the Bloom Report Obituaries Rest in Play
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CHITAG
Remembering Those that have Passed . . .

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2024

Leonard Riggio. Barnes & Noble and GameStop founder Leonard Riggio passed away on Tuesday after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the family announced. The retail pioneer was 83.

Riggio built Barnes & Noble up over half a century, opening his first college bookstore in Greenwich Village in 1965 and acquiring rival Manhattan store Barnes & Noble in 1971. B&N bought B. Dalton Bookseller, a mall chain, in 1987, and began a strategy of opening superstores, which included cafes and large newsstand offerings. The growth of the chain was accompanied by a decline in the number of independent bookstores, who found it difficult to compete with B&N’s size and selection.

B&N continued to expand until the store count peaked at 726 for the fiscal year ended January 2009. But Amazon’s emergence on the retail scene in 1995 and the growth of digital content took their toll, leading to a challenging sales environment through the teens. But it was during that period that Barnes & Noble expanded its selection of manga, graphic novels, and hobby games, dramatically impacting sales in those categories.

Riggio was a pioneer of retailing beyond Barnes & Noble. He also founded Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, a contract operator of college stores across the U.S., Software, Etc., and in 1999, GameStop, which grew to over 7000 stores worldwide.

Through the teens, Riggio was in and out as Barnes & Noble CEO multiple times in a period when the company had at least five CEOs. He came back one last time to oversee the sale of the chain to Waterstones parent Elliott Management Corporation in 2019 ensuring that the company would be run by a bookseller.

Atsuko Tanaka, game and anime voice actor, dies at age 61. Per her son Hikaru, she died of an undisclosed illness she'd been battling for the past year. "Including her year-long battle with illness, I think she lived a life that was typical of Tanaka," he wrote in a translated obituary. "Serious, dignified, and a little playful. I am truly happy to have such a proud mother."

Born November 14, 1962, Tanaka was best known for voicing Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Much of her voicework career was in anime including Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Lupin III, and Queen's Blade.

Game-wise, she did the Japanese voice for Bayonetta in PlatinumGames' titular series. She's also been in franchises like Nier (as Kaine), Yakuza (Reina), and Devil May Cry (Trish), and was Lara Croft's Japanese voice for several Tomb Raider titles.

Several franchises Tanaka was attached to wrote eulogies of their own following her passing. Ghost in the Shell's Twitter said she imbued Kusanagi "with a presence that is both quiet and powerful and full of charm."

"I had a great time playing the role of Kaine in Nier Replicant," reads Nier's Twitter account. "We sincerely pray for the repose of your soul."

Finally, from the recent anime Frieren: "We would like to once again express our gratitude for your appearance in Funeral Parlor Frieren and your performance, and we offer our heartfelt condolences."

Rachael Lillis. Pokémon voice actress Rachael Lillis, who starred in Pokémon TV series, films and video games dating back as far as the late 1990s, has died from breast cancer at the age of 55.

Lillis voiced the main characters of Misty and Jessie and many more on the beloved Japanese animated series.

Her death was announced by Veronica Taylor, who co-stars as Pokémon lead character Ash Ketchum.

Ms Taylor wrote: "Rachael was an extraordinary talent, a bright light that shone through her voice whether speaking or singing."

"We all know Rachael Lillis from the many wonderful roles she played," Ms Taylor wrote on social media on Monday.

"She filled our Saturday mornings and before/after school hours with her beautiful voice, her terrific comic timing, and her remarkable acting skills."

She said Lillis was grateful for the support she received as she battled cancer.

"It truly made a positive difference," Ms Taylor said.

(from Jill Chang) - Tony Miller - former Mattelite, passed away after suffering a stroke at the end of June, just shy of his 84th birthday. For those that didn't know him, Tony worked at Mattel from 1968-1974 as a Project Engineer and Product Manager, then again from 1999-2003 as Vice President of Design for Hot Wheels. During the years he was not at Mattel, he stayed employed in the toy industry as either an employee, executive, or freelance designer/inventor. Throughout his life, he was passionate about design, cars and toys, so his final gig at Mattel was the perfect fit. For anyone who was on Tony's team in 2003, I've attached a photo and bit of nostalgia that he's had hanging in his office for the last 20 years.

After parting ways with Mattel in 2003, Tony maintained his passion for all things automotive by being active in the design and creation of a wild custom 1940 Ford coupe, the reworking and additional customization of his shoebox 1951 Ford Victoria, being a docent at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a decade, actively participating on the H.A.M.B., a hot rod message board at jalopyjournal.com as @50Fraud, and of course, attending a slew of car shows. Maybe you even bumped into him at one or two! The ’40 Ford is being donated to the Petersen in Tony’s honor and will remain a part of their permanent collection. We hope you’ll join us in remembering him.

Memorial Cruise-in Car Show

Petersen Automotive Museum

Saturday, August 17, 2024, 8:00 - 11:00

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Susan Wojcicki, the former YouTube CEO and one of the first Google employees, has died at the age of 56 after two years of living with cancer. Her husband, Dennis Troper, announced the news of her death on Friday. In a post on Facebook he said: “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after two years of living with non-small cell lung cancer.” Wojcicki, one of the most prominent women in tech, stepped down from her role at YouTube in 2023, a position she held for nine years, saying she wanted to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal projects I’m passionate about”.

Beth Schlansky, licensing and retail veteran, a pioneering figure in the licensing industry, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2024, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospice in New York City due to complications from cancer. She was 70 years old.

Schlansky began her career in Macy’s Executive Training Program, where she honed her skills in the buying office and learned the store line. In 1979, she joined the corporate office of British American Tobacco U.S. (BATUS), where she sourced home goods for major retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Field’s, Gimbels, and Kohl’s. Her role involved extensive international travel, particularly in Europe and Asia.

In 1986, Schlansky was recruited by Spencer Gifts, where she recognized the growing potential of licensing. She became one of the nation’s first Vice Presidents of Licensing for a retailer and was an early adopter of Direct to Retailer licensing contracts. Her innovative approach led to numerous successful licensing ventures.

Schlansky also contributed significantly to Licensing International (formerly LIMA), the leading trade association for the global brand licensing industry. She served on its Board of Directors, was a LIMA Retail Officer, and became the first Charity Chairperson, where she helped inaugurate the Licensing Industry’s Charity focus, The Hole in The Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman.

In 2006, she founded her own company, Beth Schlansky, Inc., offering licensing and consulting services to licensors, manufacturers, and retailers. Her expertise facilitated numerous successful licensing deals across various industries.

Schlansky is survived by her husband, George Velasco. She was predeceased by her parents, Morris and Lilian, and her beloved dog, Anna.

Rob Ramash - Tribute from Kim Carter: Today we are saddened to learn that our friend, and former business associate, Rob Romash died suddenly on June 9th. Rob was a larger than life talented individual.

Rob had a passion for flying toys as a kid and he extended this into his business career, building his business, Eclipse toys on the numerous flying toys he designed.

A native of New Jersey, Rob started out in toys with Larami, moved on to Tyco / Mattel (where he worked on Matchbox) and subsequently joined Estes Rockets before setting up Eclipse toys.

Beyond toys Rob was well known in model flying circles, was a talented artist, crafted wooden furniture and even designed his wife Nida’s wedding ring.

Eugene “Gene” Hendel passed away on June 30, 2024. Gene was a man who was anything but ordinary, and it makes no sense to write a generic obituary for a legend such as him. He’s probably shaking his head right now, saying, “I asked for simple!”

Gene spent 50 years in the toy industry, working with giants like Kenner, Mattel, Hasbro, and Tiger Electronics. His family was so proud when he decided to launch his own company, Gene Hendel Associates, as a manufacturer’s rep. It was a huge leap of faith with a wife, two kids, and a dog to care for, but given his stellar reputation and work ethic, he thrived and became more successful than ever.

Joshua "Rod, Rodimus, Josh" Carter passed away on June 11, 2024, in Savannah, Georgia, at the age of 40. Born on February 29, 1984, in Charleston, South Carolina, Joshua was a cherished member of the community and a vibrant presence in the lives of those who knew him.

Joshua was the beloved owner of Rodimus Toys, a haven for collectors of vintage toys and action figures, which mirrored his personal passion. From his early childhood, Joshua was captivated by the world of action figures, a love that he carried and cultivated into adulthood. His business was not just a career but a reflection of his personal joy and enthusiasm for collectibles.

Chris Wiggs, the inventor of Polly Pocket, died peacefully on June 20 at his home in France surrounded by love and family, The Post can exclusively reveal. He was 74. Wiggs had been recently diagnosed with a rare form of neurological cancer.

The East London native dreamed up the portable dreamhouse in 1983, while in New York on business.

Clive Wooster. Toy World is very sad to report that Clive Wooster passed away unexpectedly at home on Saturday, 18th May, with his beloved wife Heather by his side. Friend and colleague, Nikki Jeffery, shared that Clive Ralph Wooster, who passed away at the age of 69, dedicated his entire career to the toy industry, beginning at Fisher Price where he spent several years honing his skills – and sales patter. His career saw him taking on various influential roles in sales. In the 90s, Clive ran The First Years until RC2/Learning Curve acquired it in 2004, when he became managing director. He continued to lead during periods of significant change and oversaw the European transition into Tomy when it acquired RC2 in 2011. Clive later chose to join smaller, close-knit companies, enjoying many fulfilling years as a country manager for Famosa and more recently, working with Geomagworld. In January this year, he decided to step back to spend more time with his family and further pursue his passion for motor racing. Well-known within the industry for his kindness, humour and endless stories, Clive’s presence ensured that any room was filled with laughter and conversation. He was approachable and always willing to help. Clive inspired many through his mentorship and formed strong relationships with colleagues across the companies he worked for over the years. Many from his First Years and RC2 days remained close friends and will miss him dearly.

