Burt Meyer, inventor of Lite-Brite and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, dies at 99

Burt Meyer, who invented toys similar Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite-Brite and Mouse Trap successful the 1960s that delighted generations of children, has died. He was 99.

Meyer's creations arrived successful the postwar boom, erstwhile integrative molding and wide accumulation transformed however American kids played. That displacement opened the doorway for much dynamic toys, and Meyer seized the infinitesimal with designs that would enactment connected shelves for decades.

Meyer died connected Oct. 30, said Rebecca Mathis, enforcement manager astatine King-Bruwaert House, a status assemblage successful Burr Ridge, Illinois, wherever helium lived.

Meyer succeeded by straddling 2 often conflicting worlds, carrying a boundless childlike imaginativeness alongside a pragmatic knowing of machines.

The thought for Lite-Brite came successful 1966 erstwhile Meyer was walking successful Manhattan with Marvin Glass, who owned 1 of the largest artifact plan companies astatine the time, and the 2 men passed a model show featuring hundreds of colored lights. Engineers astatine the institution doubted that electic lights could beryllium safely adapted for children, according to Tim Walsh, who interviewed Meyer for his 2005 publication "Timeless Toys."

Meyer, an worker astatine Marvin Glass & Associates, insisted it could.

"There's billions of ideas retired there," Walsh wrote, "but executing them into a last originative solution is often the hard part."

This photograph provided by The Strong National Museum of Play shows Lite-Brite toys created by Burt Meyers portion of the museum's postulation sitting successful an statement astatine The Strong National Museum of Play successful Rochester, New York.  The Strong National Museum of Play via AP

Meyer came up with a tiny backlit container and achromatic insubstantial sheets that allowed kids to make illuminated patterns. Lite-Brite was a hit, earning spots connected Time Magazine's database of 100 top toys and successful the Strong National Museum of Play's hallway of fame. New versions are inactive being sold.

Meyer had a akin relation with a plan squad that reimagined a bulky boxing arcade crippled for location use. The archetypal conception stalled successful improvement aft a featherweight boxer died from a encephalon injury, making immoderate artifact that invoked the calamity unmarketable, institution leaders thought.

Meyer revisited the thought with a elemental shift. "This is excessively bully to walk up," helium recalled saying successful a 2010 interview. "Let's instrumentality it distant from humanity, let's marque it robots. And we won't person them autumn over, we'll person thing comic happen."

The effect was Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, a tiny crippled wherever players power the fighters' fists by pressing buttons connected joysticks. A subordinate wins by hitting the jaw of the opposing robot, theatrically popping up the spring-loaded head.

The artifact remained recognizable to aboriginal generations, appearing successful the movie "Toy Story 2," and the artifact institution Mattel announced plans successful 2021 for a unrecorded enactment movie adaptation.

Meyer launched his ain firm, Meyer/Glass Design, successful the mid-1980s. The institution developed galore best-sellers including Gooey Louie, wherever children picked boogers our of Louie's nose, and the Pretty Pretty Princess committee game. His son, Steve Meyer, ran the concern until 2006, according to The New York Times.

This photograph provided by The Strong National Museum of Play shows a Mouse Trap committee game, created by Burt Meyers and Marvin Glass and Associates, astatine The Strong National Museum of Play successful Rochester, New York.  The Strong National Museum of Play via AP

Born successful 1926 arsenic Burton Carpenter Meyer, helium enlisted successful the Navy and served for 2 years arsenic an craft mechanic. After retiring from artifact making, helium moved to Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago, wherever helium built tiny planes and could beryllium seen deftly steering them aloft from a adjacent backstage airfield good into his 80s.

In interviews, Meyer often drew parallels betwixt aerospace engineering and artifact design, saying some required ingenutity and teamwork.

"When you're flying the airplane, usage each assets that you person successful there. That's wherefore we were capable to crook retired truthful galore palmy products," Meyer said, crediting his occurrence to the highly collaborative situation astatine Marvin Glass & Associates.

Meyer's car had a vanity sheet that said TOYKING, and by astir accounts, helium was. In a 2010 interview, helium said helium was inactive delighted by telling radical what helium did for a living, and having them respond: "Oh, I played with that!"

• Obituary