When Hasbro tried to buy Wham-O in 1982, Melin and Knerr were responsive. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. He was 77 and had lived in Irvine, Calif. 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. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. Knerr spent his final hours in Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, Calif., after suffering a stroke earlier in the day at his home. The technology allowed them to dream up all sorts of packaged nonsense. The two never publicly commented on the injuries, but for a company that was built on levity, it had to be sobering. Wham-O - Wikipedia Try again later. Because of its enduring popularity, the Hula Hoop was inducted into After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. 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. 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. Arthur Melin | | The Guardian Hula Hoop - History's Best Toys: All-TIME 100 Greatest Toys - TIME 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 Instant Fish--has died. There was a problem getting your location. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! With some of their biggest successes selling for under a dollar, no one was priced out of enjoying them. Spud Melin's genius saw the potential, and, after prototype trials with Pasadena children, manufactured, with Knerr, a hollow cylinder in light, durable polyurethane. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Wham-O co-founders Arthur Melin (left) and Richard Knerr try out their toy company's Hula Hoop, a plastic version of a rattan hoop popular in Australia. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? To use this feature, use a newer browser. Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. ''Mr. 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. 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. An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. Tiring of business, Mr. Melin persuaded Mr. Knerr to sell the company in 1982 to the Kransco Group Companies for $12 million. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. The name Wham-O was meant to evoke the noise a slingshot made.At first, they focused on sporting goods, rather than toys, but they kept an eye out for unusual items like boomerangs and crossbows.Early on, they tried some other, ill-fated endeavors. Even in the face of abdominal injury, no one could resist the Hoop. The companys name, Wham-O, came from the sound the slingshots supposedly made. 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. Wham-O was resold to Mattel Inc. in 1994 and to a group of investors in 1997. 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. Wham-O Bird Ornithopter (1959) sold in a large cardboard box, ready to fly. In the 1960s they produced a US$119 do-it-yourself bomb shelter cover. 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. 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. 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. Were it not for a chemist and a former World War II spy, things might have stopped being fun. The adolescent appetite for dangerous weapons and sporting goods was so large that the two were soon grossing $100,000 in annual revenue. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. 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. CB Rank (Person) 1,575,211. Knerr and Melin marketed their products directly to kids, including demonstrating their toys at playgrounds. 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. Turning the Titans into an offensive juggernaut. Knerr once had a baby elephant delivered to Melins wife, Suzy, after Melin went on an African safari without him. All Rights Reserved, Hula Hoop promoter Arthur Spud Melin dies. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. 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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