Salvatore Anthony Mucaro of Fernandina Beach FL passed away peacefully on May 16, 2024, leaving behind a legacy of love, strength, and cherished memories. Salvatore was born in The Bronx, NY to Nicola Mucciacciaro and Christina Mucciacciaro (Nee DiMangano) on December 13th, 1934. He was the middle child of the family, and loved his two siblings, older sister Maria (McGuckin)and younger brother Mario Mucaro and their families dearly. Some of Salvatore's favorite childhood hobbies included building balsa wood model airplanes, playing street hockey and stick ball and racing pigeons. Salvatore worked in the toy industry from 1967 until his semi-retirement in 2010. He worked for such noteworthy companies as Remco Toys, Aurora Products Corporation, Mego Toy Corp., Ideal Toy Corp. and Coleco Toys, before starting his own development company Studio Geppetto with longtime friend and coworker John MacNett. He has several toy design patents and designed several successful toys in his long career as a package designer and toy designer.

Shelly Morick - former Mattel sales executive. December 21st, 1937 - May 7th, 2024.

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Jane Garner - Toy World is sad to report that licensing PR guru, Jane Garner of Kilogram Media, has passed away after a short illness.

Jane spent her career in the PR side of the licensing community. She initially ran the PR department at Copyright Promotions (now CPLG) before setting up her own agency, Kilogram Media, which specialised in supporting licensors and licensing agents from both the UK and international market. Throughout her career, Jane was ever-present at licensing shows and events across the globe, and numerous people from the licensing community will have spent many an enjoyable evening in her company...

Rob Auerbach - Tribute from CandyRific: "It is with heavy hearts we write you that Rob Auerbach, Owner and CEO of CandyRific, passed away the morning of May 7, 2024. An industry icon, Rob was a toy and novelty candy creator for more than 40 years with many historic items reaching the market. He founded CandyRific in 2000 with partners, Michael and Paul Roberts, steering it to be the global industry leader it is today. A leader of licensing and branding in the candy industry, Rob’s passion was bringing great licenses and brands to products, making them amazing and enjoyable for everyone.

Rob founded Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Markets in 1977. Those who knew him knew of his love for thoroughbred racing and he attended the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4. Above all things, Rob loved his family. He was the most positive person you could ever meet. Rob was a gifted storyteller with a great sense of humor, and he made everyone feel happier just being around him.

Our hearts go out to his wife, Pumpkin, daughters, Summer and Star, and all who loved him. He will be missed by all of us at CandyRific and Hilco Sweets, and we are grateful to have called him a friend.

Walter Frederick Morrison, the inventor of the plastic flying discs that eventually became known as the Frisbee, died at his Utah home on Tuesday. He was 90 and is survived by three children. For decades, Morrison's creation has been an integral part of American life. Sure, there have been other flying toys, like the Aerobie or the Flip N Flyer, but even these seem less like competitors and more like slightly-modified versions of the original toy, sort of like weird second cousins. Frisbees, whose sales have passed 200 million units, are as American as baseball, apple pie, or fireworks on the Fourth of July.

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Richard Keats, founder of Kaywood Industries, died on April 7 at the age of 97, leaving behind a legacy of toy innovation. Keats was a U.S. Navy Veteran as well as a graduate of Brown University. Following his degree, Keats joined his father’s company — Buddy L Toys — in 1948. After his father’s retirement in 1976, Keats took over and ran the company until it was sold to SLM in 1990. This wasn’t the end of Keats’ toy industry career. With experience from his time at Buddy L, he founded Kaywood Industries and continued to design and invent new toys. The company went on to license products to industry leaders including Fisher-Price, Mattel, Hasbro, and Spin Master. Products that saw success with Kaywood Industries include Brush Your Teeth Barney, Playtime Big Bird, Flatsy, MakeUp Mindy, and more. Keats attended Toy Fair and the Dallas Fall Toy Preview trade shows yearly until 2019, demonstrating his deep investment in the world of toys. The toy industry has lost a talented and passionate inventor and designer. Keats passed away peacefully, and celebrated his 97th birthday on April 1.

Jack McAllister - December 13, 1926 – April 19, 2024. He proudly served his country as a Navy Veteran during World War Two. Jack was truly a jack of all trades. He worked for Coast to Coast Hardware in Robbinsdale for many years. He was a toy designer for Sifo Toys as well as for Centuri Rocket Company. He designed cereal box premiums for General Mills. Jack worked as an engraver at Jostens and was employed by North States Industries as a designer and machinist. He also worked at Priemier Plastics as a designer and mold fabricator and was a machinist at NW Swissmatics. Jack was the proud creator of the games of BUNKERBALL and Racehorse Checkers. He also made a seed a starter kit which he named Roly Rooter. He made beautiful "Lucky Birds" out of wood and porcelain which he sold at the community market.

TRINA ROBBINS - writer, Artist, Historian, Advocate for Comics for Women and Girls. - Trina Robbins grew up loving comics but came of age at a time when comics for girls and women had disappeared and the industry was dominated by men. She helped transform the medium by creating her own comics, publishing and mentoring other women cartoonists, and documenting the history of the women who had always been a part of the industry but were seldom mentioned in the standard texts. READ More...

Jeremías Babini passed away "unexpectedly" over the weekend, according to collaborator Daniel Benmergui. The Argentinian developer worked with Benmergui on 2023's Storyteller as an artist and co-designer. They first teamed with musician Hernán Rozenwasser on 2017's Fidel Dungeon Rescue. "[Jeremías] he poured his humor into every character, every animation, every detail," wrote Benmergui. "He gave life to everything we did." Babini first got into games in 2010 as an animator at social game developer Atommica. In 2012, he worked at Heavy Boat (as an artist) and Ludomancy (art director). Come 2015, he co-found Wonbats in Buenos Aires. At Wonbats, he worked as an art director on a number of Cartoon Network titles. Those games, some of which are still playable, include Steven Universe: Sword Dancers and Regular Show: Demonic Naptime.

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Pamela Osborne worked for 60 years at the family run Osborne’s Sports and Toys, which she owned, in Rushden. She died peacefully on March 25th at the age of 91, with her family noting that ‘her smile and witty personality has always lit up our little corner of the High Street.’

Osborne’s is a proud Toymaster member, and Will Osborne, Pamela’s son, who currently runs the toy store with his partner, Libby, said: “She had a good life, she had 91 good years. The family has been overwhelmed by the positive response of love, stories and best wishes that we’ve had. A response like that is a great comfort for the family. We knew her and loved her, but it’s nice to know the customers did too, and the response has just re-enforced what we knew about her, and that so many people felt the same.”

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Gleda M. Estes: A Pioneer in Model Rocketry and its Educational Opportunities. It is with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Gleda M. Estes, an icon in the field of rocketry and a champion for education throughout her life and career. Gleda passed away peacefully on March 30, 2024 at the age of 92, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Gleda Kane was born on March 4, 1932 to Lester and Anna Belle Kane in a farming community near Clarinda, Iowa. As the youngest of eight siblings, Gleda attended grade school at a nearby one-room schoolhouse and later moved to Clarinda, Iowa in 1946 to attend high school. During her high school years, she lived with the William C. Hemphill family, doing housekeeping, cooking and childcare for her room and board.

With plans to prepare herself for a career in nursing, she worked part time at the local hospital during her senior year in high school. Then, in the fall of 1950, she began her freshman year at Central College in McPherson, Kansas. It was in chemistry class at Central that Gleda met her husband, Vernon Estes. Gleda and Vern were married on May 16, 1951. They lived their early lives together in the Denver area where their three daughters Betty, Sharon and Linda were born. Together, they embarked on a remarkable journey, pioneering an innovative family business and ultimately shaping the landscape of model rocketry with the formation of Estes Industries, Inc. in 1958.

As a co-founder of Estes Industries, Gleda was Vern’s primary support and partner in their new business venture into the space-age hobby of model rocketry. A modest mail order company in its infancy, Estes quickly grew along with the budding US Space Program in igniting the imagination of our country and contributing to technological advances needed to grow the hobby of rocketry. Her keen administrative skills and dedication complemented Vern’s technical ingenuity in the development of safe and affordable model rocket engines and model designs, making rocketry accessible to enthusiasts of all ages. Gleda’s contributions helped lay the foundation for the modern rocketry movement, inspiring countless individuals to reach for the stars.

It was Gleda who did much of the work as they got their small rocket company off the ground. She rolled body tubes, typeset and printed instructions, stitched the first Estes catalogs on her sewing machine, handled the bookkeeping, packed rocket kits, and processed and shipped orders.

Following the 1961 move to Penrose, Gleda managed the largest division at Estes Industries. It was her department that ensured kits were produced and shipped on time. She managed the mass mailings of catalogs, Model Rocket News, and other publications. It was her job to oversee the opening of the mail, and make sure each order was shipped out in the afternoon mail. Everyone at Estes knew that when it came to serving the everyday needs of customers, Gleda was the Boss. As Estes grew, so did Gleda’s division of the company. When Estes Industries was sold to the Damon Corporation in 1969, she was managing more than 150 employees. Read More...

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Rich Rooney, PlayMonster Chief Operations & Logistics Officer, Passes Away, Aged 53.

A longtime veteran of the toy industry, with history at Hasbro, Zizzle and Ridemakerz, Rich leaves behind an indelible and positive mark on the world of toys.

Thoughts in remembrance of Rich can be shared here on the original post, and information of visitation and the memorial service can be found on Rich’s obituary page.

See below for PlayMonster’s full statement on Rich and his impact:…

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved colleague and friend, Rich Rooney. Not only was he a valued member of our team – a beacon of positivity, dedication, and professionalism – but his unbridled love of toys was clear throughout his years with Hasbro, Zizzle, Ridemakerz, and of course, PlayMonster, all together making him a leader in his field.”

“Rich joined PlayMonster as the Chief Operations & Logistics Officer a few years ago and made an immediate impact during his tenure thanks to his unique talents, passion, and unwavering commitment to every project. Yet, it was his infectious smile, quick wit, and overall warm nature that won over the hearts of many, and that we, his PlayMonster family, will continue to cherish. He touched the lives of everyone he encountered, leaving behind a legacy of warmth and compassion.”

“As we mourn his loss, let us also celebrate the profound impact Rich had on our lives, our company, and the toy industry as a whole.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Rich’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

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James M. (Jim) Ward, game designer, a member of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame for his contributions to Dungeons & Dragons and other games, has passed away, according to a post on his Facebook. He was 72.

Ward was a friend of Gary Gygax from the very early days of Dungeons & Dragons development. He and Rob Kuntz wrote Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes in 1976 for TSR, which was the first introduction of gods into the game. He also is the creator of Metamorphosis Alpha, the first science fiction RPG, also published by TSR (see "Jim Ward's 'Metamorphosis Alpha'"). He worked at TSR for 20 years in a number of executive positions, and left in 1996.

