It became the biggest toy fad in modern history. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. The companys name, Wham-O, came from the sound the slingshots supposedly made. "I think he proved the American success story. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. He gave company officials an impromptu lesson in how to use a rattan hoop imported from Australia. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. One hundred million platters have been sold, and as Spud Melin hoped, they became a sport - the basis of the team game Ultimate, with world championships, and disc golf on 500 courses worldwide. However, his most famous offspring happens to work in the football industry. By 1948, they had moved into Knerr's Los Angeles garage, where Spud Melin cut slingshots with a handsaw, Knerr sanded, and both sold, personally first, then by mail-order and through dealers all over the United States. 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 One of the best relationships on Merlin was between the series' eponymous protagonist and Camelot's king. He was 77. See the article in its original context from. If Headrick firmed it up and added ridges to make it more aerodynamic, they might have something. Oops, something didn't work. Richard Knerr, a businessman who brought joy to millions of children around the world, died on Jan. 14 from complications of a stroke. Shortly thereafter, the company had another huge success with the Frisbee. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. All the funny product namesFling-a-Ring, Zip Zap, Water Weiniehad been exhausted. But neither Arthur Melin nor Richard Knerr can lay any claim to inventing the thing. Many products were not successful. Litigation, changing tastes, and corporate shrinkage would eventually undo Wham-O. 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. The name "Wham-O" was inspired by the sound of the slingshot's shot hitting the target. Gender Male; Jobs. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Today in History: March 5, 1963. They branched into other sporting goods, including pellet guns, crossbows and daggers. We have set your language to However, the Hula Hoop never faded away completely and still has its fans today. , It was difficult for dad to see his friends health decline, Lori Knerr says. Wham-O introduced the Hula Hoop in 1958 and was soon producing 20,000 a day. Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. "They were like John Wayne and Ernest Hemingway all rolled into one. Because of its enduring popularity, the Hula Hoop was inducted into TheSlip N Slide, Hacky Sack, and several others were also third-party ideas. They thrived in a time kids functioned outside, with hits like the Frisbee prompting people to break a sweat. Today, Wham-O is owned by the Aguilar Group, a private investment company, and still markets their trademark products. See more:12 Wacky Products from Wham-O You Have to See to Believe., That wouldnt fly in todays toy world. Mr Knerr, who retired when he and company co-founder Arthur Spud Melin sold Wham-O in 1982, Richard Knerr who invented the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee. Mr. Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. Both the Hula Hoop and Instant Fish sprang from Melins interest in other parts of the world. This inspired Melin to create the .mw-parser-output .vanchor>:target~.vanchor-text{background-color:#b1d2ff}Instant Fish product, an aquarium kit consisting of some of the fish eggs, and some mud in which to hatch them. 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. New products were developed for tryout periods. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. (It was later sold to Mattel, which then sold it to a group of investors.). The original Hula-Hoop girl is sitting in a caf wearing a leopard-lined jacket, gold-painted nails, and Revlon lipstick in a shade called Orange Flip. 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. Rather, he said, the name came from a comic strip of the era called Mr. Frisbie. I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school. While the hula hoop never went away, it has had a bit of a revival in the past five years with popular hoop fitness classes. Drag images here or select from your computer for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin memorial. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. Edit Overview Section. Wham-O kept an open door to inventors, pro or amateur: 20 nutty ideas arrived daily, including, in the early 1960s, the offer from a chemical engineer of an accidentally compressed plastic, Zectron, which bounced uncontrollably. 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. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? 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 When Melin and Knerr started their company in 1948, they named it for the sound made by their top product--a slingshot hitting its target. 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. 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. In 1957, an Australian visiting California told them, quite casually, that in his home country, children twirled bamboo hoops around their waists in gym class. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. Promoting the creations was a family affair. 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 "No sensation has ever swept the country like the Hula Hoop," author Richard Johnson wrote in his book "American Fads." READ MORE: The History of Must-Have Holiday Toys. The Hula had been They were flat broke. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? A system error has occurred. In 1955 inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. 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. It was inexplicable. 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.Besides his wife, he is survived five daughters, Linda Melin, Sally Melin, June Macy-Melin, Carol Denham and Della Peterson; a brother, Tom Melin; and 11 grandchildren. Try again later. Bookbinding! After all, the ball was unharmed. Wham-O also benefited from the relative economic sense of advertising nationally. And when the novelty products missedlike the "Mr. Hootie" egg rake, meant to help users pluck out bits of egg shell from a cracked eggat least Melin and Knerr managed to amuse themselves. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. Wham-O took a fair share of wild swings in the marketplace. The ball was uninjured. Earlier that same year, in January, according to the Guinness World Records, two people in Tokyo, Japan, managed to spin the worlds largest hoopat 13 feet, 4 inchesaround their waists at least three times each. (The name had been used since the 18th century, but till then was not registered as a trademark.) Arthur Melin, 77, a Promoter of the Hula-Hoop, Is Dead, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/01/business/arthur-melin-77-a-promoter-of-the-hula-hoop-is-dead.html. [28] If Spud and I had to say what we contributed, Knerr said, it was fun. 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. He was a good player in his own right, earning the nickname Steady Ed for his even throws. Edit Jobs Section. Please try again later. All rights reserved. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. 0 cemeteries found in Corona del Mar, Orange County, California, USA. 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". 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. But Wham-O continued to make other novelties, like Silly String and the Slip 'n' Slide.Tiring of business, Mr. Melin persuaded Mr. Knerr to sell the company in 1982 to the Kransco Group Companies for $12 million. Tens of millions of hoops were snapped up, with Wham-O racing to meet demand. About 600,000 were made. Overview. 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. 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 Instead of counting a fortune, Wham-O was sitting on inventory they wouldnt clear for years. CB Rank (Person) 1,575,211. Melin and Knerr started with slingshots and named their mail-order company after the sound a slingshot made when its projectile struck a target. 