Recalled in 1978 after it caused the deaths of two children, having sold approximately 2.5 million units. Melin was right, though. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Knerr, Walsh says, had sellers remorse right away. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Head to one of these 8 L.A. spots for the perfect spring paddle. Melin retired when Wham-O was sold to Kransco Group Cos. in 1982. Thanks for your help! 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. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. Five dozen were ordered by the White House. 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. There was a sense they had passed their heyday., Melin and Knerr were also faced with an unfortunate consequence of people trying to have a little too much fun: the Slip 'N Slide, intended for children, proved catastrophic to adults and teens who were too large to use it properly. Summary. And for every Super Ball they successfully marketed, there were a dozen or more imitators shaving away at market share. Commercials were shot in their own backyards. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. Knerr and Melin left behind a considerable legacy in the toy world. 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. 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 adolescent appetite for dangerous weapons and sporting goods was so large that the two were soon grossing $100,000 in annual revenue. With only network channels to choose from, the odds kids would see ads for the Super Ball were substantial. (It was also 1958, before the advent of more sophisticated distractions.) In 1948 they formed the WHAM-O Manufacturing Company in the Knerr family garage in South Pasadena. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. But not before Melin and Knerr wound up radically reinventing the concept of having fun. They began demonstrating the toy in parks and on television, and the fad quickly went viral. 3 1 greengrenades To be the man, you gotta Its origins are disputed, but seem to have been in empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, tossed around the ivy-league campus of Yale - or Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst and Middlebury, each of which claims to be its home. By 1957, the company had sold several million of the disks. I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school. But neither Arthur Melin nor Richard Knerr can lay any claim to inventing the thing. 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. By various estimates, 20 million to 40 million were sold that year worldwide. They had no corporate ego, willing and happy to allow inventors like Springley and Morrison to pose with their creations. COSTA MESA, California, Jun 29, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- 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. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He gave company officials an impromptu lesson in how to use a rattan hoop imported from Australia. 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. Around 20 million Super Balls were sold that decade, and the NFL named the Super Bowl games after it.[10]. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. 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. Drag images here or select from your computer for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin memorial. The domestic size sold 20m. Along with his wife, Melin is survived by five daughters, Linda, Sally, June, Carol and Della; one brother, Tom; and 11 grandchildren. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. They were buddies to the end.. In 1957, they purchased the rights to Morrisons toy. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. Made of aluminum spars, wood, steel wire and mylar, it was brightly painted to resemble a hawk or owl. 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. The Frisbee and Hula Hoop created fads. During an African safari in the early 1960s, Melin discovered a species of fish that laid eggs in the mud during Africa's dry season. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. 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. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Nevertheless, the public of all ages also adopted them, buying more than 100 million Frisbees in 30 years. A system error has occurred. A local barber suggested they sell the contraption. Failed to delete memorial. It became the biggest toy fad in modern history. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. A giant promotional specimen accidentally dropped from a 23rd-floor hotel room window, rebounded 15 floors and destroyed a parked convertible as it fell again. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Old ones were retired, for a few years or permanently, as their popularity waned. Ed Headrick looked over the leftover plastic from the Hula implosion and had an idea. He left behind a legacy of fun. Potato Heads can be worth from $200 to $695 dollars. 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. However, the Hula Hoop never faded away completely and still has its fans today. The two stayed on as consultants for several years, but it wasnt the same. At first, they focused on sporting goods, rather than toys, but they kept an eye out for unusual items like boomerangs and crossbows. Additional Sources:The WHAM-O Super Book. 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. They had her sign for it first. But I said, 'You can't put that on television. By the end of the 1970s, Wham-O had settled into a strange sense of complacency. Verify and try again. 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 The domestic size sold 20 million. 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 [5] When they outgrew the garage, Knerr and Melin rented a building on S. Marengo Ave in Alhambra, California; and then, in 1955, moved their manufacturing plant to neighboring San Gabriel, California where they remained until 1987, when they sold the plant to Huy Fong Foods. TIME reporter Allie Townsend picks the 100 most influential toys from 1923 to the present. He was a good player in his own right, earning the nickname Steady Ed for his even throws. Most of all, the two were able to get away with something rare in the cutthroat world of toys: they had fun. 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. Melins African-inspired bright idea fared poorly in comparison. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. But the imported fish produced no hatchable eggs. When lawsuits were brought over serious injuriesincluding one death and two broken necksthe company ceased production.. Headricka veteran who spied on Nazi movements during World War IIpaid college kids to toss the disc on campuses. There would be other fads, trends, and ideas. He was 77 and had lived in Irvine, Calif. (They couldnt.) Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? "Then their barber recommended they put an ad in a magazine and try mail order," he says. More importantly, they were actually having as much fun as people thought they were. 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. ''He said it would be huge. Anyone can read what you share. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Learn more about managing a memorial . Travel broadens one, it is often said, and it certainly gave Melin ideas. Knerr was also quoted in 1997 as saying the name came from a comic strip called Mr. You tell us, Chaperone policy back at Knotts Berry Farm due to unruly and inappropriate behavior, I asked people at Coachella how much money they make and if their ticket was worth it. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Its first hit toy, a flying plastic disc known as the Frisbee, debuted in 1957. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. I once asked Rich Knerr about stuff like the Mr. Hootie egg rake, Walsh says. However, when the weather cooled and the kids went back to school, the fad was over, and Wham-O had millions of unsold hoops. CB Rank (Person) 1,575,211. 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. Kids would just throw it on the ground and it would just take off to the ceiling, into lights.". They just did it because they thought it was funny.. "[My mother] and Spud's wife would demonstrate hula hoops in parks and recreation centers around the country," Chuck says. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. 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. Since the toys were simple and inexpensive, they could be sold by a wide range of retailers, from large Department Stores to five and dime stores. 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 Wham-O, in fact, hired students to sell Frisbees on campuses until it could get distribution in stores. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. The Hula had been nothing less than an international sensation, hypnotizing adults and children into rhythmically twisting just to keep a plastic ring from falling to the floor. For about a year in the 1950s, the company markets their sporting goods under the name WAMO. 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. 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? The kinetic energy in the material was substantial: it could bounce over a two-story home. After two years of development, its tendency to fly apart was overcome and its 92 per cent recovery rate realised for the springy Superball. Mattel Inc. bought the company in 1994. 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! With other products, Wham-O tried to capitalize on existing national trends. He sold the design to Wham-O in 1957. Their projectile launcher was a home-made version of one of man's oldest weapons, the slingshot. Soon, Wham-O was producing 20,000 hoops a day. 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. ), Congressional investigators blame airlines for most flight cancellations, Its kayak season. 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 The next year it was refined and reintroduced as the Frisbee.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. 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. 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. 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. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Wham-O, in fact, hired students to sell Frisbees on campuses until it could get distribution in stores. Once perfected, the berserk Super Ball sold six million units in 1965 alone. The 76-year-old also built a large family. They showed little regret. There is a problem with your email/password. The name "Wham-O" was inspired by the sound of the slingshot's shot hitting the target. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. 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). Resend Activation Email. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. The pair, who would remain lifelong pals and business partners, attended the University of Melin and Knerr shrugged. "(It) remains the standard against which all national crazes are measured.". 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. They also offered mail-order sporting goods, such as pellet guns, crossbows and daggers. 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. 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. Edit Overview Section. The Americans had trouble duplicating the moves of the Australian kids until a Wham-O executive, Richard Gillespie, finally mastered the art after four straight days of practice. 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. At first business was slow and the pair struggled to get by on just a couple dollars a day but gradually the orders were pouring in. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 11 places in L.A. to get your creativity flowing. The companys name, Wham-O, came from the sound the slingshots supposedly made. But I said, 'You can't put that on television. 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. John Daly asked the gentleman if First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, oversaw the interior decorating of You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. ). Include gps location with grave photos where possible. If Headrick firmed it up and added ridges to make it more aerodynamic, they might have something. The enterprise ended with the oysters being dumped into a nearby bay because they could not get the venture off the ground.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. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. All Rights Reserved, Hula Hoop promoter Arthur Spud Melin dies. In the height of the Cold War, when families were building backyard bunkers to live in following nuclear attack, Wham-O marketed Do-It-Yourself Fallout Shelters for $119. Rather, he said, the name came from a comic strip of the era called Mr. Frisbie. But they wanted to see what they could do with it.. Were it not for a chemist and a former World War II spy, things might have stopped being fun. Retailers in the United States were skeptical, but the two sensed a hit. 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. based on information from your browser. 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. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin I found on Findagrave.com. TheSlip N Slide, Hacky Sack, and several others were also third-party ideas. 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. Melin and Knerr showed entrepreneurial spirit early on. He is survived by his wife and five daughters. 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. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Litigation, changing tastes, and corporate shrinkage would eventually undo Wham-O. Melin, who had Alzheimers disease, died Friday in Newport Beach. In a testament to his marketing aptitude, the stunt was picked up by local press. Costa Mesa, Orange County, California, USA. They knew if they spent the money, theyd see a return on their investment, Walsh says. 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. Bookbinding! 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. Their hobby was breeding falcons, and training them to dive by lobbing meatballs at them on the wing. Wham-O named them for the Hawaiian-dance-like hip rotations needed to keep them aloft. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. 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. died this week after suffering a stroke in California. version made of colorful plastic tubing. 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. Melin is survived by his wife, Suzy; five daughters; a brother; and 11 grandchildren. 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. Mr. Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. Tiring of business, Mr. Melin persuaded Mr. Knerr to sell the company in 1982 to the Kransco Group Companies for $12 million. [6][7] 25 million were sold in four months, and in two years sales reached more than 100 million. Overview. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. He was 77 and had Alzheimer's disease. We wanted it to be a sport.. 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. An hour later, Knerr had the elephant returned to the circus. Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. Number of Founded Organizations 1. [4] The powerful slingshot was adopted by clubs for competitive target shooting and small game hunting. Wham-O was resold to Mattel Inc. in 1994 and to a group of investors in 1997. Ben Martin/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images See the article in its original context from. Arthur 'Spud' Melin, novelty inventor, born December 30 1924; died June 28 2002, The man who brought us the Hula-Hoop and the Frisbee, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. He had lived for many years in San Gabriel before his retirement. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Instead of counting a fortune, Wham-O was sitting on inventory they wouldnt clear for years. Humans have been hula hooping for hundreds of years. Knerr once had a baby elephant delivered to Melins wife, Suzy, after Melin went on an African safari without him. 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. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' The ball became so popular that football's biggest game, the Super Bowl, was a pun on it.. Wham-O, Melin and Knerrs California-based amusements company, had set up so many factories and rolled out so many Hulas that the surplus of inventory robbed them of profits. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: March 5. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 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. Headrick was in charge of sifting through ideas, of which one in a thousand might be viable enough to pursue. It was like a new medium, says Tim Walsh, a Wham-O historian and author of The Wham-O Super Book. 2015: StallionSport Ltd. and InterSport Corp. acquire global rights to Wham-O Inc. 2018: Wham-O partners with Smacircle LMT ltd. to introduce Smacircle S1, an e-bike. They tried to sell their birds to enthusiasts, but got more interest for the shot, which they named Wham-O, for the sensation felt when it hit the target. All Knerr's creations had a way of bringing out the most mysterious aspects of physics, Knerr says. After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. Read more:12 WackyProducts from Wham-O You Have to See to Believe.. 1957: WHAM-O acquires the rights to the Pluto Platter from Fred Morrison and renames it Frisbee. 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. 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. After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. Knerr spent his final hours in Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, Calif., after suffering a stroke earlier in the day at his home. Initially, Melin and Knerr marketed them on college campuses by word of mouth. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Arthur Melin (27070295)? 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. Melin and Knerr were boyhood friends, mugging for cameras and dreaming up ideaslike a mink button that could cover a womans naveltoo ridiculous for larger companies to ever consider. cemeteries found in Corona del Mar, Orange County, California, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. Ads claimed it could make bubbles "as long as a bus". Unlike their contemporaries at Mattel or Hasbro, Melin and Knerr didnt have to navigate a corporate obstacle course. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Fewpeople in the history of fun can have had such success as Arthur (Spud) Melin, who died on June 28th aged 77, the co-inventor of the Hula-Hoop and manufacturer of the Frisbee, the Superball, the Hacky Sack and a long inventory of wheezes. 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. An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. They expanded their Wham-O company to the corner of a failed grocery store, then to a factory, and went into pellet guns, throwing knives and boomerangs.
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