Ward designed the Dragon Ball Z collectible card game, as well as helping with the Tomb Raider, Wheel of Time and Babylon 5 CCGs. He founded the d20 company Fast Forward Entertainment with Timothy Brown, Lester Smith, John Danovich and Sean Everett (see "Fast Forward Takes Over Campaign"). He later joined Troll Lord Games as a writer and later the editor for Troll Lord's Castles & Crusades magazine, The Crusader Journal (see "Jim Ward Editor of 'Crusader'").

Ward had a series of health issues over the past 15 years. He was diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder in 2010 (see "Jim Ward Fund Requests Donations"), and had a heart attack in 2014 (see "Jim Ward Suffers Heart Attack").

We knew Ward from his time at TSR in the 1980s and 90s, and found him to be a warm, funny man, and a gamer through and through. We last saw him at a Gamehole Con in the late 2010s, and at that point he seemed little the worse for wear and definitely had the same warm heart. Our condolences to his friends and family.

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Mutsumi Inomata, a longtime illustrator and character designer for video games, passed away on March 10 at 63 years old. Per her official Twitter, her family held a private funeral, and a cause of death was not disclosed. "It happened so suddenly," wrote her sister. "She still has rough drafts, which I’m sure are still being worked on in heaven. Surrounded by her favorite cats, she’s surely creating more cute, strong-eyed characters."

Born December 23, 1960, Inomata is best known for her work on Bandai Namco's Tales games. Beginning with 1997's Tales of Destiny, she would work as a lead character designer on most mainline entries up to 2016's Tales of Berseria. While at Bandai Namco, she also briefly did character design for the Tekken series with Tekken 5, Tekken 6, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Along with games, Inomata was a character designer or animator for anime. Those series ranged from City Hunter (and its sequel) to Sacred Seven and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny.

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Shigeichi Negishi, the entrepreneur who invented the world’s first karaoke machine, has died aged 100. Negishi, whose 1967 “Sparko Box” prototype is among several devices credited with ushering in Japan’s karaoke craze, died from natural causes in January. His death, which was made public last week, was confirmed to CNN by Shiro Kataoka, managing director of the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association.

Born in 1923, Negishi founded and ran a company that assembled car stereos for automobile manufacturers in northern Tokyo. A regular listener to a singalong radio show broadcast in Japan at the time, he hooked a spare tape deck up to a microphone and mixing circuit so he could hear himself singing over music.

“When I asked the factory engineer, he said, ‘It’s easy,’” Negishi recalled in an account published by the All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association, an industry body for Japan’s karaoke operators. “So, I attached a microphone input terminal to the car stereo and created something like the prototype of a jukebox.”

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Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball, Sand Land, and Dr. Slump manga and the character designer for Dragon Quest and other video games, died on March 1 at the age of 69. The news was announced in a letter from his design and production studio, Bird Studio. The cause of death was given as “acute subdural hematoma,” and his family held a private funeral and requested that no gifts or flowers be sent.

“It’s our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm,” the letter said. “Also, he would have many more things to achieve.”

As the creator of two best-selling series, Toriyama was hugely influential in Japan, and many manga-ka cite him as a significant influence on their work. In North America, Dragon Ball was an early hit and helped expand the audience for manga and anime to include teens.

Toriyama was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1955 and studied graphic design in high school, eschewing college for a job with a local ad agency. His first published manga was Wonder Island, which appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1978, and over the next two years several more of his stories appeared in the magazine (these were later collected and published in English by VIZ Media under the title Akira Toriyama’s Manga Theater).

In 1980, Toriyama came up with a goofy comedy manga about an inventor who creates a super-strong robot girl. The series ran for five years in Weekly Shonen Jump, and both the manga and the anime adaptation were massive hits. In Manga! Manga!, scholar Frederick Schodt writes that Toriyama’s income in 1981, when he was 27, was over $2.4 million, and in 1982, the series won the Shogakukan Manga Award.

Dr Slump made Toriyama a star, but Dragon Ball made him a superstar. As his editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, told the story in a 2016 interview with Forbes, Toriyama decided he wanted to move on from Dr Slumpabout six months after it launched, but it was the most popular manga in Shonen Jump and his editors didn’t want him to quit unless he came up with something even better. Torishima suggested a kung fu series, since Toriyama liked to watch kung fu movies while he worked, and this eventually evolved into Dragon Ball, which Torishima described as a “road movie” based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West. The series ran in Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and was collected into 42 volumes. It is one of the top selling manga of all time, with over 260 million volumes sold throughout the world. It was also adapted into two very successful anime series, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. The different titles reflect a change in tone, as the manga started out with a lot of gags and slapstick humor but eventually evolved into a more action-focused story...

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Terry Hess, a longtime environment artist for Obsidian Entertainment, passed away last week. The developer has launched a GoFundMe, whose funds will go solely to the late artist's family. Hess first worked as a 3D environment artist for BlackOps Entertainment and Manifest Games in the mid-2000s. In 2005, he joined Treyarch, where he worked on Spider-Man 3, 007: Quantum of Solace and 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops.

From 2010 to 2012, he stayed in the military shooter realm. After working on DICE's Medal of Honor: Warfighter, he joined Visceral Games and EA Montreal on Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel. In 2013, Hess started at Obsidian with its free-to-play game, Armored Warfare. He'd later be assigned to the team working on The Outer Worlds as an environment art lead.

Obsidian deemed Hess "one of the main contributors" to its early demo to publisher Private Division. The demo helped the team hone "in on the [game's] look, and is still a meeting that gets talked about with our colleagues at Private Division to this day."

Of his Outer Worlds 2 work, the studio noted he "pushed on what he felt we could, and should, be doing with the worlds we create from a visual standpoint."

"As we continue development of the sequel," it continued, "we will strive to make sure that vision is achieved."

"Terry was absolutely wonderful and can't be replaced," wrote Obsidian producer Mikey Dowling. "Tell people you love them."

"Last week Obsidian had an incredible loss of Terry Hess. He was a great friend and a lovely individual," added lead animator Cathy Nichols.

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Janice Burgess, a longtime Nickelodeon television executive who sought to promote children’s curiosity and sense of play for decades, overseeing popular shows like “Blue’s Clues” and “Little Bill” and creating her own musical children’s show, “The Backyardigans,” died on Saturday in hospice care in Manhattan. She was 72.

Her death was confirmed by Brown Johnson, a longtime friend and the creator of Nick Jr., who said the cause was breast cancer.

In “The Backyardigans,” five cartoon animals — Tyrone, Tasha, Pablo, Austin and Uniqua — imagine their backyard as a place of adventure, traversing deserts, oceans, jungles, rivers and outer space while dancing and singing to music.

With the series, Ms. Burgess hoped to help children use their imaginations to have fun. In 2004, Ms. Burgess said in an interview with The New York Times that the idea for the show stemmed from memories of playing in her own childhood backyard in Pittsburgh.

“I really remember it as a wonderful, happy, safe place,” she said. “You could have these great adventures just romping around. From there, you could go anywhere or do anything.”

The series became a favorite of American preschoolers after it premiered on Nickelodeon in 2004. It was adapted into a live show, “The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights,” in 2008.

In 2021, several “Backyardigans” songs, including “Into the Thick of It!” and “Castaways,” found a large and nostalgic audience on TikTok, years after their original release in 2005.

“Janice really taught me about representation in kids’ media and how important it was for kids to not only see themselves, but hear themselves,” Ms. Johnson said.

Ms. Burgess made sure to cast children of color, and the roles were recast every few years as their voices changed, Ms. Johnson said. Ms. Burgess wanted their voices to sound natural and “not Broadway,” she said. Ms. Burgess, a music lover, included 80 distinct musical genres in “The Backyardigans,” Ms. Johnson added.

“It was like writing a musical every week,” she said.

The music was composed by Evan Lurie, who said in an interview that Ms. Burgess’s “ability to cut to the meat of what needed to be done was just astonishing.”

Janice Burgess was born on March 1, 1952, to John Wesley Burgess and Alma Naomi (Thomas) Burgess. She grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended the Ellis School, a girls’ college preparatory school. She graduated from Brandeis University in 1974, according to the university’s website.

She worked at WQED, the public television station in Pittsburgh, and Sesame Workshop before joining Nick Jr. in 1995. Working at Nick Jr. taught her everything she needed to know about creating a television show for young children, she said at a National Press Club luncheon in 2006.

At Nick Jr., she oversaw the production of “Blue’s Clues” and “Little Bill,” which went on to win Peabody and Emmy Awards. She won a 2008 Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding special class animated program for her work on “The Backyardigans.” In a statement, Nickelodeon called Ms. Burgess “one of the great architects of Nick Jr.”...

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Remembering Those that have Passed . . .

2023 and into 2024

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John Birchwood. Toy World is sad to report that popular toy trade stalwart John Birchwood passed away on 21st February.

John was born in Nelson, Lancashire in 1940 and educated at Manchester Grammar School. He started working in a retail store for Woolworths, before joining his father, Eric Birchwood, working for Mobo Toys. After that he moved to Chad Valley and subsequently joined Berwick Toys as sales director, eventually becoming managing director.

After the collapse of Berwick Toys and the Berwick Timpo Group in the early 1980s, some of its assets were bought from the administrators by A.B.Gee, where John worked for a short period before setting up on his own as a sales agent (Birchwood Agencies) with the help of his father, Eric. Amongst the companies John represented was Morris Vulcan (MV Toys) and after a number of years, John went to work for MV before establishing his own company, World Sports Int. UK in partnership with a Taiwanese manufacturer, which dealt predominantly in roller skates and in-line skates. In the early years of World Sports Int. (WSI), the company was the main supplier of in-line skates to mail order giants Littlewoods and GUS.

