If Headrick firmed it up and added ridges to make it more aerodynamic, they might have something. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. Wham-O also benefited from the relative economic sense of advertising nationally. The Frisbee and Hula Hoop created fads. 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. He was 82. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. 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. After two years of development, its tendency to fly apart was overcome and its 92 per cent recovery rate realised for the springy Superball. Services are being planned in Newport Beach on Tuesday. In the early 1960s Wham-O created the Super Ball, a high-bouncing ball made of a hard elastomer Polybutadiene alloy, dubbed Zectron, with a 0.92 coefficient of restitution when bounced on hard surfaces. Photo courtesy of Phil Kennedy. You can even hire a personal hula hoop trainer. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. 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. A local barber suggested they sell the contraption. But the imported fish produced no hatchable eggs. Most wont even look at an idea unless it comes through an agency. Air Blaster (1965), which shot a puff of air that could blow out a candle at 20 feet. 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. 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. In 1955 inventor Fred Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the Pluto Platter. And like his father, Arthur Smith excels at his job. 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. All Rights Reserved. Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. Richard Knerr - Wikipedia The childhood friends formed WHAM-O in 1948, as college students, when they began making and selling slingshots in a garage. But when the products hit, it made up for the lean years. 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. 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. Edit Jobs Section. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Richard Knerr, a businessman who brought joy to millions of children around the world, died on Jan. 14 from complications of a stroke. Wham-O was resold to Mattel Inc. in 1994 and to a group of investors in 1997. 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. 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. World Wide Words: Frisbee The Atlanta Falcons Have Hired the Founder In the 1960s they produced a US$119 do-it-yourself bomb shelter cover. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 22:20. GREAT NEWS! Oops, something didn't work. Within four months, 25 million hoops had been sold, according to Wham-O, and hooping was an integral part of American youth culture. 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. Headricka veteran who spied on Nazi movements during World War IIpaid college kids to toss the disc on campuses. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Around 20 million Super Balls were sold that decade, and the NFL named the Super Bowl games after it.[10]. 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. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Mr. Melin was right, though. The technology allowed them to dream up all sorts of packaged nonsense. Millions of rings sat in piles like gargantuan wrist bracelets. ), Congressional investigators blame airlines for most flight cancellations, Its kayak season. 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". Arthur Spud MelinAmerican Role Model | Marc Corsini All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. , It was difficult for dad to see his friends health decline, Lori Knerr says. But as quickly as it started, it was over. Gender Male; Jobs. Today in History: March 5, 1963. He is survived by his wife and five daughters. 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. There was no one like Melin or Knerr sitting over a drawing board and trying to come up with an outlandish product. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. 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 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! Introduced Hula-Hoop and Frisbee The Irish Times died this week after suffering a stroke in California. It was like a new medium, says Tim Walsh, a Wham-O historian and author of The Wham-O Super Book. Wham-Os Pluto Platter, meant to capitalize on the 1950s obsession with space and flying saucers, had a wobbly motion to it. He was 77 and had lived in Irvine, Calif. RELATED: Sherlock Holmes: 5 Similarities Between The Films Reboots & The BBC Series (& 5 Differences) They may Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. Compared by many to be two sides of the same coin, Merlin and Arthur's relationship was at the heart of the show. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? The retail price for the rubber-band-powered toy was $3 (about $24 in 2020 money). The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. They started making slingshots, just for kicks, out of the ends of orange crates, Chuck recalls. 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 76-year-old also built a large family. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Richard Rich Knerr co-founded the Wham-O company, which specialised in fun products such as Silly String and the Super Ball. 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. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. 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! Make sure that the file is a photo. By Melins estimate, the fad started in January 1958 and ended that October. More than $1 million accepted in orders by Wham-O had to be refunded and the project was abandoned. The ball became so popular that football's biggest game, the Super Bowl, was a pun on it.. "Then their barber recommended they put an ad in a magazine and try mail order," he says. 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. Anyone, anywhere, could submit an idea to them and potentially get a royalty deal. Melin was right, though. Pottery! Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. 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. Try again later. Tilted flip curves. However, his most famous offspring happens to work in the football industry. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Melin and Knerr showed entrepreneurial spirit early on. Edit Overview Section. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Arthur Melin (27070295)? Their hobby was breeding falcons, and training them to dive by lobbing meatballs at them on the wing. We have set your language to 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. Knerr and Melin marketed their products directly to kids, including demonstrating their toys at playgrounds. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. 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. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. The Frisbee was originally marketed under a different name, the Pluto Platter, in an effort to capitalize on Americas fascination with UFOs. In 1948 they formed the WHAM-O Manufacturing Company in the Knerr family garage in South Pasadena. 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]. While visiting that continent he saw a little fish that buried its eggs in mud during the dry season. Every toy company has a submission policy, says Walsh, who also designs games. Increasingly, kids were turning less to outdoor play and more toward higher-priced electronic offerings, which meant bigger profit margins for companies. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. 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. 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 "I think he proved the American success story. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. 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. 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. They were more of an old-school company.
