TIME reporter Allie Townsend picks the 100 most influential toys from 1923 to the present. Try again later. We have set your language to There was an error deleting this problem. He was born in Los Angeles Nov. 16, 1922, to Della Kelso Melin and Charles Raymond Melin., and was the elder brother to Arthur Spud Melin. "They were like John Wayne and Ernest Hemingway all rolled into one. Wham-O began selling the disc they called the "Pluto Platter" two years later before modifying it and renaming it the "Frisbee.". (L to R) Rich Knerr, Fred Morrison, and Arthur Melin. Save . Wham-O, in fact, hired students to sell Frisbees on campuses until it could get distribution in stores. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Around 20 million Super Balls were sold that decade, and the NFL named the Super Bowl games after it.[10]. He sold the design to Wham-O in 1957. They were more of an old-school company. Co-Creator of Frisbee and Hula Hoop Dies at 82 : NPR Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Wham-O co-founders Arthur Melin (left) and Richard Knerr try out their toy company's Hula Hoop, a plastic version of a rattan hoop popular in Australia. Just why Melin and Knerr changed the disks name to Frisbee in 1958 remains debatable. Wham-O Bird Ornithopter (1959) sold in a large cardboard box, ready to fly. In 1958, the founders of Wham-O toys, Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, Vintage plastic Mr. How Much People Earned From Their Iconic Inventions - Insider "(It) remains the standard against which all national crazes are measured.". I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Retailers in the United States were skeptical, but the two sensed a hit. Sorry! Their first major development was a buy-in - the Frisbee. 1948: WHAM-O founded. With some of their biggest successes selling for under a dollar, no one was priced out of enjoying them. Knerr and Melin marketed their products directly to kids, including demonstrating their toys at playgrounds. Made of aluminum spars, wood, steel wire and mylar, it was brightly painted to resemble a hawk or owl. With his business partner, Richard Rich Knerr, he successfully marketed the Frisbee, as well as several other joyful additions to human silliness, such as the Hula Hoop, the Slip N Slide and Silly Putty. Arthur Melin | | The Guardian Potato Heads can be worth from $200 to $695 dollars. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The name Wham-O was meant to evoke the noise a slingshot made. He reportedly has a net worth of $5.6 billion. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, Decades of failures leave L.A. County facing up to $3 billion in sex abuse claims, China to scrap PCR test requirement for inbound travelers starting Saturday, Down to our final hill: Ski season (finally) winding down at Big Bear resorts, If Its a Small World isnt the best ride at Disneyland, what is? Headrick was in charge of sifting through ideas, of which one in a thousand might be viable enough to pursue. Try again later. Melin and Knerr were boyhood friends, mugging for cameras and dreaming up ideaslike a mink button that could cover a womans naveltoo ridiculous for larger companies to ever consider. They began demonstrating the toy in parks and on television, and the fad quickly went viral. About 600,000 were made. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. COSTA MESA, California, Jun 29, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Arthur "Spud" Melin, co-founder of the toy company that introduced the world to the Frisbee, Hula Hoop and other faddish gems of American pop culture, has died. In the toy business, we aspire to create fun for people. Turning the Titans into an offensive juggernaut. Wham-O was also enjoying the creative freedom that came from the plastic injection molding process, a relatively recent innovation in the wooden toy business. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. ''. Please enter your email and password to sign in. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' Wham-O, in fact, hired students to sell Frisbees on campuses until it could get distribution in stores. By 1994, when Mattel purchased Wham-O, the San Gabriel factory was down to a skeleton crew keeping up production of only a handful of products. Humans have been hula hooping for hundreds of years. More importantly, they were actually having as much fun as people thought they were. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Instead of counting a fortune, Wham-O was sitting on inventory they wouldnt clear for years. Number of Founded Organizations 1. His great success story was the Hula Hoop. COSTA MESA, Calif. Arthur "Spud" Melin, co-founder of the toy company that introduced the world to the Frisbee, Hula Hoop and other faddish gems of American Travel broadens one, it is often said, and it certainly gave Melin ideas. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Frisbee grew so popular that associations and canine variations became commonplace; the Navy experimented on them to see if they could keep flares in the air longer. Increasingly, kids were turning less to outdoor play and more toward higher-priced electronic offerings, which meant bigger profit margins for companies. Knerr and childhood buddy Arthur "Spud" Melin started a slingshot-selling business in 1948 in Pasadena and called their company Wham-O after what they said was the sound a slingshot made when it hit something. Shortly thereafter, the company had another huge success with the Frisbee. It was like a new medium, says Tim Walsh, a Wham-O historian and author of The Wham-O Super Book. It gave us the opportunity to do it."