In 1994, John’s son Richard joined the business but unfortunately it was forced to close a few years later due to a series of production issues with the Taiwanese manufacturer. Richard takes up the story and explains what happened next: “In August 1998, with not a penny between us and the financial help of some of Dad’s friends from the toy industry (you know who you are and we are eternally grateful) and a friend of mine, we started J & R Sports, originally operating out of a 5,000 square foot warehouse in Aintree. In April 1999 my sister Lindsay also joined us. After a difficult first couple of years when the in-line skate business was slow, we introduced our JD Bug Scooter range in 2000 and from there the business went from strength to strength. In 2007 we relocated to a bigger warehouse in Huyton that we still run today. In 2011 we became the distribution partner for Madd Gear the UK & Ireland: this was the start of the pro scooter market and Madd Gear was a leading player. In 2012 we relocated again to our current location in Aintree.”

John continued to work until his 80th birthday, when he announced his retirement, just before the first Covid lock down. Although Richard admitted: “He continued to come into work over the next three years, never being able to stay too far away. He wanted to know how we were doing, what was happening in the trade and would avidly read Toy World to stay in touch with what was going on.”

As well as being a proud grandfather, John was also an avid Manchester United fan. However during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, John decided to join his son Richard watching Liverpool, taking him to his first European Cup final in Paris in 1981, with fellow toy doyen Ronnie Yaffe. Also a member of the local Mini Motoring Club, John would often take Mini trips around the UK and Scotland.

In memory of John, Richard and the family have started a tribute page that contains details of his funeral and also for his friends from the toy trade to share their memories of him with his family.

Our sincerest condolences to John’s children – Richard, Lindsay and Rachel – and his six grandchildren Emma, Olivia, Lily, Amelia, Zac and Ace, and all of John’s former friends and colleagues from the toy community.

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Mark Dodson, a voice actor across video games, TV, and film, died from a heart attack over the weekend. He was 64.

Per TMZ, Dodson was attending Horror Con in Indiana on Saturday, where he's said to have had a heart attack while sleeping.

"Mark truly loved his fans and enjoyed meeting them at conventions around the world," wrote his talent agent Stellar Appearances. "[He]...added his unique voice and sound to each character and script he touched."

Dodson's voice acting career in games includes the Ghostrunner series as Adam Hamada and Barnabas in the Grim Dawn series. He also provided voices for Anamoly 2, various Nancy Drew titles, and Painkiller: Hell & Damnation.

Paul Crawford, creator of the Bendy games, gave his own condolences. Dodson previously voiced Nathan Arch in 2022's Bendy & the Dark Revival.

"Mr. Dodson had an amazing career, and I am honored he took part in our game," wrote Crawford. "Thank you, Mark."

Outside of games, Dodson is best known as the voice of Mogwai in Gremlins and Star Wars' Salacious B. Crumb. He returned to voice several Gremlins in that film's sequel, and reprised Crumb for 2022's Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

Dodson is survived by his daughter Ciara and his grandchildren. Ciara, speaking to TMZ, said he "never ceased making me proud."

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Barry Harding passed away on Sunday 11th February. Well known and liked throughout the trade, Barry Harding was a consummate sales professional. Former colleague John Mitchell described him as “honest, dependable, decent and totally committed – a salesperson of the highest integrity. He was dedicated to his craft and one of the most courteous people you will ever meet.”

Barry had a long and distinguished toy trade career which spanned over 40 years, working with major companies such as Fisher Price, Playmobil and Step2 before setting up his own sales agency, BG Marketing, which represented a number of international toy companies in the UK market, including Kiddesigns.

Following many years of service to the toy industry, in which he made a good deal of friends, Barry finally retired at the end of 2018. He will be remembered by his many acquaintances as always being perfectly turned out, with the dapper suits he wore epitomising his meticulous attention to detail and efficiency in business.

Toy World would like to add its condolences to Barry’s wife Gill and their children, Lee, Jason, Rebecca and Stuart, and all of his friends and former colleagues.

The funeral will take place at 11.00 am on March 12th at the Southend Crematorium (SS2 5PX), and afterwards at Roslin Beach Hotel.

Yoshitaka Murayama - Eiyuden Chronicle and Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama has passed away. Rabbit & Bear Studios, the company founded by Murayama to develop Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, shared the news on its website (as spotted by VGC).

"It's with a heavy heart and deep sadness we must inform you that the scenario writer and head of Rabbit & Bear Studios, Yoshitaka Murayama, has passed away on February 6 due to complications with an ongoing illness," reads the post.

"His hard work on Eiyuden Chronicle as scenario writer was finished but as his co-workers and friends, it saddens us to know that he won’t get to see the reactions from his fans. However, even with those feelings we need to accept the reality that he is no longer with us and continue to push his dream forward by releasing Eiyuden Chronicle to the world."

The studio said the finished game will maintain his "legacy and vision" and noted it will have more information on organizational changes in due course. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes publisher 505 Games also paid its respects on X.

"It is with deep and profound sadness that we have learned of the passing of our friend Yoshitaka Murayama, the creator of the forthcoming Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. Not only was he a true pioneer and visionary, creating cherished memories for millions of people around the world, but he was a wonderful partner and dear colleague," wrote the 505 team.

"His enthusiasm and creativity knew no bounds and the gaming world will feel emptier without him. All of us at Digital Bros and 505 Games wish to express our most sincere condolences to Murayama-san's family, friends, and all those at Rabbit & Bear at this time. He will be sorely missed."

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes was pitched as a spiritual successor to the Suikoden franchise, which Yoshitaka Murayama helped create during his time at Konami in the '90s.

Murayama worked on multiple entries in the Suikoden series as a writer, director and producer before eventually leaving Konami in 2002 to explore the world of freelance development. At the time of writing, Hundred Heroes is still slated for release in April this year.

Mark Sharp. Toy World is sad to report the passing of Mark Sharp of Outsourced Sales Solutions.

Mark, who also worked with Brainstorm, passed away on 9th February at the age of 57. David Lartner, director at OSS, and Nick Saunders of Brainstorm, for which Mark was an agent, shared some words with Toy World.

David said: “It is with great sadness and utter shock that we have to announce the sudden passing of Mark Sharp.

“Mark was a well-travelled man, living and working around the world in Australia and Far East, who met the love of his life, Annie, whilst in a Kibbutz in the Middle East. Mark was always bursting with pride for his two wonderful daughters, Amber and Imogen, and was always talking about them and their futures.

“Mark was a valued member of the OSS team and will be greatly missed. He was a much loved agent by his customers and as one said to me earlier: he was the type of guy you wanted to go and have a beer with.

“On his return from his travels, with Annie on his arm, Mark started his career in the toy trade, first working with Ty Beanies and then with Schleich. He joined OSS in 2015. At OSS Mark was more than a work colleague – we were a band of brothers who loved supporting our customers and then enjoyed our many nights out and weekends away. We were a family and this is devastating to write.

“Our love and support are with Annie, Amber and Imogen and the rest of Mark’s family and friends at this truly sad time.”

Nick Saunders told Toy World: “The entire Brainstorm team is absolutely devastated. Mark has worked for us for many years and I have known him ever since I came into the toy trade. He was a delight to work with and we will all miss him immensely – as will all of his customers. It hardly seems believable that we were with him all through Toy Fair, and now he has gone so suddenly.”

Toy World would like to add its condolences to Mark’s family and everyone who knew and worked with him.

Stephen Kennedy Lynn, 1965 - January 12, 2024. Our dear brother Steve passed away from complications related to his Type 1 diabetes unexpectedly on January 12. His passing leaves all who knew him greatly saddened, as his big personality, enormous heart, and huge talent filled our lives for 58 years. Steve was born in Long Beach, the 6th of 7 children of Richard and Catherine Lynn. He graduated from Wilson High in 1983, heading right off to Cal State Long Beach where he graduated with an art degree and a 4.0 GPA in all classes. At both Wilson and CSULB, Steve was the resident illustrator for all published periodicals, and he designed and painted murals at both institutions. Some of his works can still be seen there and elsewhere throughout California. Steve had his own art studios in Long Beach, Anaglyph Studios and Sow’s Ear Studios, where he had a successful career in art of all media, particularly in sculpture. He designed and sculpted the very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures that were sold in stores, and he helped in the development of the characters themselves at the outset of their origination. Steve sculpted all of the best of the McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, co-created and sculpted Mattel’s Street Sharks and Street Dinosaurs, created and sculpted The Toxic Crusaders, and for several years, worked in the Disney Art Department at Disneyland, where he did everything, including illustrations, sculptures, and ride design. When Splash Mountain construction went over budget, Steve was instrumental in the decision to use the recently-closed America Sings figures in the new ride. Read more...

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Carl Weathers dies at age 76: Weathers starred in the Rocky franchise, Predator, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and many more movies and TV series. Weathers starred in the Rocky franchise, Predator, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and many more movies and TV seriesCarl Weathers, the legendary Black actor who portrayed Apollo Creed in the Rocky films and starred in dozens of other movies and TV shows like Predator, The Mandalorian, and Toy Story 4, died on Thursday, February 1 at the age of 76.

Lutz Muller - Lutz died earlier this month. He was President of Klosters Trading Corporation. Provision of business intelligence to large financial institutions - banks, hedge funds, venture capital companies - as well as to non-publicly quoted toy manufacturers. Klosters Trading is no longer active and will not be kept updated. Lutz was a Swiss who came to the U.S. the long way around - from a small alpine village in Switzerland to Asia, then the UK and Belgium, then Australia and Brazil. His background can be summarized by three concepts - CEO, packaged consumer goods, turn-arounds. Lutz is multi-lingual - he speaks fluently Swiss German, English, German, French. Thai and serviceable Portugnol and Lao. He was educated on three continents including North America at Harvard. He was also a member of MENSA.

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Merle R Lewis, Jr., age 80, of Erie, took his final breath on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at his daughter’s home in Wattsburg, Pa. He was born in Brookville, PA to the late Merle Ray Lewis and Florence (Wolfe) Lewis Thunberg.

Merle was a lifetime outdoorsman. He loved farming, hunting, horses, and gardening. Some of his best times were spent hunting with lifelong friends and his son, Jeff.

He was a masterful mechanic, with the ability to create the things his mind could conjure. He worked as a model maker and toy designer for Marx Toys right out of school and was proud that his name appears on the patent for the ‘Lectric Shot Shooting Gallery’. He followed his heart and changed careers in the 70’s by spending a summer at the Oklahoma Farrier’s College and learned the art of shoeing horses. He began to work on thoroughbred race horses, a livelihood that took him around the East Coast to racetracks in PA, WV, FL, NH, DE and Ohio.