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 oft-told story behind the origin of the Hulu-Hoop is the tale of two childhood buddies named Richard Knerr and Arthur Spud Melin, the founders of Wham-O, who first heard of kids gyrating hoops around theirs waists for fun when a visiting Australian mentioned its popularity back home. For example, Sea-Doo is a brand of personal water craft owned by Bombardier; Wham-O makes a Sea-Doo line of small inflatable rafts designed to be towed behind watercraft. Increasingly, kids were turning less to outdoor play and more toward higher-priced electronic offerings, which meant bigger profit margins for companies. Everyone is just too litigious. He sold the design to Wham-O in 1957. Services are being planned in Newport Beach on Tuesday. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! 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. 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 Learn more about managing a memorial . Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Spud Melin's genius saw the potential, and, after prototype trials with Pasadena children, manufactured, with Knerr, a hollow cylinder in light, durable polyurethane. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? 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. 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. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. version made of colorful plastic tubing. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. He left behind a legacy of fun. 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 But I think this country gave us more than we gave it. After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. RELATED: Sherlock Holmes: 5 Similarities Between The Films Reboots & The BBC Series (& 5 Differences) They may Add to your scrapbook. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. But they wanted to see what they could do with it.. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? By various estimates, 20 million to 40 million were sold that year worldwide. There was a problem getting your location. For years, college students, especially at Yale, had played a game of catch with pie tins (or in some versions of the story, lids of cookie jars) made by the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Conn. Mr. Knerr said in an interview yesterday that the similarity of the name of Wham-O's disk to the name of the student game was a coincidence. The childhood friends formed WHAM-O in 1948, as college students, when they began making and selling slingshots in a garage. 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. Travel broadens one, it is often said, and it certainly gave Melin ideas. 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. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. 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. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Humans have been hula hooping for hundreds of years. Born in Los Angeles on December 30th, 1924, he and his boyhood pal, later business partner, Richard (Rich) Knerr, studied at the University of South California. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. 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. ", "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. The ball became so popular that football's biggest game, the Super Bowl, was a pun on it.. ''He said it would be huge. WebArthur Spud Melin . Nonetheless, Hula-Hoops remain the most extraordinary US global imposition - travelling faster in two years than Coca-Cola in decades. They just did it because they thought it was funny.. It is known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula hoop, Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly String, Hacky sack, Wham-O Bird Ornithopter and Boogie Board,[1] many of which have become genericized trademarks. By Melins estimate, the fad started in January 1958 and ended that October. He patented a design for a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle. Wham-Os Pluto Platter, meant to capitalize on the 1950s obsession with space and flying saucers, had a wobbly motion to it. 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. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. 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. When lawsuits were brought over serious injuriesincluding one death and two broken necksthe company ceased production.. He patented a design for a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle.Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. 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? Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. He reportedly has a net worth of $5.6 billion. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. When the rains came, the eggs hatched. Youd never see a company making both toys and weapons now. Rare was the tag line that didn't abuse exclamation marks. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin I found on Findagrave.com. 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. (modern). 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! The Frisbee was reintroduced in the late 1950s, this time as an athletic endeavor. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Summary. 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. They extensively researched new product ideas, including traveling around the world. 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. If subjects mastered the swing of it, they got to keep the toy. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Once perfected, the berserk Super Ball sold six million units in 1965 alone. Tilted flip curves. Wham-O's most famous contribution to silliness, the Hula-Hoop, was born in 1957. 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. Air Blaster (1965), which shot a puff of air that could blow out a candle at 20 feet. Of their new releases, only Magic Window, which displayed psychedelic patterns in grains of sand, was a bonafide hit., People were gravitating towards stuff like Simon and Pong, Walsh says. Photo courtesy of Phil Kennedy. Mattel Inc. bought the company in 1994. Over the years, Wham-O churned out 25 million Hula Hoops. 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. When a ball dreams, it dreams it's a Frisbee," they said. In 1965, while Hula Hoops were still rolling out the door, Melin and Knerr introduced the Superball, a small rubber ball with an exceptionally high bounce invented and patented by chemist Norman H. Stingley. GREAT NEWS! (It was also 1958, before the advent of more sophisticated distractions.) 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. But I said, 'You can't put that on television. The elephant was unloaded and the delivery truck left. 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. Try again. Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. We didnt want it used as a toy, Melin told the Pasadena Star-News in 1998. After buying a hand saw at Sears, they started churning out the weapons and selling them via magazine ads in 1948., As business partners, Melin and Knerr had an easy camaraderie. Thanks for your help! There was an error deleting this problem. Hula Hoop mania took off from there. Their Air Blaster could blow out a candle at 25 feet. She didn't know what she was going to do with it.. With plastic molding so inexpensive, hoop hobbyists didnt necessarily have any brand loyaltyparticularly if the generic was cheaper. 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. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. According to Ripleys Believe It or Not, in April 2004, a performer at the Big Apple Circus in Boston simultaneously spun 100 hoops around her body. And in answer to a music and dance fad of the era, it also marketed Chubby Checker Limbo sets. There is a problem with your email/password. Read more:12 WackyProducts from Wham-O You Have to See to Believe.. 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Melin is survived by his wife, Suzy; five daughters; a brother; and 11 grandchildren. 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.