Mat. They later divorced and Mike married Leslie Harlander in 2021. Mike was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and died by assisted suicide in Switzerland surrounded by his family.Show more

Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale was born on December 4, 1933 and passed away on April 15, 2025 at the age of 91. Wink was a pop culture icon, most broadly known for hosting game shows, including Gamb...it, Tic-Tac-Dough, High Rollers, and Debt. Wink grew up in a deeply religious household in Jackson, Tennessee. Though his mother wanted him to be a preacher, Wink started his career as a disc jockey when he was 17 years old. It was through these line of work that he discovered just how popular Elvis Presley would be. After radio, Wink moved onto television. His first role was the host of Mars Patrol, a science-fiction themed children's TV series. He then became the host of the teenage TV series Dance Party before stepping into the world of game shows. His first gig was hosting the show What's This Song, and then moved on to Words and Music, Gambit, and Tic-Tac-Dough. This was perhaps his most successful endeavor. While he was hosting these game shows, he also made a few film cameos, notably in The Great American Traffic. Wink then decided to form his own production company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, so he could produce his own game shows. His first show was Headline Chasers, but unfortunately it was canceled after just one season. His next venture, Bumper Stumpers, was more successful. Then, in 1988, he secured the licensing rights from Parker Brothers to develop game shows based on board games, like Boggle. Getting into the later days of his career, Wink received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. In 2007, he was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame. He did a few television commercials, and in 2014, Wink started a YouTube channel that featured episodes of game shows, game show pilots, rare clips from the various shows he hosted, and other game show content. Wink married Madelyn Leech in 1954 and they had four children together before divorcing in 1971. His second wife was Sandy Ferra, and they married in 1975. They had a few dogs, which Wink named after the various game shows he hosted.Show more

Ed Gale, who made his film debut wearing the “Howard the Duck” suit and went on to play Chuckie in “Child’s Play” and two other films in the series, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 61.

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Peter David, a prolific comics writer whose work on The Incredible Hulk. Aquaman, and other comics helped redefine the characters and became fan favorites, died on May 24, 2025, at the age of 68.

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George Wendt, who bellied up to the bar to portray the beer-quaffing everyman Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the fabled NBC sitcom Cheers, has died. He was 76.

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Geoff Smith was a well-known and cherished figure in the toy industry whose career spanned an impressive 50 years. As a former director of A.B.Gee, Geoff played a central role in shaping one of the UK...’s most enduring toy companies.Show more

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David McLeod, a syndication and content sales executive whose career at Disney spanned 35 years including 25 running the studio’s Chicago syndication office, died May 4 in Downers Grove, Illinois, f...ollowing complications from an undiagnosed illness. He was 62.Show more

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