Another dream took him to Alaska for a number of years, where he assembled his own on-site saw mill and built a home with trees he cut down himself in the Willow area.

He returned back to the Erie area in the late 90’s and spent his time tinkering in his garage, lending a hand to anyone he could help… and hunting. He was able to get a tree stand set this past fall, with the help of his grandson Trevor, but his health declined rapidly soon after.

He is survived by his sister, Debra Javens (William); his brother, Dale Lewis of Erie; his daughters, Lori Zaumseil (Troy) of Wattsburg, Jodi Gray (Scott), of Waterford his grandchildren, Halie and Trevor Lewis of Erie, Jace Wolz of Waterford and Cody Martinez of Boulder, CO, and his dearest friend, Charlotte Winkler.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Lovett Lewis and his former wife, Lois Mary Banister Lewis; his brothers, William M. Lewis and James L. Lewis; his sisters, Karen D. Lewis, Paula Thunberg, and Karla Thunberg. His most profound loss was the death of his son, Jeffrey A. Lewis, just over a year ago.

Karen Tenenbaum, founder and owner of Tenenbaum Law, P.C. and active member of the New York Metro Chapter of Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment. She died suddenly of a cardiac event on December 23 at the age of 64. In addition to her success as a tax attorney for more than 35 years, Tenenbaum founded Money Masters, Inc., an organization that provides financial literacy information and tools...

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Jennell Jaquays - Tabletop designer and video game developer Jennell Jaquays, who created Dungeons & Dragons adventures for a leading publisher of its time, has passed away at the age of 67. Jaquays is best known for developing the early shape of the tabletop industry during the heyday of TSR and other D&D publishers. Her most successful adventures, Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, were published for Judges Guild and featured both her game design and artwork.

Jaquays would go on to illustrate covers for plenty of other sourcebooks and modules, including the Dragon Mountain adventure included in D&D’s 1993 deluxe boxed set. Along with Call of Cthulhu publisher Chaosium, she also worked for several video game developers throughout the 1980s and 90s - Jaquays would help convert popular arcade cabinet games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to their console versions. In the late 1990s, Jaquays worked as a level designer for American video game company id Software while it developed the original Quake.

Dark Tower was the only non-TSR published adventure cited in Dungeon magazine’s list of the thirty greatest D&D adventure of all time, and Jaquays’ adventures would accrue several nominations for the H.G. Wells award. She was inducted in the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame in 2017.

As creative director of Transgender Human Rights Institute, Jaquays helped outline and petition for the adoption of Leelah’s Law in the US - the response to this activist movement led to the federal banning of conversion therapy amongst minors, which adversely affected trans youth. She was a staunch advocate for trans rights.

In a remembrance post on the EN World tabletop RPG forums fans and players shared their favourite Jaquays creations, including her Savage Frontier book and Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide, the latter of which many folks claimed was one of the best resources for running the game they had ever read.

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Pauline Kerrison - Toy World is sad to report that Pauline Kerrison, of Kerrison Toys, passed away peacefully on Christmas Day with her family at her side.

Described by those who knew her as ‘warm and welcoming’, ‘one of a kind’ and ‘one of the industry’s diamonds’, Pauline was much loved by many people in the toy trade. During the 50 or so years she was involved in the running of Kerrison Toys, she forged numerous friendships that lasted a lifetime.

Her son Steve Kerrison told Toy World: “She loved seeing people at trade shows and events and would always make a fuss of anyone who visited the shops over the many years. Myself, Graham and Liz, and our families, would like to thank all of those who have expressed their condolences over the past few days.”

Murray Jackson - Toy World is sad to report that Murray Jackson, who founded Edx Education and recently established Edx Education UK, has passed away. The founder of Edx Education was a passionate advocate for providing education opportunities to all. Over the past 20 years, Edx Education has grown into a major supplier to the international education market, exporting to more than 90 countries, with sales & marketing offices in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia – including a dedicated trade website for the UK market.

The boom in home schooling following the pandemic kickstarted a trend for affordable toys that also offer educational value, and a real need for the company to extend its offering to consumers and toy retailers.

As well as establishing and running the successful company, Murray helped pioneer projects such as the opening of an after school center in Hualien, Taiwan, with the company sponsoring the renovations of a house and turning it into an after school centre for aboriginal children from the local primary school.

The Edx team contacted Toy World to inform us of the sad news of Murray’s passing and shared a letter that has been distributed to the Edx Education community. The letter reads...

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Jack Leo Williams. Many people pass through our lives, but few leave as lasting of an impression as 82-year-old, Jack Leo Williams. Jack passed away on December 31, 2023.

He and his wife Linda, married forty-nine years, have lived in Falmouth for twenty-three years. He was born in Dorchester to Fred and Florence Williams, but when Jack’s dad died, the family moved to Avon. Jack went to work at twelve setting in place his life-long belief, “I was put on this earth to work.”

A 1959 graduate of Avon High School, he continued working at a new Bradlees Department Store, setting up and managing their newly created toy department.

In the early 1980’s he became a partner of what would become Freud, Morris, and Willims, better known as FMW, a toy manufacturer rep business on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which represented Domestic and International Toy factory manufacturers. For over half a century, he traveled extensively working in the Toy business throughout his New England territory, with over 30 trips to Hong Kong, eventually retiring at 78.

In 2015, Jack was honored by the Officers and Board of Directors of the American International Toy Industry Association for his attendance at the New York’s annual Toy Fair for 50 + years in a row!

He helped countless people throughout his personal and business career, always lending a helping hand if needed. He was well-known for his grumpy persona, but underneath his gruff exterior was a heart of gold, and he was respected by all who knew him.

His children include Kellie Wilder of Onset, Jeff Williams of Carver, John Crowley of Wareham, and they’re always missed, the late Kathleen Hanson, as well as 6 Grandchildren & 4 Great Grandchildren. Siblings include his sister Pat Olson and husband Arthur of Avon, and the late Margaret Iavelo and brother the late Fred Williams. He will forever be sadly missed for all that knew him.

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Ana Ofelia Murguía, the Mexican actress who voiced great-grandmother Mama Coco in the Oscar-winning Disney Pixar animation Coco, has died aged 90. She had a key part in the film about a Mexican boy who crosses to the Land of the Dead, uncovering family secrets while trying to become a musician. The movie highlights the Day of the Dead and celebrates Mexico's culture. Its National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature said her career was "vital for the performing arts of Mexico". One of Coco's most memorable moments was the scene where Mama Coco and her great-grandson Miguel sing Remember Me together.

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Bryan Ansell, The 'Grandfather of Warhammer'. Tabletop miniatures titan Bryan Ansell passed away on December 30, 2023. His passing was announced by his wife Dianne via their Instagram account.

Ansell was the co-founder of Asgard Miniatures in 1976, which was based in Nottingham. The miniatures they created at Asgard caught the attention of Games Workshop owners Sir Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, who decided to partner with Ansell to set up Citadel Miniatures in 1978. There, he co-designed Warhammer Fantasy Battle in 1983 and eventually bought out Livingstone and Jackson to become the managing director of Games Workshop in 1985.

Ansell consolidated Games Workshop's operations to Newark and led the transformation that changed Games Workshop from an importer, retailer, and distributor of tabletop games to the most well known miniatures game publisher in the world. He was with Games Workshop till 1991, when he sold out to Tom Kirby, and he then went on to run Wargames Foundry, a company he had founded in 1983.

Games Workshop founder Sir Ian Livingstone (see "Sir Ian Livingstone") offered up the following thoughts about Ansell's passing via X:

"Very sad news Bryan Ansell passed away. Bryan, Steve Jackson and I set up Citadel Miniatures in 1978 as part of Games Workshop. He was a craftsman and dynamic entrepreneur who drove the growth of GW to the next level. Without Bryan, Warhammer would not have launched."

ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp also offered up memories of his meetings with Ansell:

“I met Ansell in the mid-80s, when he was running Games Workshop and trying to expand the company’s sales in the U.S. He came to visit us at Capital City Distribution in Madison, and convinced us to stock a wide range of Games Workshop miniatures going forward," wrote Griepp. "We shared an interest in cars, and I enjoyed showing him my brand new Lincoln Continental with all the latest electronics, and hearing about the other side of automobiles when he gave me a ride in his Aston Martin Lagonda during a visit to their headquarters in Nottingham, England. I was clueless, and asked him why the Lagonda was considered such a great car. ‘Because it’s a Lagonda,’ he explained.”

Ansell was 68 years old when he passed away. ICv2 extends our condolences to his family and friends.

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Kamar de los Reyes - Actor Kamar de los Reyes passed away on Christmas Eve, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Per the outlet, he was 56 years old and had a "brief battle" with cancer.

Born November 8, 1967, the Puero Rican actor played Raul Menendez in Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Before its release in 2012, he called the role "one of the most amazing projects I’ve ever been a part of."

He would go on to reprise the role in 2018's Call of Duty: Black Ops IV and Sledgehammer's Call of Duty: Vanguard in 2022.

Outside of games, Reyes was best known for playing Antonio Vega on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He also appeared throughout shows and films like All American, Sleepy Hollow, and The Gifted.

THR reports that Reyes' two post-humous roles will be in Washington Black on Hulu and Marvel's upcoming Daredevil show.

James McCaffrey , a longtime voice actor known for his numerous roles in games made by Alan Wake II developer Remedy Entertainment, died at 65 years old over the weekend.

News first broke via actor Kevin Dillon and was later corroborated by TMZ. Per the outlet, he passed following a yearslong battle with multiple myeloma. Born 1958, McCaffrey was a TV and film actor best known for roles in dramas such as FX's Rescue Me and Fox's New York Undercover. He also appeared in USA's Suits and the 2003 film American Splendor.

He made his video game debut with 2001's Max Payne from Remedy as the title character. McCaffrey reprised the role for the 2003 sequel and 2012's Max Payne 3, which was solely developed by Rockstar.

Outside of the Max Payne games, he did additional voice work for Midway Austin's Area 51 and Eden Games' 2008 Alone in the Dark reboot.

