arthur spud'' melin net worth

It became Wham-O's long, slow seller, with its own plant in San Gabriel, California, taking off in the 1960s as a counter-cultural exercise, the toy of hippies and of guys trying to impress their girls with Frisbee flips - "Flat flip flies straight. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. The Frisbee was originally marketed under a different name, the Pluto Platter, in an effort to capitalize on Americas fascination with UFOs. The California native was a teenager when he befriended Arthur Spud Melin outside a Pasadena movie theater. 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. See the article in its original context from. And like his father, Arthur Smith excels at his job. 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. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. He left behind a legacy of fun. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. 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. 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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Richard Knerr (19252008[2]) and Arthur "Spud" Melin (19242002[3]), two University of Southern California graduates who were friends since their teens, were unhappy with their jobs and decided to start their own business. 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. Wham-O first tried to sell the disk as the Pluto Platter, an attempt to cash in on the country's fascination with unidentified flying objects. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Knerr was also quoted in 1997 as saying the name came from a comic strip called Mr. It was inexplicable. Wham-O was also responsible for a few ideas that did not etch themselves into popular history as indelibly as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop or the Superball. 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 pop culture, has died. The name Wham-O was meant to evoke the noise a slingshot made. He patented a design for a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle. Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. The kinetic energy in the material was substantial: it could bounce over a two-story home. 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. But Wham-O continued to make other novelties, like Silly String and the Slip 'n' Slide. ''. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Within four months, 25 million hoops had been sold, according to Wham-O, and hooping was an integral part of American youth culture. Verify and try again. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. The ball was uninjured. We didnt want it used as a toy, Melin told the Pasadena Star-News in 1998. Oops, something didn't work. But the imported fish produced no hatchable eggs. "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. 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. Greatest toy invention in years! ad copy blared. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Resend Activation Email. He had lived for many years in San Gabriel before his retirement. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. The retail price for the rubber-band-powered toy was $3 (about $24 in 2020 money). In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Were it not for a chemist and a former World War II spy, things might have stopped being fun. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' Early on, they tried some other, ill-fated endeavors. Old ones were retired, for a few years or permanently, as their popularity waned. Over the years, Wham-O churned out 25 million Hula Hoops. 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. The Hula Hoop, a hip-swivelling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is patented by the companys cofounder, Arthur Spud Melin. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Rather, he said, the name came from a comic strip of the era called Mr. Frisbie.But the connection was not coincidental to the success of the Frisbee, which found its earliest acceptance at Eastern colleges. So they marketed abroad, first in Europe, then everywhere, although Japan banned them as lewd, and the Soviet Union called them "an example of the emptiness of American culture". 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. Richard Rich Knerr co-founded the Wham-O company, which specialised in fun products such as Silly String and the Super Ball. Number of Founded Organizations 1. Art (Spud) Melin and Richard (Rich) Knerr had a knack for fun, and an open door for outside inventor ideas. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The Hula had been The enormous popularity of the Hula Hoop was short-lived and within a matter of months, the masses were on to the next big thing. A group of investors then bought Wham-O back from Mattel in 1997 for about $20 million and relaunched many of its best-known toys, including the Slip 'N Slide. However, when the weather cooled and the kids went back to school, the fad was over, and Wham-O had millions of unsold hoops. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! By 1957, the company had sold several million of the disks.But nothing could compare to the whirlwind force of the Hula-Hoop, which Wham-O introduced the next year. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. 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.He was 77 and had lived in Irvine, Calif. 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. Promoting the creations was a family affair. Melin was right, though. Hula hooping teens became an iconic image of the 1950s, and the fad grew when Wham-O began manufacturing a smaller version of the hoop for the younger set. Since then, he has been involved in several experimental treatments, Mrs. Melin said, and he has willed his brain to the University of California at Irvine, where he was treated. The domestic size sold 20 million. 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. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. March 5, 1963: the Hula Hoop, a hip-swiveling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is patented by the companys co-founder, Arthur Spud Melin. , It was difficult for dad to see his friends health decline, Lori Knerr says. An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. Magic Window (1971), two 30 by 30 centimetres (12in 12in) oval plates of heavy clear plastic, with a narrow channel between them containing "microdium" (glass) crystal sands of varying colors that created complex patterns when shifted. There is a problem with your email/password. 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. Their bowling set consisted of a ball and pins that were sold empty and filled with water to add weight (the innovation also helped reduce shipping costs to retailers); a Wham-O game of catch involved a Pluto Platter, the disc-shaped saucer later re-named Frisbee that some people thought ran along strings; a cap gun that shot peas and beans at pretend cowboys. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. They were all about fun," recalls Richard's son, Chuck. Unlike their contemporaries at Mattel or Hasbro, Melin and Knerr didnt have to navigate a corporate obstacle course. They began demonstrating the toy in parks and on television, and the fad quickly went viral. Edit Jobs Section. 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. April 25, 2018. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Wham-O's first incursion into the mainstream came in 1955, when it bought the idea for a plastic flying disk from a building inspector named Walter Frederick Morrison. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. It was a little like excavating for toy gold, but the results were worthwhile: Slip N Slide, invented by an upholsterer, became one of the companys biggest perennial sellers. 