The man who designed some of the most cherished toys of the 20th century, Burt Meyer, has passed away at the age of 99. The creator behind legendary games such as Mouse Trap, Lite-Brite, and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots died on October 30, as confirmed by his retirement community in Illinois.
Meyer's inventive genius lit up the post-war era, creating playthings that became staples in bedrooms across Britain and America. He was part of a pioneering generation of designers who harnessed new plastic moulding and mass production techniques to forever change the landscape of play.
The Legacy of a Toy King
Meyer, whose car licence plate proudly read TOY KING, considered Lite-Brite his personal favourite. Conceived in 1966 after he and his boss Marvin Glass saw a New York window display of coloured lights, the idea was initially dismissed by engineers as unworkable.
Undeterred, Meyer insisted it could be made safe for children. He engineered a backlit box with black paper templates, allowing youngsters to create their own glowing masterpieces. The toy became a global phenomenon, earning a spot on Time magazine's list of the 100 greatest toys and induction into the US National Toy Hall of Fame.
Its cultural impact continues, with Lite-Brite featuring in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things, and new versions are still sold today.
From Tragedy to Timeless Toys
Another of his iconic creations, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, had unlikely origins. The concept emerged from an abandoned arcade-boxing game, shelved after a professional fighter died from a brain injury.
Meyer refused to let the idea die. He championed a complete redesign, replacing the human fighters with robots and introducing a comical, spring-loaded head that would pop up to signal a knockout. The result was an instant classic.
The toy's legacy was cemented with its appearance in Toy Story 2, and a live-action film adaptation, announced by Vin Diesel, is now in the works for Hollywood.
A Lifelong Passion for Precision
Meyer spent the majority of his career at the legendary design firm Marvin Glass & Associates. In the mid-1980s, he launched his own company, Meyer/Glass Design, which produced further best-sellers like the quirky game Gooey Louie and the Pretty Pretty Princess board game. His son, Steve, would later take over the business.
Born Burton Carpenter Meyer in 1926, he served as an aircraft mechanic in the US Navy before entering the toy industry. His engineering mindset never left him, even in retirement. He lived near Chicago, where he built and flew small aeroplanes well into his eighties.
He often drew parallels between the precision required for flight and the craft of toy design. In a 2010 interview, he stated, "When you're flying the aeroplane, use every resource you have. That's why we were able to turn out so many successful products."
Burt Meyer embraced his title of Toy King with warmth. He once said that his greatest delight was telling people his profession and hearing the inevitable, joyful reply: "Oh, I played with that." His creations continue to spark imagination and joy for generations of children.