McCaffrey's primary game roles would continue to be with Remedy. He played Tom Payne and Alex Casey in Alan Wake and Zachariah Trench for 2019's Control. Alan Wake II is his final role, where he reprised the part of Casey. This is the second Remedy actor to have passed this year, with the first being Lance Reddick.

On Twitter, Remedy gave its condolences to McCaffrey's family, calling the actor "our beloved friend and collaborator. [...] His remarkable talent gave life to our characters and left an enduring impact on our community."

Tony Trickett. Tony worked for some of the industry’s most prominent toy companies during a long and distinguished career which spanned five decades. His former Palitoy colleague John Nicholas told Toy World: “Tony was my friend and mentor. He and I worked together at Palitoy through the seventies, which was a golden era for the company. Tony was initially promoted to area manager, then to export sales manager and finally to other head office duties. I remember some fantastic times at Toy Fairs over the years, particularly one snowy night in Harrogate when we had a snowball fight around the island outside the Crown hotel, as well as many other Palitoy nights going back to the Brighton Toy Fair days. He was well-liked by all of his customers and his fellow reps: he was someone you knew you could trust and he always had a joke to tell. I am proud to have called Tony a friend and we will miss him.”

Most recently, Tony spent many happy years at Character Options, and managing director Joe Kissane told Toy World: “Tony was a wonderful man. He was hilarious, kind, generous and a true professional. I remember when he joined Character: we were in our early years and we were looking for a NAM to join Mike Rowe. Tony was recommended to us by Jo Hall – he had been made redundant and was working in a bakery. Mike tracked him down to where he was making bread, offered Tony the National Account Manager’s position and the following week he was selling toys again. It was undoubtedly one of the best decisions we ever made. I can honestly say he was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. The customers loved him, he spent many happy years with Character before he retired, and he is still talked about within the company.”

Sales director David Bramford added: “By all accounts, Tony was a truly lovely guy who earned legendary status amongst the Character team and naturally mastered the art of selling.”

Toy World joins all of Tony’s industry friends and colleagues in sending our condolences to his wife Marie and children Gary and Jackie.

Marlene Flumerfelt (the following is from Kirsten Anderson) - Dec 9th we had a beautiful celebration of life/funeral for Marlene Flumerfelt who we lost far too soon and suddenly. There were many people who knew and loved our dear friend Marleen that weren't aware of her passing or couldn't make it. Marleen was a generous soul who was continuously helping others and a famous fixture in the hashtag#Tsawwassen/Delta community for decades as "the toy lady" owner and founder (1993) of the community toy store Toys & Tech (more toys than tech).

Marleen has been an integral part of our T.O.Y.S. forever friends foursome for 25 years! In 1997 we cheekily called ourselves the T.O.Y.S - Totally Outrageous Young Successes. What started out as a buying group pretty much immediately turned into a deep and lasting friendship.

We shared many and regular travels, adventures, laughs, mischief, milestones, joys and sorrows. Dancing at Toy Fairs in TO & NY and ASTRA events. A Marlene shaped hole will remain in our hearts always.

Mark Kaplan (Neil Talbot shared this sad news) - We lost a toy industry veteran recently that we want to acknowledge. Born 9/15/44 in The Bronx, NY, died 8/25/23 in Tarpon Springs, FL. Mark was raised in Wantaugh, LI. He graduated from Hofstra University. He is a 40+ year veteran of the toy biz. An industry he loved. Mark started working at Times Square Stores then Enchanted Village where he met his dear wife, Monica. Then, Jamesway where he achieved the position of merchandise manager. He moved on to Ames where he achieved the position of VP of merchandise. A big hearted man, LOYAL to those few close to him and to those who reported to him. A tough exterior with a soft heart. He was a Big Yankee’s fan. He named his two cats Derek and Jeter. He leaves his wife Monica, 2 daughters and a sister.

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Mark Kaplan (Neil Talbot shared this sad news) - We lost a toy industry veteran recently that we want to acknowledge. Born 9/15/44 in The Bronx, NY, died 8/25/23 in Tarpon Springs, FL. Mark was raised in Wantaugh, LI. He graduated from Hofstra University. He is a 40+ year veteran of the toy biz. An industry he loved. Mark started working at Times Square Stores then Enchanted Village where he met his dear wife, Monica. Then, Jamesway where he achieved the position of merchandise manager. He moved on to Ames where he achieved the position of VP of merchandise. A big hearted man, LOYAL to those few close to him and to those who reported to him. A tough exterior with a soft heart. He was a Big Yankee’s fan. He named his two cats Derek and Jeter. He leaves his wife Monica, 2 daughters and a sister.

Marty Krofft, co-producer of iconic children’s television shows including “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Land of the Lost,” died Saturday afternoon in California, his representative announced. He was 86. Krofft died of kidney failure in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends, his publicist B. Harlan Boll said in a statement.

The producer, along with his brother, Sid Krofft, are known for their work creating hit children’s television shows that spanned several generations in the 1970s. The duo had been doing puppet shows when NBC asked them to produce a Saturday morning children’s series. That became “H.R. Pufnstuf,” which had established itself as a fan-favorite character from their live gigs. “Its success spawned a feature film, produced with Universal Pictures as a partner and distributor,” his representative wrote.

Jim Southworth. Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios announced the passing of one of its developers, Jim Southworth. He served as the animation lead for the game's cinematics. "Jim cared deeply about his team," Larian wrote, "and the results shone through in their work. He loved making games, and we loved making them with him. We're all going to miss him." Southworth first joined Larian in 2019 as Baldur's Gate 3 was in Early Access as an art lead through the third-party vendor Turbulenz Limited. He then became a part of the studio full-time in 2021 to lead production on its in-game cinematics. His career spanned multiple studios and games, including 2005's Blade II and EyeToy: Kinetic and 2016's PlayStation VR Worlds.

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Richard Gottlieb - From Chris Byrne: "It is with great sadness that I'm letting you know that my dear friend and colleague Richard Gottlieb died last night.

Richard struggled with ALS and approached his illness with grace and good humor.

I knew Richard for many years, but it was in the past four doing The Playground Podcast that we really got to know one another. We shared an abiding love for the toy industry, children, and child development. We also shared a love for literature, especially 19th Century novels, poetry, and Shakespeare that we loved talking about--as well as being able to quote classic Looney Tunes cartoons to one another. Off mic, Richard always made me laugh, and his sometimes-quirky, always mordant humor was a constant delight.

Richard had a huge heart, loved his wife, Wendy and of course his kids and grand kids. He took great pleasure in one grandson's approach to play and loved watching that.

We've lost a really great man who devoted his life to helping others and who took great joy in life. As Houseman wrote:

"Today, the road all runners come,

Shoulder-high we bring you home,

And set you at your threshold down,

Townsman of a stiller town."

He will be missed. We're all a little richer for having known him, and his loss will be deeply felt."

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Global Toy News Mourns the Loss of founder Richard Gottlieb

On October 26th Richard lost his battle with ALS which he had fought for roughly 2 years. He slogged through language slurring, then no language and using an electronic voice, then a feeding tube to eat and finally in the last few weeks deep double pneumonia that was too much for him to overcome. Throughout the ordeal, he maintained his sense of humor saying when asked to do a chore, “I have a disease, you know” and never lost his interest in others.

Born in Hampton, Virginia, he went to the University of Richmond and then started with Southern Distributers in 1971, he was with them until 1984 when he joined Western Publishing Company and traveled all over the United States selling books and other products. In 1990 he went to Cadaco and then in 1994 he moved to New York City and launched Global Toy News in 2007 which he wrote for weekly until 2 weeks ago. He also started Global Toy Experts with his former client, then colleague and friend, Steve Velte doing Expert Witness work, mergers and acquisitions and all things toys.

Richard was a big personality and he loved life, he loved people and he loved the toy industry. When we met over 7 years ago, since I am an educator, I was so taken with his fascinating career choice which I soon came to understand was his life blood. We talked about toys and games and their usage constantly. We often played games, especially word games which we played daily challenging each other to be better. He was a wordsmith and a book lover, reading constantly.

Richard had a highly creative mind, he loved all aspects of the toy business from the creation, the manufacturing, the marketing, the selling, the packaging- the whole shebang. Over the 25 years he did this he traveled to Texas, California, China, Germany and other places to speak about, write about and celebrate the business of toys. He met the most wonderful people from all corners of the world, a small portion of whom I was lucky enough to meet too, and he spoke about the many ideas, the friendships, the joy these toys, the toy companies big and small and, the toy people brought children. He was fascinated with all the possible ideas for their implementation at home and in schools. His advice when asked what toys to buy a child was always the same: Buy them something that you love and that has meaning to you and they will love it.

Earlier this month Richard was at The New York Toy Fair where so many of you said hello, came to find him, met with him and told him how meaningful he was to the industry. This meant the world to him and he felt the love and the respect and was both touched and gratified. We celebrated his 76th birthday a week later, so he exited elegantly with touchpoints from family, friends and colleagues earlier this month.

We were working on a book together with Chris Byrne about the toys famous people played with as children and the career paths they chose, and in his honor, we will continue that work.

Thank you all for making his world so full, he fed off your ideas, your energy and your wisdom.

He always wanted to be interesting and interested and that he was.

This article was written by Wendy Levey (Richard’s Wife)

https://globaltoynews.com/2023/10/27/global-toy-news-mourns-the-loss-of-richard-gottlieb/

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David A. Miller, 91, died in Rye, NY on October 24, 2023. A long-time resident of White Plains, NY, he is survived by his wife of 69 years, Elizabeth (Dubitzky), children Alison Gjersvik (Gilbert), Susan, David A., Jr. (Karen), Nancy, and Deborah Sindell (Matt), grandchildren Elizabeth, Rachel, Benjamin, Matthew, David A., III (Trey), Chloe, Paige, Sam and Charlie, brother Richard J. (Judy) and sister-in-law Mildred Dubitzky. Graduate of University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) and NYU Law School and served in the Coast Guard. Co-founder with his brother of Eden Toys, a leading toy manufacturer, and later president of the Toy Industry Association (TIA) and chairman of the International Council of Toy Industries. He was inducted in the TIA Hall of Fame and served on the boards of Blythedale Childrens Hospital and Head Start White Plains and advised FIT's Toy Design Program. Board member of JCC White Plains (Kol Ami). A quiet formidable presence. Donations in his memory can be made to Blythedale Children's Hospital.

