Jack Ryan (designer)

:"This page is about the designer; for other uses, see Jack Ryan"

John W. "Jack" Ryan, or Jack Ryan (12 December, 1926 – 13 August, 1991), the designer, is noted for two brushes with fame:

* as the redesigner of the Barbie doll
* and, briefly, as the sixth husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Career

Ryan graduated from Yale University, worked for Raytheon as an engineer, and then moved to Mattel where he worked in research and development.

According to a [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1997/11/26facts.html 1997 Barbie article in Salon magazine] , Jack Ryan worked at the Pentagon as an engineer designing Sparrow and Hawk missiles. Mattel hired him for his "space-aged savvy" and knowledge of materials.

Mental Floss' [http://www.mentalfloss.com/archives/archive2002-12-27.htm Fact of the Day for 27 December 2002] informs us that Ryan was a Yale graduate who worked as an engineer at military equipment manufacturer Raytheon before "money lured him away to head Mattel's department of research and development".

(As Raytheon and not the Pentagon directly developed the missiles, one can assume that Ryan worked at Raytheon and not the Pentagon, but it is unclear if Ryan worked at the Pentagon also.)

A book review [http://liheliso.com/buzz/archive/00000154.htm] of Forever Barbie, ISBN 0-380-72049-3 , states that Jack Ryan was a “Yale-educated electrical engineer at Mattel who was a whiz at designing toys.“ and refers to Ryan being at Mattel in July 1957.

At Mattel, Ryan also designed the mechanics of the Chatty Cathy dolls. Ryan worked at Mattel for 20 years. A photograph of Ryan is at the bottom of this [http://www.businessofinventing.com/gallery.html page of inventors] .

It isn't generally known that Jack Ryan was never employed by Mattel but was a paid consultant who derived the majority of his income from royalties on marketed products and patents (including the voice unit used in the Chatty Cathy and later in Talking Barbie). In fact at his mansion in Holmby Hills (Bel Aire) he had two large stone lion heads at the front drive with voice units and draw strings.

Ryan was also known for providing room and board to UCLA students who would in turn work at the many charity events he held at his house.

At one point Ryan sued Mattel claiming that he had been the primary inventor of the Barbie doll. The lawsuit was eventually won by Mattel.

One story concerning Jack Ryan and his marriage to Zsa Zsa Gabor is that as their marriage was falling apart, he apparently disassembled her Rolls-Royce and, according to court records, refused to put it back together again. Fact|date=February 2008