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.". WebEd Sullivan (2): Directed by Franklin Heller. WebIn 1948, he co-founded the company Wham-O with Arthur Melin (nicknamed "Spud"). Richard A. Johnson, author of the book American Fads, declared the Hula Hoop the undisputed granddaddy of American fads. No sensation has ever swept the country like the Hula Hoop, he wrote. The domestic size sold 20m. ''Spud brought it home and showed it to me,'' Mrs. Melin recalled yesterday. Wham-O's most famous contribution to silliness, the Hula-Hoop, was born in 1957. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. 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). A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? The next year it was refined and reintroduced as the Frisbee. He reportedly has a net worth of $5.6 billion. Wham-O first tried to sell the disk as the Pluto Platter, an attempt to cash in on the country's fascination with unidentified flying objects. Long story short, after much effort and rejection, Spud finally got financing for his Hula Hoop, and Wham-O went on to sell some 25 million hoops the first year, making He was 77. Year should not be greater than current year. They were buddies to the end.. Almost certainly not, Vanessa Hudson to replace Alan Joyce as Qantas chief, Covid graduates struggle with teamwork - Deloitte and PwC, Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns over dangers of machine learning, Permanent TSBs interest income jumps 86% on Ulster Bank deal and rising rates, Ukrainian forces shell village in Bryansk region, says Russian governor. 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. Additional Sources:The WHAM-O Super Book. Millions of rings sat in piles like gargantuan wrist bracelets. (It was later sold to Mattel, which then sold it to a group of investors.)Mr. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. The panel were stumped by the chief painter at the White House. The deal fell apart: That same year, they wound up selling their fun factory for $12 million to Kransco, an outfit that would later market Big Wheels. Bookbinding! WebRichard Knerr and Arthur Spud Melin, founders of the Wham-O Company, are the architects of the biggest fad of all time the hula hoop! Edit Overview Section. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. 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. Wham-O, in fact, hired students to sell Frisbees on campuses until it could get distribution in stores. In a testament to his marketing aptitude, the stunt was picked up by local press. With plastic molding so inexpensive, hoop hobbyists didnt necessarily have any brand loyaltyparticularly if the generic was cheaper. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Most of all, the two were able to get away with something rare in the cutthroat world of toys: they had fun. Ben Martin/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images Their inspiration came from a slingshot they had made while hunting with falcons, which was used to shoot meat up to the birds. In fact, the company was named for the spectacular They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' Both born in 1925, Knerr made rubber band guns out of apple crates and peddled them at the age of 9; Melin caught and sold halibut door to door. Travel broadens one, it is often said, and it certainly gave Melin ideas. Ads claimed it could make bubbles "as long as a bus". Their first product was the Wham-O Slingshot, made of ash wood, which Knerr and Melin promoted by holding demonstrations of their own slingshot skills. Thanks to a savvy marketing campaign, 25 million hoops were sold within a few months of the product's launch; the hula hoop craze was off and looping, with kids all over America spinning hoops around their hips and waists. In an era dominated by toymakers who had been around for decades, Wham-O innovated or acquired revolutionary ideas: the Frisbee, Slip N Slide, Super Ball, Silly String, and dozens of novelty items, all bearing their unique brand aesthetic. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. 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. Sales skyrocketed, reaching 100 million before Mattel eventually bought out Wham-O. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Then, in 1958, Wham-O toy company founders Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin saw the potential in the humble hoop and began to mass-market a 40-in. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved, 12 Wacky Products from Wham-O You Have to See to Believe, 12 WackyProducts from Wham-O You Have to See to Believe. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. When Hasbro tried to buy Wham-O in 1982, Melin and Knerr were responsive. But I said, 'You can't put that on television. The cause was Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Suzy, said. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Around 20 million Super Balls were sold that decade, and the NFL named the Super Bowl games after it.[10]. 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 In 1955 inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. Wham-O began selling the disc they called the "Pluto Platter" two years later before modifying it and renaming it the "Frisbee.". 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. 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. Melin retired when Wham-O was sold to Kransco Group Cos. in 1982. More than $1 million accepted in orders by Wham-O had to be refunded and the project was abandoned. Knerr spent his final hours in Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, Calif., after suffering a stroke earlier in the day at his home. Please enter your email and password to sign in. cemeteries found in Corona del Mar, Orange County, California, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. One of the best relationships on Merlin was between the series' eponymous protagonist and Camelot's king. 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Wham-O named them for the Hawaiian-dance-like hip rotations needed to keep them aloft. Once perfected, the berserk Super Ball sold six million units in 1965 alone. 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. An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. Wham-O took a fair share of wild swings in the marketplace. 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. 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. The ball became so popular that football's biggest game, the Super Bowl, was a pun on it.. Search above to list available cemeteries. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Andersons husband consulted Arthur Melin, a business acquaintance, about partnering with Melins company, Wham-O, one of the biggest toy manufacturers at the Melin and his wife, Suzy, became aware of children in Australia and elsewhere around the South Pacific playing with a bamboo or rattan ring by swinging it around their hips. Five dozen were ordered by the White House. Weve updated the security on the site. In the summer of 1958, the craze hit the US, selling 40 million $1.98 hoops and producing $45 million in profits. Melin, who started toy giant Wham-O in 1948 with his boyhood friend Richard Knerr, died Friday. Richard Knerr, a businessman who brought joy to millions of children around the world, died on Jan. 14 from complications of a stroke. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Knerr and Melin left behind a considerable legacy in the toy world. 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. During the first half of the 20th century, the best way to see someone use a hula hoop was to watch Chinese acrobats twirl multiple hoops on their arms, legs and torsos.
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