Marvin Glass and Associates

Marvin Glass and Associates (MGA) was a toy design and engineering firm based out of Chicago, Illinois. While not a household name, Marvin Glass (1914–1974) and his employees created some of the most successful toys and games of the 20th century. Marvin Glass and Associates is the source of many of the most beloved toys and games in recent history. Classic playthings such as Mr. Machine, Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots, Lite Brite, Ants in the Pants, Mouse Trap, Operation, SIMON, and the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle were all originally presented by this Chicago-based toy firm. Surprisingly, the web offers very limited info on the company and even less about the man behind it. Photo: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_y0ZlSySQA1Q/R6K_StyMoAI/AAAAAAAACPw/M1cRvhLA3eg/s1600-h/meetingo.jpg Marvin Glass (center) won’t unveil a new toy to a buyer unless he signs a promise not to copy it. Left, engineer John Parks of Glass’s staff.

History

Marvin Glass and Associates was founded in 1941. It's founder, Marvin Glass, was an entrepreneur and the creative force behind Marvin Glass & Associates. His salesmanship and uncanny ability to spark creativity in the designers he employed was unparalleled. In 1949 he licensed a "novelty item" to H. Fishlove & Company called Yakitty-Yak Talking Teeth. This item was invented by Eddy Goldfarb, who worked for Marvin Glass for a very short time after World War II. MGA was contracted by Bally-Midway to design coin-operated video games during the 1980s. Some of the games produced by MGA during this era include Tapper, Domino Man and Timber.

The first big hit for Marvin Glass was Mr. Machine, a toy invented by a former watchmaker named Leo Kripak. A child could take Mr. Machine apart and put him back together. It was licensed to Ideal Toys and became such a hit that Lionel Weintraub, it's president, made it his company mascot and featured it in many of Ideal's early TV ads. The company became so successful that Marvin Glass got his company logo printed on every package for the items it invented and licensed.

The organization's general counsel, James F. Coffee, and accountant Ernest Sonderling, were the architects of the successful business model whereby the designs and inventions were patented and licensed to various toy companies and manufacturers who would pay running royalties based on sales. Outside counsel, chairman of the Intellectual Property Department at McDermott Will & Emery, Robert J. Schneider, was responsible for procuring the patents and protecting them from infringement.

Several partners from Marvin Glass and Associates subsequently started Big Monster Toys, which remains to this day and is still based in Chicago.

Designs by Manufacturer

UNKNOWN

• 1966 Mosquito Game
• 1967 The Kid
• 1969 Sketch a Toon
• 1970 The Wall Walkers
• 1973 Super Sunday Football

Cardinal

• 1969 Finders Keepers

Hasbro

• 1963 Ambush!
• 1963 Mouse Trap
• 1967 Lite Brite
• 1969 AstroLite, Astro Sound
• 1971 Inchworm, Alley Up
• 1974 Ricochet Racers

Hubley

• 1962 Golferino (See also Milton Bradley)

Ideal

• 1960 Mr Machine
• 1961 Robot Commando
• 1962 Gaylord, Bop the Beetle, King Zor
• 1964 Clancy the Great
• 1965 Tigeroo Bike Siren
• 1966 Babysitter Game
• 1967 Careful
• 1968 Little Lost Baby
• 1969 Ants in the Pants
• 1970 Mr. Mad
• 1973 Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle

Irwin

• 1963 Dandy the Lion
• 1964 Interior Decorator Set

Kenner

• 1970 SSP
• 1971 Smash Up Derby
• 1972 Blythe Doll

Lakeside

• 1970 Brink Ball, Mad Marbles

Marx

• 1963 Penny the Poodle
• 1964 Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots

Matchbox

• 1972 Big M-X

Milton Bradley

• 1963 Jungle Hunt
• 1964 Time Bomb
• 1965 Mystery Date
• 1967 Fang Bang
• 1968 Sand Lot Slugger, Bucket of Fun
• 1969 Dynamite Shack
• 1970 Snoopy and the Red Baron; Which Witch? (board game)
• 1971 Stay Alive
• 1974 Trip Hammer
• 1979 SIMON

Parker Brothers

• 1968 Situation 4
• 1970 Mind Maze, Rattle Battle, The Tiny Tim of Beautiful Things Parker Brothers, Twiddler
• 1971 Gnip Gnop, Masterpiece (game)
• 1974 Tug Boat

Schaper Toys

• 1963 King of the Hill
• 1967 Clean Sweep
• 1968 Big Mouth
• 1972 Don't Blow Your Top
• 1974 Jack Be Nimble

Whitman

• 1969 Humor Rumor

External links

• Working at the Marvin Glass Studio - Recollections of a Former Employee by Erick Erickson
• Haunted House - The IDEAL Board Game - The complete parts list, rules, and information about the 1962 game from IDEAL.
• Which Witch - The Milton Bradley Board Game - The complete parts list, rules, and information about the 1971 game from Milton Bradley.
• Marvin Glass page at Boardgame Geek