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 This browser does not support getting your location. 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. A series of equally ingenious toys including Slip 'N Slide, Silly String, the Hula Hoop and the insanely bouncy Superball would soon follow. 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. Spud Melin's genius saw the potential, and, after prototype trials with Pasadena children, manufactured, with Knerr, a hollow cylinder in light, durable polyurethane. Richard Knerr, a businessman who brought joy to millions of children around the world, died on Jan. 14 from complications of a stroke. Verify and try again. But neither Arthur Melin nor Richard Knerr can lay any claim to inventing the thing. Most of all, the two were able to get away with something rare in the cutthroat world of toys: they had fun. 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. 1957: WHAM-O acquires the rights to the Pluto Platter from Fred Morrison and renames it Frisbee. According to company legend, a visiting Australian casually mentioned to Spud Melin how, back home as a kid, he had rotated a rattan, or bamboo hoop, around his waist in gym class. They were more of an old-school company. It did not sell well, but Morrison demonstrated it to Wham-O in 1955, as the pluto platter; Spud Melin and Knerr bought the novelty for $1 million (plus lifetime royalties for Morrison), and marketed the toy as the Fling Saucer. [4] The powerful slingshot was adopted by clubs for competitive target shooting and small game hunting. The Frisbee and Hula Hoop created fads. But Spud and Rich knew good ideas were out there and were willing to listen.. "They really liked enjoying life and enjoying their toys, and they really wanted to share that sense of fun," he says. 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. He was 77. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. A system error has occurred. The name "Wham-O" was inspired by the sound of the slingshot's shot hitting the target. See the article in its original context from. WebArthur Spud Melin has recently died. Failed to report flower. 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. 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]. RELATED: Sherlock Holmes: 5 Similarities Between The Films Reboots & The BBC Series (& 5 Differences) They may They balanced and complemented each other.. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. 3 1 greengrenades To be the man, you gotta 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The panel were stumped by the chief painter at the White House. There was an error deleting this problem. The two stayed on as consultants for several years, but it wasnt the same. But I said, 'You can't put that on television. 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. Wham-O began selling the disc they called the "Pluto Platter" two years later before modifying it and renaming it the "Frisbee.". Try again later. He was 82. Drag images here or select from your computer for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin memorial. 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. Today in History: March 5, 1963. TheSlip N Slide, Hacky Sack, and several others were also third-party ideas. Edit Overview Section. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Arthur Spud Melin, co-founder of Wham-O Inc., which gave the world such leisure icons as the Frisbee, the Hula Hoop and the Superball--along with such duds as Try again. Bookbinding! 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. 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. Try again later. Their projectile launcher was a home-made version of one of man's oldest weapons, the slingshot. "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. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. 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. After two years of development, its tendency to fly apart was overcome and its 92 per cent recovery rate realised for the springy Superball. Smith has 10 children, including a daughter who works as a film producer. He patented a design for a two-handed tennis racket with an adjustable handle. 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. 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. 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. Melin retired when Wham-O was sold to Kransco Group Cos. in 1982. 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 Promoting the creations was a family affair. (Stingley got a penny per ball.) The technology allowed them to dream up all sorts of packaged nonsense. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. Compared by many to be two sides of the same coin, Merlin and Arthur's relationship was at the heart of the show. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. If Headrick firmed it up and added ridges to make it more aerodynamic, they might have something. Instead of counting a fortune, Wham-O was sitting on inventory they wouldnt clear for years. 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. With Dorothy Kilgallen, John Payne, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf. John Daly asked the gentleman if First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, oversaw the interior decorating of The name Wham-O was meant to evoke the noise a slingshot made. The two never publicly commented on the injuries, but for a company that was built on levity, it had to be sobering. 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. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing it? Add to your scrapbook. They were buddies to the end.. On this day in 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 company's co-founder, Arthur "Spud" Melin. 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. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. "Then their barber recommended they put an ad in a magazine and try mail order," he says. Headricka veteran who spied on Nazi movements during World War IIpaid college kids to toss the disc on campuses. But the connection was not coincidental to the success of the Frisbee, which found its earliest acceptance at Eastern colleges. This is a carousel with slides. And like his father, Arthur Smith excels at his job. But nothing could compare to the whirlwind force of the Hula-Hoop, which Wham-O introduced the next year. 1948: WHAM-O founded. 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. I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school. 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. WebArthur Spud Melin . Other companies began making their own versions, and within four months Americans were spinning 20 million of the hoops and organizing national competitions. One bowling ball-sized promotional Super Ball wreaked havoc in an Australian hotel, putting a hole in the wall before accidentally falling out a window, bouncing 15 stories, and then crashing into asports carparked on the street below. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. 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. Early on, they tried some other, ill-fated endeavors. Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. 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. 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. He sold the design to Wham-O in 1957. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. We didnt want it used as a toy, Melin told the Pasadena Star-News in 1998. 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. 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. But they hit the big time when Walter Frederick Morrison walked in with a toy flying disk, marrying the 1950s furor over UFOs and a game played by Yalies tossing empty pie tins from the Frisbie Baking Co. in Hartford, Conn. Wham-O began selling the plastic disks in 1957 as Pluto Platters. About 600,000 were made. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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. Melin and Knerr had run a used-car store together in downtown Los Angeles before founding Wham-O. They were flat broke. 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 But I said, 'You can't put that on television. When Hasbro tried to buy Wham-O in 1982, Melin and Knerr were responsive. 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. 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. 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. 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. But when the products hit, it made up for the lean years. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. The kinetic energy in the material was substantial: it could bounce over a two-story home. 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. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27070295/arthur-kelso-melin. Number of Founded Organizations 1. Most wont even look at an idea unless it comes through an agency. There was no one like Melin or Knerr sitting over a drawing board and trying to come up with an outlandish product. Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. Guest panelist John Payne identified the inventor and manufacture of the Hula Hoop. In 1955, the founders of the Wham-O toy company, Arthur Spud Melin and Richard Knerr, saw Morrisons flying disc. (L to R) Rich Knerr, Fred Morrison, and Arthur Melin. In 1958, as Frisbee sales took off, an Australian toy manufacturer visited Wham-O's factory in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. Everyone is just too litigious. He had lived for many years in San Gabriel before his retirement. 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. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. 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. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. In 1958, they renamed it the Frisbee, either because that was the phoneticisation of the trade name as heard by Knerr on a college tour, or after Mr Frisbie, a US comic strip. The cause was Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Suzy, said. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Canada, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Along with his wife, Melin is survived by five daughters, Linda, Sally, June, Carol and Della; one brother, Tom; and 11 grandchildren. Neon bending! When lawsuits were brought over serious injuriesincluding one death and two broken necksthe company ceased production.. 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. He left behind a legacy of fun. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. It became the biggest toy fad in modern history. Initially, Melin and Knerr marketed them on college campuses by word of mouth. In a testament to his marketing aptitude, the stunt was picked up by local press. This account has been disabled. Many products were not successful. In the 1960's, the company says, it sold 20 million SuperBalls until it dropped the product. Knerr and Melin devised a test of an early version of the hula hoop in 1958 by holding demonstrations at parks. 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". An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. 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. Mr. Melin became active in conservative causes like immigration reform, but continued to pursue inventions. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. We strive for accuracy and fairness. It was inexplicable. Within six months, they sold 7 million Superballs. They were all about fun," recalls Richard's son, Chuck. Real devotees were dubbed Frisbyterians.. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Recalled in 1978 after it caused the deaths of two children, having sold approximately 2.5 million units. (It was later sold to Mattel, which then sold it to a group of investors.). Increasingly, kids were turning less to outdoor play and more toward higher-priced electronic offerings, which meant bigger profit margins for companies. Ed Headrick looked over the leftover plastic from the Hula implosion and had an idea. Litigation, changing tastes, and corporate shrinkage would eventually undo Wham-O. 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. Around 20 million Super Balls were sold that decade, and the NFL named the Super Bowl games after it.[10]. However, when the weather cooled and the kids went back to school, the fad was over, and Wham-O had millions of unsold hoops. Sorry! Rather, he said, the name came from a comic strip of the era called Mr. Frisbie. 1948: WHAM-O founded. Edit Jobs Section. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. And in answer to a music and dance fad of the era, it also marketed Chubby Checker Limbo sets. 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 Summary. Make sure that the file is a photo. 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. 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. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. ''Spud brought it home and showed it to me,'' Mrs. Melin recalled yesterday. Ads claimed it could make bubbles "as long as a bus". Wham-O Bird Ornithopter (1959) sold in a large cardboard box, ready to fly. But I think this country gave us more than we gave it. 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. Search above to list available cemeteries. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Spudwas the quiet, kind of brainy idea man and more introverted, says Lori Knerr, Richs daughter. Melin thought he could sell chunks of egg-embedded mud, instruct buyers to add water, and provide fish to delight the millions. 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. Melin, who started toy giant Wham-O in 1948 with his boyhood friend Richard Knerr, died Friday. Humans have been hula hooping for hundreds of years. (modern). (They couldnt.) 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. The enterprise ended with the oysters being dumped into a nearby bay because they could not get the venture off the ground. 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. 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. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Kids would just throw it on the ground and it would just take off to the ceiling, into lights.". By Melins estimate, the fad started in January 1958 and ended that October. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Over the years, Wham-O churned out 25 million Hula Hoops. Following the Hula Hoop, Wham-O continued to produce a steady stream of wacky and beloved novelty items, including the Superball, Water Wiggle, Silly String, Slip n Slide and the Hacky Sack. Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. If they liked an idea, it could be implemented immediately. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. He gave company officials an impromptu lesson in how to use a rattan hoop imported from Australia. 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. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). 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? 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. Nonetheless, Hula-Hoops remain the most extraordinary US global imposition - travelling faster in two years than Coca-Cola in decades. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. "(It) remains the standard against which all national crazes are measured.". When the rains came, the eggs hatched and fish emerged overnight. 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.
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