Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Pamela Osborne of Osborne Sports & Toys in Rushden passed away on March 25, 2024 at the age of 91. Pamela worked for 60 years at her family-run store Osborne Sports and Toys in Rushden, a job she ...loved dearly. She came to the area originally to take a job at Chichele College as a PE teacher in 1954. She married Jim Osborne in 1960, and became a partner at the toy shop a few years later, holding this position right up until her death. Osborne’s Sports and Toys celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2020, when special 65th anniversary jigsaws were commissioned. Other noteable moments in the business’s history include when Lego thanked the Osbornes for their brand loyalty by cladding the entire shop front with 277,500 Lego bricks for a weekend, and Playmobil selecting Osbornes’s as the launch pad for Playmobil: Star Trek’s USS Enterprise playset, supplying a 5ft Mr Spock and a model of the USS Enterprise. The local community has responded to the news of Pamela’s passing with condolences, happy memories and high praise for what many described as a ‘lovely lady’, a ‘local celebrity’, and ‘an integral part of many of our childhoods.’Show more

Ira Hernowitz was born on June 23, 1965 and passed away on March 6, 2022 at the age of 56 after a long battle with cancer. Ira attended Syracuse University, where he met his wife, Nancy McCormack.... With a passion for art, he pursued creative careers at a number of companies, including Hasbro, Toys 'R' Us, Kindara Fertility, and Carrson Dellosa Education, where he served as CEO beginning in 2018. Ira also loved to write and to golf, and most of all to spend time with his family and life-long friends. He will be dearly missed by all that knew and loved him.Show more

Nick Alfieri was born on December 24, 1984 and passed away in early May 2022. He was the founder and CEO of independent games publishers Digerati and Big Sugar. Big Sugar and Nigerati have publish...ed a number of unique games, including a virtual reality entry in the Sam & Max franchise, Glee Cheese Studios' A Musical Story and Ludomotion's Unexplored 2. Nick lived all over the world, including Dubai, Florida, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Austin, Colorado, Manchester, and Austin. He leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.Show more

David Ward, co-founder of Spectrum Games, later known as Ocean Software, passed away in early May of 2022 at the age of 75. David co-founded Spectrum Games in 1983 with Jon Woods. It became one of... the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. They developed games for a number of systems, from the Atarti ST to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Spectrum Games was quickly renamed Ocean Software to avoid confusion with other brands. According to the UK Science and Industry Museum, David and Jon found a successful model for the video game business in an era when other video game companies were failing to stay relevant as the industry became saturated. In 2004, David and Jon were inducted into the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, now known as The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment.Show more

Colin Cantwell was born on April 3, 1932 and passed away on May 21, 2022 at 90 years old. He was best known for his artwork and directing on films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and WarGames, and for his ...designs for a number of Star Wars vehicles, including the X-wing fighter and the Death Star. Colin Cantwell was one of the first people that George Lucas hired as he began to build his Star Wars empire. He produced the original designs for Star Wars: the the Rebel Alliance's starfighter, the TIE fighter, part of the Galactic Empire's fleet, and many more. His work was so influential on the concept of Star Wars as an empire, and George Lucas wrote a heartwarming tribute to the artist on the Lucasfilm "Star Wars" website: "Colin's imagination and creativity were apparent from the get-go. His artistry helped me build out the visual foundation for so many ships that are instantly recognizable today." Colin lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with his partner, Sierra Dall. He will be deeply missed by all that knew and loved him.Show more

John William Galt, a well-known voice actor, passed away in late January of 2022. John voiced the main character in Shadow Warrier, Lo Wang, and played Grandfather Enisi in Prey. He's also voiced char...acters in Faikatana, Deus Ex, Miracle Dogs Too, The Fanglys, and many more. In film, he's also played the voice of President Lyndon B. Johnson in Forrest Gump and Oliver Stone's conspiracy film JFK. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Frank Thorne was born on June 16, 1930 and passed away on March 7, 2021. He was best known for his work as a comic book artist, specifically with Marvel Comics. Frank's career started in 1948, when... he was pencilling romance comics for Standard Comics. After college, he drew the Perry Mason newspaper strip for King Features. He made a number of stories for Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, The Green Hornet, Tom Corbett Space Cadet, Tomahawk, Mighty Samson, Enemy Ace and numerous others. He also created the character Red Sonja. Thorne also created a number of erotic fantasy comics and characters. Frank wrote and produced the documentary Two Lords and a Lady about Elizabeth Lee "Aunt Betty" Frazee. He also wrote a number of books: The Barrington Hall Sketchbook, Drawing Sexy Women, The Crystal Ballroom, and The Alizarrian Trilogy: Nymph, all published by Fantagraphics Books. Frank was married to his wife, Marilyn, for 69 years, and the pair died on the same day.Show more

Geoff Hall of Geoff's Toys passed away on February 12, 2021 at the age of 89 after a short illness. Geoff opened toyshops in the early 1970s with the launch of the first branch of Geoff's Toys in ...Coalville, Leicester. He joined Toymaster in 1990s, and became a longstanding and active member of the group, even when the business ceased trading in 2018. Geoff loved buying toys and was well respected by visiting reps and agents. His children took after his passion and took over running the toy shops when Geoff retired. He spent his retirement traveling the world with his wife, Enid. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Robert A. Altman, co-founder of video game company ZeniMax Media, was born on February 23, 1947 and passed away on February 3, 2021. Robert attended the University of Wisconsin and then George Was...hington University Law School. He practiced law for many years in Washington, DC, eventually opening his own firm, the Law Offices of Robert Altman, representing major companies. In 1999, he co-founded ZeniMax Media with Christopher Weaver. Robert leaves behind his wife, former Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, and their two children, Jessica and James. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him.Show more

Kelvyn Gardner, a well-known figure in the licensing community, passed away on January 26, 2021. Kelvyn entered the toy industry in 1979, marketing Disney products for an Italian company. For 20 ye...ars, he marketed hundreds of licensed products all over the world. In the 1990s, Kelvyn and three of his colleagues founded Merlin Publishing, and in 1989, it became the fasted growing private company in the United Kingdom. Kelvyn was managing director of Licensing International UK for many years, and was an active member of the Light Fund charity. He also started a podcast, Living with Licensing. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more