Burt Meyer, the creative thoughts behind among the most enduring toys of the twentieth century, has died on the age of 99. His demise was confirmed by his son, Steve Meyer, to The New York Times.
Born in Hinsdale, Illinois, in 1926, Meyer served within the U.S. Navy throughout World Battle II earlier than incomes a level in product design from the Institute of Design on the Illinois Institute of Expertise. He joined the influential toy design agency Marvin Glass and Associates round 1960, the place he made a big affect. One among his earliest successes was Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, launched in 1964 and destined to turn out to be a fixture of American playrooms. Meyer was impressed by an expertise at an arcade; it was his thought to make use of robots (versus boxers) and have the heads pop up.
Meyer went on to create among the most recognizable merchandise within the fashionable toy business, together with Lite-Brite, impressed by illuminated shows he had seen in New York Metropolis. Debuting in 1967, Lite-Brite makes use of small translucent pegs that glowed when organized towards a backlit panel, encouraging open-ended creativity.
His portfolio additionally included Mouse Trap — a pioneering three-dimensional board game — together with Toss Throughout, Mr. Machine, Fairly Fairly Princess, and Catch Phrase. Lite-Brite was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2022; Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots was a finalist in 2016. After leaving Marvin Glass within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, Meyer established his personal agency, Meyer/Glass Design, the place he continued to develop hit merchandise identified for his or her playful engineering and lasting enchantment.
Along with his quite a few contributions to the toy business, Meyer was an avid outdoorsman and skilled pilot, having flown as not too long ago as 9 years in the past, kayaked the Northwest Passage, and skied by the Arctic to the North Pole.
Meyer is survived by his kids, Steve, Lee, and Sheryl; six grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren. His spouse, Marcia, died in 2001.
Trending Merchandise