Yoshitaka Tamaki. Japanese artist Yoshitaka Tamaki passed away earlier in the year at 55 years old. Per Time Extension, Tamaki died in mid-July from lung cancer, and private service was held in his memory at the end of September.

On X, Tamaki's family said at the time that the service "was attended only by close family members."

Born in October 1967, Tamaki was primarily known for being a character designer on Climax Entertainment's games, notably the Shining series. His debut game was as an outline and storyboard artist on 1991's Shining in the Darkness.

Tamaki's final credited game is 2007's Shining Force EXA as a designer for the game's monsters.

Outside of those Shining games, he wrote (and drew art for) 1992's Landstalker and designed 1994's FEDA: The Emblem of Justice and 1997's FEDA 2: White Surge of the Platoon. In 1997, he formed his own studio Salamander Factory, which helped work on titles such as Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and Project X Zone.

In 1999, he joined developer Swallowtails, which is credited with helping development on 2020's Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions.

"I hope that the work that he devoted his life to as a game creator will always be remembered," wrote the Tamaki family. "Thank you very much."

Ken Lally, video game actor, video game voice actor Ken Lally has died at the age of 52 on Tuesday, October 10. At time of writing, the circumstances of his passing haven't been revealed, but it was confirmed by actor Eva La Dare, who worked with him on Capcom's Resident Evil 5.

"It’s still so hard to believe. We will miss you and your amazing talent," she wrote. "Love you, Ken. Rest well."

Lally voiced NPCs in video games such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He also had in main roles in titles like Mortal Kombat 9 (as Smoke, Shinnok and Goro), the remakes for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 (Robert Kendo), and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Wayne Woods).

Outside of games, he did guest roles in Heroes and Star Trek: Enterprise.

"He brought Smoke, Goro, and Shinnok back to life in Mortal Kombat (2011)," wrote NetherRealm on X. "Rest in Peace Ken Lally, you will be missed."

Herb Feldman, APRIL 1, 1942 – JULY 29, 2023, Founder, Feldman & Assoc, toy reps. He grew up in Bayside, Queens, NY and was a good athlete and a passionate NY Yankees fan from the very beginning. Herb was an entrepreneur and after only a few years of work, he founded his own company where he thrived as an independent toy representative. After his retirement from the toy business, he split his time between NJ and Florida where he loved to spend time with friends and family.

Herb is survived by his wife, Sharon Goodhart Feldman, son David Feldman(Lucia), sister Judy Baumgarten(Harry), daughter in law Hope Feldman-Glassgold(Steven), step children Michael Kahn(Sharon), Julie Maloof(Brian), and Ross Goodhart, and 9 grandchildren, Julia and Brittney Feldman, Ethan and Olivia Glassgold, Evan and Hailey Kahn, and Jacob, Laila, and Skylar Maloof.

Herb is predeceased by his wife Bonnie Feldman, son Scott Feldman, and wife Annette Feldman.

A funeral service for Herbert will be held Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, 68 Old Short Hills Road, Livingston, New Jersey 07039. Following the funeral service will be a burial at 12:30 PM at Beth Israel Cemetery, 1098 Woodbridge Center Drive, Woodbridge, New Jersey 07095.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bernheimapterkreitzman.com for the Feldman family.

Pam Dobson. Toy World is sad to report that much-loved retailer Pam Dobson passed away last Friday, on the 29th September.

Ely’s Toys of Woodford Green was owned by Peter and Pam Dobson for many years. Peter passed away some years ago, and we are sad to announce the death of Pam on 29th September.

Elys Toys, which started life in 1920, closed in 2001, at the time citing growing competition from larger toy retailers and supermarkets. Peter and Pam were members of both Concorde Toys and Youngsters and were immensely popular throughout the toy trade. Many an agent used to remark what favourites they were on the territory.

Ely’s Toys was a traditional toy shop that was a popular part of the local community. Over the years Pam, Peter and their staff become friends with many of their customers, many of whom would visit the shop, not just to buy toys, but also just “for a chat and a laugh.” When the business closed, regular shoppers were dismayed and said they were very sad to see it go.

Pam and Peter met thanks to Pam’s brother, who was a good friend of Peter’s during his national service. The couple married in 1958, and shortly moved to London. Several years later, they took over Ely’s Toys, overseeing its expansion from a very small business to a much larger toy shop, a development which involved buying up the premises next door.

Toy World would like to add its condolences to Pam’s daughter Kim and her family at this very sad time.

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Domenic Bettini, Director of Business Development at Playview Brands, passed away unexpectedly this morning, at the age of 55. Bettini was an esteemed expert in the toy industry and was recently appointed to his role as Director of Business Development. He was incredibly passionate and had a tremendous impact on the toy industry, with more than 20 years of notable success.

Michael Gambon, the Irish-born actor who drew acclaim from both audiences and peers for his stage and screen work, and who won even wider renown as Albus Dumbledore, the firm but kindly headmaster of the Hogwarts wizarding school, in the “Harry Potter” films, died on Wednesday night. He was 82. Mr. Gambon’s family confirmed his death in a brief statement issued on Thursday through a public relations company. “Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife, Anne, and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia,” the statement said. It did not identify the hospital where he died.

Gill Sheppard. Gill Sheppard, the owner of Rainbow Toys in Midsomer Norton, has passed away following a short battle with cancer.

oy World is sad to report that the popular independent West Country retailer Gill Sheppard passed away on 7th September after a 19-month battle with cancer. Gill and her husband Julian ran Rainbow Toys of Midsomer Norton. Gill’s friend and colleague Keith Elmer told Toy World: “They were successful and immensely popular members of both Concorde and Youngsters Buying Groups for many years, and they epitomised all that was good about independent, family run toy shops.” Keith added: “Gill will be remembered for her infinite charm and gracious nature to all customers and suppliers alike.” Toy World would like to express its condolences to Julian and the rest of Gill’s family at this time.

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Philipp Gosch. Austrian game developer Philipp Gosch and his wife Michaela (née Tritthart) passed away during last week's floods in Thessaly, Greece. Authorities recently identified their bodies after they were previously confirmed missing on September 7. Known by his online profile Saphire, Gosch was a lead software developer and technical artist in Graz, Austria. He was also a founding member (and vice president of) the Game Development Graz (GDG) association. On its website, GDG called him "an integral part of the Austrian and international game development scene." "Phil was known for his contagious enthusiasm, multifaceted talents, extraordinarily kind heart, and his always fun attitude," wrote GDG. "[He was] a driving force behind bringing the community together, spreading knowledge, and organizing events like our local game jams and the Game Dev Days." Gosch created a number of games during local game jams. Several of them are playable, such as Rootsy Tootsy Platformer from this past February, and the full list can be found here. Outside of game development, Gosch was said to be an avid skater with Michaela, and the pair took part in the Euro Freestyle Championship this past August. A (translated) website from the local skating community dedicated to their memory called the activity "the first connection between the two." "Michaela traveled all over the world as a freestyle skater and conjured up maneuvers on the asphalt that were difficult for 'normal' skaters to grasp. An enthusiasm that Phil began to share more and more. [...] Michaela and Phil, we miss you, Ride in Peace!"

Nick Hancock, founder and senior producer of Active Pictures, which produced commercials for clients including Brainstorm Toys and LeapFrog.

Toy World is saddened to share the news that Nick Hancock, the founder and senior producer of Active Pictures, has passed away. Jo Dickinson, post production manager at Active Pictures and a good friend of Nick’s, writes that after a long battle with cancer, Nick died peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family, on Sunday 17th September. He leaves his wife Sarah, two daughters, Becca and Abbie, and his two dogs. Information on the date and place of Nick’s funeral will be available in the comings days, for those who would like to attend. In advance of the ceremony, readers are invited to share photos and memories of Nick. His friends and family is hoping to put together a compilation of memories to play over a drink or two later that day – these can be sent to jo@activepictures.co.uk. Jo said: “Nick started Active Pictures 23 years ago. He was incredibly hard working and very proud of what the business became. In this time, he collated a team of likeminded people who work together like a family, and he formed longstanding personal relationships with colleagues and clients alike. Since he started Active Pictures, Nick made close to 6,000 commercials, employed hundreds of freelancers, and has shouldered all of us in our progressing careers. We will miss his strength and support, unwavering optimism and positivity, his laughter, and his way of bringing everyone together.”

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Craig Mair. Toy World is sad to announce the untimely passing of Craig Mair, a well known and much loved member of the UK toy trade. Craig was well known throughout the toy industry, having spent most of his working life at The Lego Group, with subsequent periods at Wizards of the Coast, Funrise and Spin Master. Former colleague at The Lego Group, Kerry Walgrove, has penned the following obituary: Craig had a huge heart and deep sense of compassion for others. As a colleague he was reliable, fun, creative and an endless source of energy. He loved karaoke and could always be relied on for a better than average rendition of The Gambler. Craig was a key member of the Lego UK team during strong years of growth for the company, and was instrumental in winning the Lego Group some highly coveted retailer awards, As a leader, he was an excellent coach and mentor, naturally empathetic and supportive. His tenacity and love for the brand played a huge part in many of those successes.

In his younger years, Craig was a keen sportsman. At Mark Warner holidays, he taught water sports. He loved cricket, but his first sporting love was hockey. He was an excellent skier and diver and an ardent supporter of England rugby, which offset a rather dubious affection for Tottenham Hotspur. Craig was a natural host and an excellent BBQ chef. Having strong family ties with South Africa, he spent years perfecting his own biltong recipe. His family parties were legendary, with his extensive music collection and natural, overflowing generosity.

Joan Packard Luks, MARCH 14, 1946 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2023, Joan was a former President of Women in Toys and left a legacy of mentorship and work in toys and licensing.

Luks previously worked as the Director of Licensing at GUND, fostering partnerships with industry bigs such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and others. She then moved on to leading her own company, The Serenata Group. Luks also worked closely with her partner David Wollos at The ThinkTank Emporium.

“Joan's vibrancy, positivity, and warmth brightened the lives of everyone fortunate enough to know her. Her contributions to our industry were matched only by her genuine kindness and unwavering dedication to uplifting others.” WiT President, Janice Ross

In addition to her work in the licensing industry, Luks was an important member of the WiT community. Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment is a non-profit organization with the aim of advocating the advancement of women through a variety of opportunities in leadership, networking, and education.

