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. Resend Activation Email. Wham-O began producing a plastic version of the hoop, dubbed Hula after the hip-gyrating Hawaiian dance of the same name, and demonstrating it on Southern California playgrounds. We have set your language to We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. 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. 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. 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. 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. She didn't know what she was going to do with it.. hide caption. 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. Frisbee grew so popular that associations and canine variations became commonplace; the Navy experimented on them to see if they could keep flares in the air longer. They just banned Elvis Presley's hips from the Ed Sullivan show.' 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. Melin, who started toy giant Wham-O in 1948 with his boyhood friend Richard Knerr, died Friday. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. 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. version made of colorful plastic tubing. Photo courtesy of Phil Kennedy. Services are being planned in Newport Beach on Tuesday. The 76-year-old also built a large family. An estimated 25 million Hula Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. Nonetheless, Hula-Hoops remain the most extraordinary US global imposition - travelling faster in two years than Coca-Cola in decades. 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]. The Frisbee was reintroduced in the late 1950s, this time as an athletic endeavor. Soon, crowds of teenagers rotating their hula hoops were featured in Life magazine and on the Dinah Shore Show. Indeed, throughout their careersMelinandKnerrrefused to becomecorporate suits, forever hunting for things that made them smile. In 1957, Toltoys of Australia brought the concept of the Hula Hoop to Knerr and Melin. Neon bending! They were all about fun," recalls Richard's son, Chuck. All Rights Reserved. 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. The childhood friends formed WHAM-O in 1948, as college students, when they began making and selling slingshots in a garage. Try again later. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27070295/arthur-kelso-melin. Kids, with their resistant vertebrae, had an easier go of it than some adults, who suffered hernias and slipped discs. After selling more than 100 million Hula Hoops in 16 months, Arthur Spud Melin and Rich Knerr took a look at their books. Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In 1957, an Australian visiting California told them offhand that in his home country, children April 25, 2018. 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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. WebIn 1948, he co-founded the company Wham-O with Arthur Melin (nicknamed "Spud"). An hour later, Knerr had the elephant returned to the circus. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. 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. The retail price for the rubber-band-powered toy was $3 (about $24 in 2020 money). Most wont even look at an idea unless it comes through an agency. He reportedly has a net worth of $5.6 billion. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. Made of aluminum spars, wood, steel wire and mylar, it was brightly painted to resemble a hawk or owl. 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. [4] The powerful slingshot was adopted by clubs for competitive target shooting and small game hunting. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. 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 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. Within six months, they sold 7 million Superballs. Rare was the tag line that didn't abuse exclamation marks. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Turning the Titans into an offensive juggernaut. The kinetic energy in the material was substantial: it could bounce over a two-story home. 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. I remember being so proud when that toy was banned from my school. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Try again later. Five dozen were ordered by the White House. Many products were not successful. 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. This is a carousel with slides. However, when the weather cooled and the kids went back to school, the fad was over, and Wham-O had millions of unsold hoops. They were buddies to the end.. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! He left behind a legacy of fun. 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. Tilted flip curves. 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. Richard Knerr, co-founder of the company responsible for turning the Hula Hoop, Frisbee and many other ingenious creations into iconic toys died Monday at age 82. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Drag images here or select from your computer for Arthur Kelso Spud Melin memorial. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Potato Heads can be worth from $200 to $695 dollars. So they marketed abroad, first in Europe, then everywhere, although Japan banned them as lewd, and the Soviet Union called them "an example of the emptiness of American culture". 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. The Frisbee was originally marketed under a different name, the Pluto Platter, in an effort to capitalize on Americas fascination with UFOs. 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. , It was difficult for dad to see his friends health decline, Lori Knerr says. 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 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. By various estimates, 20 million to 40 million were sold that year worldwide. 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Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. By the summer of 1958, the Hula-Hoop, and its many imitators, took the nation by storm. Ed Headrick looked over the leftover plastic from the Hula implosion and had an idea. We strive for accuracy and fairness. (They couldnt.) Melin is survived by his wife, Suzy; five daughters; a brother; and 11 grandchildren. Nevertheless, the public of all ages also adopted them, buying more than 100 million Frisbees in 30 years. 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. Most of all, the two were able to get away with something rare in the cutthroat world of toys: they had fun. Melin thought he could sell chunks of egg-embedded mud, instruct buyers to add water, and provide fish to delight the millions. Along with his wife, Melin is survived by five daughters, Linda, Sally, June, Carol and Della; one brother, Tom; and 11 grandchildren. "They really liked enjoying life and enjoying their toys, and they really wanted to share that sense of fun," he says. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Wham-O rebounded a few years later with the unusual spring of the SuperBall, made of a compressed plastic known as Zectron. Oops, we were unable to send the email. All the funny product namesFling-a-Ring, Zip Zap, Water Weiniehad been exhausted. 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. 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. Melin retired when Wham-O was sold to Kransco Group Cos. in 1982. 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 You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. They just did it because they thought it was funny.. 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 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. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Recalled in 1978 after it caused the deaths of two children, having sold approximately 2.5 million units. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. ''He said it would be huge. 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. Once perfected, the berserk Super Ball sold six million units in 1965 alone. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Melin and Knerr started with slingshots and named their mail-order company after the sound a slingshot made when its projectile struck a target. In 1958, the founders of Wham-O toys, Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, Vintage plastic Mr. Save . There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Please try again later. All Rights Reserved, Hula Hoop promoter Arthur Spud Melin dies. Both the Hula Hoop and Instant Fish sprang from Melins interest in other parts of the world. Greatest toy invention in years! ad copy blared. Humans have been hula hooping for hundreds of years. Their first product was the Wham-O Slingshot, made of ash wood, which Knerr and Melin promoted by holding demonstrations of their own slingshot skills. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! ), Congressional investigators blame airlines for most flight cancellations, Its kayak season. This browser does not support getting your location. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Arthur Melin (27070295)? But they wanted to see what they could do with it.. They were flat broke. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Knerr and Melin left behind a considerable legacy in the toy world. But knock-off artists had smelled opportunity. You can even hire a personal hula hoop trainer. [8] "Hula Hoop mania" continued through the end of 1959, and netted Wham-O $45million (equivalent to $418million in 2023[9]). 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. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee and began selling the rebranded toy in 1958. CB Rank (Person) 1,575,211. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. In 1958, as Frisbee sales took off, an Australian toy manufacturer visited Wham-O's factory in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. 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. A toy maker from Australia gave Mr. Mullin and Mr. Knerr a wooden exercise hoop used in gymnastics classes. There was an error deleting this problem. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. The California native was a teenager when he befriended Arthur Spud Melin outside a Pasadena movie theater. 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. With only network channels to choose from, the odds kids would see ads for the Super Ball were substantial. But I think this country gave us more than we gave it. More importantly, they were actually having as much fun as people thought they were. 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. 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. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. When lawsuits were brought over serious injuriesincluding one death and two broken necksthe company ceased production.. The ball was uninjured. Even in the face of abdominal injury, no one could resist the Hoop. "Superball was such a great one. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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