[29]. Youre never going to see a toy that costs a dollar on television again. The success of the Super Ball and Frisbee largely made up for Wham-Os misadventures with the Hula Hoopwhich, contrary to belief, wound up being a steady seller over time. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The Americans had trouble duplicating the moves of the Australian kids until a Wham-O executive, Richard Gillespie, finally mastered the art after four straight days of practice. Dad was the extrovert, a more sociable people person, so he was the one who did most interviews and the PR in the later years. But the connection was not coincidental to the success of the Frisbee, which found its earliest acceptance at Eastern colleges. With Dorothy Kilgallen, John Payne, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf. Ads claimed it could make bubbles "as long as a bus". They bought a saw at Sears, Roebuck & Company on a monthly payment plan, set it up in a garage and began making and selling slingshots. Within six months, they sold 7 million Superballs. Ed Headrick looked over the leftover plastic from the Hula implosion and had an idea. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. RELATED: Sherlock Holmes: 5 Similarities Between The Films Reboots & The BBC Series (& 5 Differences) They may In 1957, Wham-O, still a fledgling company, took the idea of Australian bamboo "exercise hoops", manufactured them in Marlex, and called their new product the Hula Hoop. Try again later. At first, they focused on sporting goods, rather than toys, but they kept an eye out for unusual items like boomerangs and crossbows. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Melin and Knerr shrugged. By various estimates, 20 million to 40 million were sold that year worldwide. WebThe hoop has been a popular children's toy for thousands of years, and the introduction of the Hula Hoop in 1958 by the Wham-O toy company has been documented by sociologists as one of the biggest fads ever to take hold in America and one of the most significant events of the time. Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. [4] The powerful slingshot was adopted by clubs for competitive target shooting and small game hunting. There was a sense they had passed their heyday., Melin and Knerr were also faced with an unfortunate consequence of people trying to have a little too much fun: the Slip 'N Slide, intended for children, proved catastrophic to adults and teens who were too large to use it properly. His net worth is estimated at $200 million, per Celebrity Net Worth, though its not clear how much of that is due to his creation of the Snuggie. Today, Woodmans net worth is estimated at $800 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, which is actually much lower than his peak valuation of $4.5 billion. Hula Hoop mania took off from there. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Sales skyrocketed, reaching 100 million before Mattel eventually bought out Wham-O. The company's lines are also more complex, and grouped in related categoriesfor example, the Sea-Doo line (about a dozen products), several Slip 'N Slide variations, and a group of "lawn games". Edit Jobs Section. Old ones were retired, for a few years or permanently, as their popularity waned. Ed Sullivan (2 Head to one of these 8 L.A. spots for the perfect spring paddle. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. In 1982, Melin and Knerr sold Wham-O to the Kransco Group for $12m, but Melin kept up his interest in gadgets - at one point, he In 1955, the founders of the Wham-O toy company, Arthur Spud Melin and Richard Knerr, saw Morrisons flying disc. Spudwas the quiet, kind of brainy idea man and more introverted, says Lori Knerr, Richs daughter. version made of colorful plastic tubing. Commercials were shot in their own backyards. Arthur 'Spud' Melin, novelty inventor, born December 30 1924; died June 28 2002, The man who brought us the Hula-Hoop and the Frisbee, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The California native was a teenager when he befriended Arthur Spud Melin outside a Pasadena movie theater. After two years of development, its tendency to fly apart was overcome and its 92 per cent recovery rate realised for the springy Superball. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. As Wham-O changed ownership, its new management adjusted this formula to accommodate the changing toy industry, which had increasingly complex toys and fewer distribution channels. Bubble Thing (1988), a flexible plastic strip attached to a wand, which was dipped in soap solution and waved through the air to create giant soap bubbles. But Melin and Knerr didnt seem wired for conventional products. Wham-O would never have seen that success if not for their open-door policy: Anyone could telegram, mail, or show up in person with a toy idea. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. But when the products hit, it made up for the lean years. Before the elephant arrived, he sent a telegram posing as his partner: Am sending live animal home, please feed it and take care of it until I get home. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The name "Wham-O" was inspired by the sound of the slingshot's shot hitting the target. "We didn't want it used as a toy, we wanted it to be a sport," Melin said in a 1998 interview with the Pasadena Star-News. He was 82. Stingley and the company spent two years trying to create a manufacturing process that would result in a stable ball (prototypes were prone to exploding). Over the years, Wham-O churned out 25 million Hula Hoops. In 1957, an Australian visiting California told them offhand that in his home country, children This account has been disabled. Melin and Knerr showed entrepreneurial spirit early on. The companys name, Wham-O, came from the sound the slingshots supposedly made. Richard Knerr, a businessman who brought joy to millions of children around the world, died on Jan. 14 from complications of a stroke. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. Hula Hoop promoter Arthur 'Spud' Melin dies - Deseret News The domestic size sold 20m. Left strictly to their own sensibilities, items like the Bowmatic bow-making machine and the Super Foam Machine probably wouldn't have kept the lights on. In 1962, they sold a limbo dance kit to take advantage of that fad; and in 1975, when the movie Jaws was released, they sold plastic shark teeth. 1948: WHAM-O founded. She didn't know what she was going to do with it.. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Melin and Knerr had run a used-car store together in downtown Los Angeles before founding Wham-O. A system error has occurred. Fewpeople in the history of fun can have had such success as Arthur (Spud) Melin, who died on June 28th aged 77, the co-inventor of the Hula-Hoop and manufacturer of the Frisbee, the Superball, the Hacky Sack and a long inventory of wheezes. Wham-O rebounded a few years later with the unusual spring of the SuperBall, made of a compressed plastic known as Zectron. The next year it was refined and reintroduced as the Frisbee. Melin Thanks for your help! They added toys in 1955, when building inspector Fred Morrison sold them a plastic flying disc he had developed after watching Yale University students toss pie tins. John Daly asked the gentleman if First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, oversaw the interior decorating of By various estimates, 20 million to 40 million were sold that year worldwide.But as quickly as the fad arrived, it ended, when school began, leaving Wham-O with millions of hoops and a $10,000 loss for the year.Wham-O rebounded a few years later with the unusual spring of the SuperBall, made of a compressed plastic known as Zectron. The bosses explained that they patented the mechanical principle behind it, the ratio of waist to diameter: "Small hoops or big waists just won't work.". The technology allowed them to dream up all sorts of packaged nonsense. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Arthur Melin, 77, a Promoter of the Hula-Hoop, Is Dead Mr. Melin (pronounced muh-LIN) once bought a truckload of oysters from Texas in hopes of starting a raw bar in California modeled after those he had seen in New York. In 1948, friends Arthur Melin and Richard Knerr founded a company in California to sell a slingshot they created to shoot meat up to falcons they used for hunting. They balanced and complemented each other.. Richard Rich Knerr co-founded the Wham-O company, which specialised in fun products such as Silly String and the Super Ball. CB Rank (Person) 1,575,211. Wham-O was the comic book sound effect they assigned to their ball bearings hitting a target, and a good name for a company that specialized in launching projectiles: blowguns, throwing knives, and tomahawks followed. They were all about fun," recalls Richard's son, Chuck. Love, Spud., An hour later, she sees Dad and another man from work walking up her driveway, Knerr says.Then this fake delivery truck arrives, Suzy couldn't see what it was. WebArthur Spud Melin has recently died. Arthur Spud Melin, co-founder of Wham-O Inc., which gave the world such leisure icons as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop and the Superball--along with such duds as You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. The cause was Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Suzy, said.Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Melin, known by his childhood nickname Spud, formed Wham-O with a friend, Richard Knerr, in 1948, while they were working for their fathers and attending the University of Southern California.Their inspiration came from a slingshot they had made while hunting with falcons, which was used to shoot meat up to the birds. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Their inspiration came from a slingshot they had made while hunting with falcons, which was used to shoot meat up to the birds. When the two became interested in falconry in their early 20s, they crafted a slingshot to shoot food into the air to train their birds. They also offered mail-order sporting goods, such as pellet guns, crossbows and daggers. Try again. Their Air Blaster could blow out a candle at 25 feet. They started making slingshots, just for kicks, out of the ends of orange crates, Chuck recalls. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. Tiring of business, Mr. Melin persuaded Mr. Knerr to sell the company in 1982 to the Kransco Group Companies for $12 million. New products were developed for tryout periods. With plastic molding so inexpensive, hoop hobbyists didnt necessarily have any brand loyaltyparticularly if the generic was cheaper. The two never publicly commented on the injuries, but for a company that was built on levity, it had to be sobering. The cause was Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Suzy, said. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Arthur Melin, the co-founder of Wham-O, which introduced fads like the Hula-Hoop and lasting diversions like the Frisbee, died on Friday at a care center in Costa They were flat broke. Its origins are disputed, but seem to have been in empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, tossed around the ivy-league campus of Yale - or Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst and Middlebury, each of which claims to be its home. Melina and Knerr were inspired to develop the Hula Hoop after they saw a wooden hoop that Australian children twirled around their waists during gym class. Wham-O began producing a plastic version of the hoop, dubbed Hula after the hip-gyrating Hawaiian dance of the same name, and demonstrating it on Southern California playgrounds. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: March 5. But nothing could compare to the whirlwind force of the Hula-Hoop, which Wham-O introduced the next year. [8] "Hula Hoop mania" continued through the end of 1959, and netted Wham-O $45million (equivalent to $418million in 2023[9]). HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Knerr once had a baby elephant delivered to Melins wife, Suzy, after Melin went on an African safari without him. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ", "Branding in History:Fad and Brand Wham-O", "EXCLUSIVE: ICM Signs Wham-O Toy Company", "Wham-O co-founder Knerr dies at 82 San Francisco Business Times", "Wham-O CEO sues over post-purchase ouster - 8/24/2009 10:01:00 AM - Playthings", "Nostalgia (and Frisbees) in the air at Wham-O", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wham-O&oldid=1127101140, Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles, Companies based in Los Angeles County, California, Privately held companies based in California, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from January 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles needing additional references from February 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Smith has 10 children, including a daughter who works as a film producer. Wham-O took a fair share of wild swings in the marketplace. 1997: Wham-O becomes independent again when an investment group purchases it from Mattel, January 2006: Wham-O is sold for ~ US$80million to, 2008: Wham-O introduces the EZ Spin Foam Frisbee Disc, a soft foam version of the Frisbee, 2009: Wham-O sold to investment firm The Aguilar Group. Today, Woodmans net worth is estimated at $800 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, which is actually much lower than his peak valuation of $4.5 billion. Enter a date in the format M/D (e.g., 1/1), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hula-hoop-patented, Marvin Miller elected first full-time MLB Players Association executive director, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler hits #1 with Ballad of the Green Berets, Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson begins, Jim Morrison is charged with lewd behavior at a Miami concert. Compared by many to be two sides of the same coin, Merlin and Arthur's relationship was at the heart of the show. All Knerr's creations had a way of bringing out the most mysterious aspects of physics, Knerr says. Their hobby was breeding falcons, and training them to dive by lobbing meatballs at them on the wing. They thrived in a time kids functioned outside, with hits like the Frisbee prompting people to break a sweat. He patented a design for a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle. Richard Knerr, co-founder of the company responsible for turning the Hula Hoop, Frisbee and many other ingenious creations into iconic toys died Monday at age 82. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. He was a good player in his own right, earning the nickname Steady Ed for his even throws. Wham-O headquarters in Carson, California, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Richard Knerr, 82; co-founded Wham-O, maker of the Hula Hoop and Frisbee", "Super Bowl Owes Its Name to a Bouncy Ball History in the Headlines", "12 Lesser-Known Wham-O Products You Have to See to Believe", "Airgun makers that spawned firearms | Air gun blog Pyramyd Air Report", "Monster Super Gorilla Giant Horseshoe Magnet by Wham-o", "Super Sneaky Squirtin Stick Trademark #73131837, Owner: WHAM-O", "RETRO REVIEW: Wham-O Giant Comics #1 (April 1967)", "MTU Physics Alumni Department History Exhibits BS Degrees", "Get Yourself a Magic Window, just like the popular 70's toy for all ages! It became the biggest toy fad in modern history. In 1955 inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. In 1982, Spud Melin and Knerr sold Wham-O to the Kransco Group for $12 million, but Spud Melin kept up his interest in gadgets - at one point, he patented a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle. And in answer to a music and dance fad of the era, it also marketed Chubby Checker Limbo sets. Edit Overview Section. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. They did not know what to make of it until another friend from Australia showed them how to gyrate their hips, thus spinning the hoop. Because of its enduring popularity, the Hula Hoop was inducted into A. Melin, 77; Introduced Frisbee and Hula Hoop Learn more about merges. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin I found on Findagrave.com. April 25, 2018. A series of equally ingenious toys including Slip 'N Slide, Silly String, the Hula Hoop and the insanely bouncy Superball would soon follow. But the imported fish produced no hatchable eggs. Anyone can read what you share. By 2006 Wham-O's product line included several groups of related items using licensed brand names. died this week after suffering a stroke in California. The Frisbee and Hula Hoop created fads. Pottery! Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. The company ended 1958 with losses of $10,000. On January 31, 2011, Wham-O announced an agreement with ICM, the agency representing Atari video games, to represent Wham-O in movies, television, music, and online content based around its toys.[30]. They had her sign for it first. I once asked Rich Knerr about stuff like the Mr. Hootie egg rake, Walsh says. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. Wham-Os Pluto Platter, meant to capitalize on the 1950s obsession with space and flying saucers, had a wobbly motion to it.