Elliot Handler, co-founder of Mattel and the inventor of Hot Wheels, passed away July 21, 2011, in Los Angeles. He was 95.
Mr. Handler and his wife, the late Ruth Mosko Handler, founded Mattel Creations out of their garage with Harold Matt Matson in 1945. They called it Mattel, a combination of Matson and Elliot.
Although the first Mattel products were picture frames, Mr. Handler soon developed a side business making dollhouse furniture out of picture frame scraps. The Handlers bought out Matson and switched Mattels focus to toys.
Mr. Handlers product design and development skills were matched by his wifes marketing savvy. Early successes included the Uke-A-Doodle and a cap gun called the Burp gun.
The companys biggest hit was the Barbie doll, a teenage doll invented by Ruth that debuted in 1959. Ruth named the doll after the couples daughter Barbara.
By 1965, Barbie sales topped $100 million and catapulted the company into the Fortune 500.
In 1968, Mr. Handler came up with the idea for Hot Wheels, miniature die-cast vehicles incorporating speed, power and performance that went on to become a number one-selling toy brand.
The Handlers were ousted from Mattel by new corporate managers in 1975.
Three years later, Ruth Handler was accused of having doctored Mattels books and sentenced to community service and fined.
Mr. Handler was born April 9, 1916, in Chicago and grew up in Denver.
He married Ruth Mosko in 1938.
Mr. Handler served stateside with the US Army and studied industrial design at the old Art Center School in Los Angeles prior to founding Mattel.
Mrs. Handler passed away in 2002.
Mr. Handler is survived by his daughter Barbara Segal; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and his brother Sidney Handler.
He was predeceased by his son Kenneth in 1994.
Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
