Marvin Glass and Associates explained

Marvin Glass and Associates (MGA) was a toy design and engineering firm based in Chicago. Marvin Glass (1914–1974) and his employees created some of the most successful toys and games of the twentieth century such as Mr. Machine, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite Brite, Ants in the Pants,[1] Mouse Trap, Operation, Simon, Body Language, and the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle.[2] [3] [4]

History

Marvin Glass and Associates was founded in 1941. Its founder, Marvin Glass, was an entrepreneur and the creative force behind Marvin Glass and Associates. His salesmanship and uncanny ability to spark creativity in the designers he employed was unparalleled. In 1949, he licensed a "novelty item" to H. Fishlove & Company called Yakity Yak Talking Teeth. This item was invented by Eddy Goldfarb, who worked with Marvin Glass for a very short time after World War II.

The first big hit for Marvin Glass was Mr. Machine, a toy invented by a former watchmaker named Leo Kripak. A child could take Mr. Machine apart and put him back together. It was licensed to Ideal Toys and became such a hit that Lionel Weintraub, its president, made it his company mascot and featured it in many of Ideal's early TV ads. The company became so successful that Marvin Glass got his company logo printed on every package for the items it invented and licensed.

The organization's general counsel, James F. Coffee, and accountant Ernest Sonderling, were the architects of the successful business model whereby the designs and inventions were patented and licensed to various toy companies and manufacturers who would pay running royalties based on sales. Outside counsel, chairman and founder of the Intellectual Property Department at McDermott Will & Emery, Robert J. Schneider, was responsible for procuring the patents and protecting them from infringement. Mr. Schneider is currently co-chair of the Intellectual Property Department of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP.[5]

Joseph M. Burck was a senior designer at Marvin Glass through the mid-1960s to early 1980s and invented or designed many of MGA's hottest items such as Inch Worm, Lite-Brite, Astrolite, Which Witch, Masterpiece, SSP Racers, Chu-Bops, and the Evel Knievel line of toys (Burck was Knievel's personal guest at the infamous Snake River Canyon jump.) Burck holds 10 US patents for items developed by MGA. Time Magazine named Lite-Brite one of the top 100 toys of all time.[6]

Marvin Glass died in 1974. Two years later, managing partner Anson Isaacson, partner Joseph Callan and designer Kathy Dunn were shot and killed and two others seriously wounded at the company's offices in Chicago. The perpetrator was 33-year old Albert Keller, a designer suffering from paranoid delusions who then killed himself.[7] [8] [9] MGA was contracted by Bally-Midway to design coin-operated video games during the 1980s. Some of the games produced by MGA during this era include Tapper, Domino Man and Timber. The company continued in operation until 1988. Several partners from Marvin Glass and Associates subsequently started Chicago-based Big Monster Toys.

Designs by manufacturer

Unknown

Amurol

Aurora

Cardinal

Fisher-Price Toys

Gilbert

Hasbro

Hubley

Ideal

Irwin

Kenner

Lakeside

Marx

Matchbox

Mattel

Milton Bradley

Parker Brothers

Schaper Toys

Whitman

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://thirdcoastreview.com/2022/10/22/interview-making-fun-jeffrey-breslows-30-years-of-toy-and-game-making/
  2. Sharon M. Scott, Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2010),, pp. 131-132. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. Stephen Van Dulken, American Inventions: A History of Curious, Extraordinary, and Just Plain Useful Patents (NYU Press, 2004),, p. 38.Excerpts available at Google Books.
  4. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RmhPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mSQEAAAAIBAJ&dq=marvin-glass&pg=7027%2C3996042 "Glass still makes toys at age 57"
  5. Web site: Taft starts adding lawyers following Shefsky merger. January 2014.
  6. Web site: All-TIME 100 Greatest Toys - TIME.
  7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RvwjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jH4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6952,3298190&dq=marvin-glass&hl=en "Chicago Man Kills 3, Shoots Himself"
  8. Web site: Jaume. Glenn. 2017-06-04. The History of Mouse Trap: Murder, Playboys and Plagiarism. 2021-12-17. Best Play. en-GB.
  9. News: 1976-07-29. Palladium-Item (Richmond, Indiana) 29 Jul 1976, Thu Page 25. 25. Palladium-Item. 2021-12-17.
  10. Web site: Vintage 1973 HASBRO SUPER SUNDAY FOOTBALL GAME IN BOX COMPLETE MINT MEGA RARE #1847499692. 2020-12-02. Worthpoint. en.
  11. Web site: The Wall Walker By Kenner 1971 #533941933. 2020-12-02. Worthpoint. en.
  12. Web site: Coopee. Todd. Mad Marbles from Lakeside (1970). ToyTales.ca. 5 July 2021.

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