Luks’ work as President of WiT included mentorship, advice, and support, working diligently toward the goal of a more equitable workplace for women in the industry.

WiT has extended its condolences to Luks’ family, friends, and colleagues. A memorial service will be held today at Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors. More details as well as the opportunity to share memories are available on the official page.

Frederick B. Held, passed away August 30, 2023. Fred was a past Vice President Operations and Marketing at Mattel and Former Global SVP Operations McDonalds.

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Klash Singh - HTI has been in touch with Toy World to share the sad news about its employee. Klash Singh, who passed away last week, was a popular member of the HTI team and most recently worked as a Sales manager for the company.

In a statement, the company said: “It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform you of the death of Klash, who passed away on Thursday 27th July 2023.

Klash spent over 20 years in the toy industry, being employed by HTI originally back in 2003 and moving on to spend nine years at Kandy Toys before returning to HTI in 2023.

Klash was 59 years old when she passed away. She had an infectious personality, enormous enthusiasm and passion. This was loved and admired by all, not just within the companies where she worked, but by all her customers past and present.

Klash will be sorely missed by all those who knew her. She was a very generous, considerate and kind lady. She leaves behind her partner Kevin, three children and three grandchildren, with another grandson on the way.”

HTI’s owner, John Hutt, commented: “Klash will be missed greatly and remembered dearly.”

Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70.

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens in a statement posted to Instagram after his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” wrote Reubens’ estate in the caption. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”

Reubens began his career in the 1970s after joining the Los Angeles live comedy troupe the Groundlings as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1980, he launched “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” a stage production centered on a fictional character he had been developing for years. As Pee-wee became a beloved comic figure, Reubens’ show ran for five sold-out months, and he landed a special at HBO. Reubens also committed to the character in his interviews and public appearances.

In 1985, he teamed with Tim Burton on “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” the character’s feature film debut, which was a critical and commercial success. Reubens returned three years later for a follow-up film, “Big Top Pee-wee,” helmed by Randal Kleiser.

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Jesse Horowitz - toy inventor loved by many. We are creating a POP profile page to show his wide impact on the toy industry. The following is what Howard Tarnoff posted on Linkedin: Jesse Horowitz passed away this past week while vacationing with family. He will be deeply missed by the many friends and family he impacted. To name just a few of his toy industry accomplishments, Jesse was the creator and designer of the JOHNNY EAGLE line, JOHNNY SPEED line, SILLY SAFARI game and SUZY CUTE doll. He conceived of the idea and helped in the development of STRETCH ARMSTRONG. He and his group were directly responsible for the creation of STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE and CARE BEARS.

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John Gibson - Veteran developer and programming visonary John Gibson has passed away. As reported by Time Extension, Gibson started out creating games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in the early '80s at Imagine Software. After Imagine went out of business, Gibson co-founded Liverpool-based studio Denton Designs and worked on projects such as Cosmic Wartoad and Gift from the Gods.

Gibson left Denton a few years later to join Psygnosis and became a key member of the company's Advanced Technology Group, where he made significant contributions to CD-ROM title Microcosm. According to MobyGames, Gibson remained at Psygnosis when the company was purchased by Sony but eventually moved to Warthog in 1998. Gibson would find his way back to Sony, however, with the seasoned developer joining Evolution Studios, which was subsequently acquired by the PlayStation maker 2007. At Sony, Gibson worked on titles including MotorStorm, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, MotorStorm: Apocalypse, and DriveClub. He spent two decades at the company. Tributes to Gibson have been pouring in on social media, with former colleague Paul Hughes describing him as a "legend of game development" and others highlighting his status as one of the "pioneers" of the UK game industry.

Liam Smyth - Director of Smyths Toys Superstores, along with three of his brothers. Liam Smyth has passed away at the age of 60. He died at the Mayo Hospice, Castlebar following a period of illness. Liam was one of the directors of the well known Smyth’s Toys retail chain, along with a number of his brothers.

Liam hailed from Claremorris, County Mayo, where the Smyths business began life as a newsagents. The company has since grown from its humble beginnings to become one of the largest toy retailers in Ireland and the UK. Liam worked as a director alongside Tony, Padraig and Thomas Smyth.

In 2018, Smyths acquired Toys R Us stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, re-branding the stores to Smyths and marking the start of the company’s expansion into mainland Europe. In 2022, this was furthered by the acquisition of French toy chain PicWicToys and stores opening in The Netherlands. Smyths now operates over 272 stores across six countries.

Tributes have been paid to Liam by the local Chamber of Commerce, where a spokesperson described him as a leading figure in the business life of the town. In a statement, members paid tribute to his tireless efforts to improve the economy and amenities there.

Liam was a proud supporter of Claremorris GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). A statement from the club said his passing was a huge loss to the town: “Everyone associated with Mayo GAA would like to express their sincere sympathy on the untimely death of Liam Smyth, a proud Claremorris man and a great supporter of Mayo GAA over the years.”

The club said its academy squads benefited greatly from Liam’s support and added that “Liam always extended this support in a quiet and an unassuming way; his warmth and generosity extended to many other walks of life both locally and further afield.”

The Claremorris Chamber of Commerce statement added: “With his brothers Tony, Padraig and Tommie, together they accomplished what very few Irish businesses achieve, they grew one shop in a small town into a global giant. Liam wore that modestly. Regardless of how busy he was, he always found time for whatever cause or group needed assistance. He was one of a kind.”

Liam is survived by his wife Anne and their five sons: Alex, Ben, Harry, Josh and Sam. Toy World would like to add its condolences to them, and to Liam’s brothers Tony, Padraig, Thomas and Joe, his sister Maura and the extended Smyth family at this sad time.

John Cook - passed away on June 28th 2023. A model maker and toy inventor, he worked at Mattel, Kenner and Playskool. He worked on Hot Wheels playsets, Star Wars, Strawberry Shortcake, Play Doh, Carci doll and much more.

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Simon Hedge - former managing director of Flair Leisure Products, lost his short battle with cancer on 20th June 2023.

Simon Hedge: 26th August 1966 – 20th June 2023

According to his family, friends and colleagues, who provided Toy World with the following memories, Simon will be best known for his long and hugely successful career at the company he started with Peter Brown 24 years ago – Flair Leisure Products PLC.

Simon made his debut in the toy industry when he joined Hasbro in the early ‘90s. A few years later, K’Nex opened its UK business in 1994, headed up by Peter Brown and Russ Ward. Simon joined them in 1995 to manage the supply chain and operations. When the K’Nex International business transferred to Hasbro at the end of 1998, Simon moved back to Hasbro for a brief period before joining forces with Peter and fellow K’Nex employee Carl Moran, putting their redundancy payments and life savings into starting Flair Leisure Products PLC – a decision Simon’s wife Tina says caused him concern early on, having only just started a family: their first child, Ellie, was barely a year old.

Flair started trading on 1st March 1999 with Simon in the role of commercial director overseeing Marketing and Operations.The company forged vital and enduring partnerships that continued right through Simon’s career, most notably with Generation Media and Evolution PR.

In 2003, just four years after the company was created, Flair became a ‘Sunday Times Fast Track 100’ company, vindicating Simon’s decision to invest everything in the business. That same year, Flair was named Company of the Year at the 2004 Toy Fair industry awards.

In 2008 Peter, Simon and Carl decided to sell the business to Italian toy giant Giochi Preziosi, staying on to run the business with many of the original team.

Flair progressed rapidly up the NPD industry charts. In 2009, the company was awarded not only Supplier of the Year but also Girls’ Toy of the Year for Sylvanian Families. 2011 saw the company achieve what Simon referred to as the ‘champions league’ spot when it became the No 4 toy company in the UK.

In 2013, when Peter decided to take more of a back seat and became company chairman, Simon took on the role of managing director of Flair, a position he held for further eight years. He eventually decided to leave the business in July 2021, starting a new chapter in his life and career by working on various projects with Marc Sivner and David Greenberg at Singleton Trading.

Simon kept his business and personal lives very separate. A passionate football fan, he was a season ticket holder with his beloved Fulham FC for many years. The matches were a way for him to relax away from the busy world of toys.

A family man, Simon had two daughters with his wife Tina, and would have celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve this year. Ellie was born just before he started Flair, and Ruby was born in the early Flair years. Sadly, Simon lost his father, Peter, in 2019. His mother, Phyllis, says his father was incredibly proud of Simon’s achievements.

Friends have remembered Simon as ‘a big man with an enormous sense of humour’, who was both cheeky and quick witted. Those who knew him well enjoyed the way he rocked in his chair while holding his belly, laughing uncontrollably at something amusing; colleagues say there was a lot of laughter in the Flair years. Simon worked hard, but he also laughed a lot and loved what he did.

Always with an abundance of new ideas backed by sound commercial acumen, Simon was driven and passionate and could reliably spot an opportunity and how to make it work profitably.

His loss will be felt by a great many people, not least his family: Phyliss, Tina, Ellie and Ruby, and his sister Helen. Simon will also be missed by many friends and colleagues within the industry who knew or worked with him during his career.

Simon will be remembered as a respected and successful business leader, who didn’t seek the limelight and didn’t like too much formality. His numerous acquaintances say they will treasure their many fond memories of their time with this ‘unforgettable man – our boss, our friend, and all the silly jokes, fun and laughter we shared with him’.

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Doris Mae Bergen, February 11, 1932 - July 5, 2023. Doris, 91, passed away peacefully on July 5, 2023 after a short illness. A long-time resident of Hamilton, Ohio, she had recently moved to the Knolls of Oxford with her beloved husband of 39 years, Joel Fink. Dr. Bergen was a professor of Educational Psychology at Miami University, and an expert in studying and creating ways to strengthen brain development in young children. Her work led to numerous books and dozens of national honors. An authority on children's play and humor, her research papers are housed in the Archives at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. In 2019 she was inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame to honor the impact of her life's work after age 60. Having served as the chair of her department at Miami University for 11 years, Dr. Bergen didn't fully retire until age 85, and at the time of her death was still collaborating on another book. Born in 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Bergen was inspired by her father to trust in her intelligence and ability. She was the first person in her family t