Marvin Glass and Associates
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Toy design and engineering |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | Marvin Glass |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
| Products | Toys including Mr. Machine, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite Brite, Ants in the Pants, Mouse Trap, Operation, Simon, Body Language, Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle |
Marvin Glass and Associates (MGA) was a Chicago-based firm specializing in toy design and engineering. Founded by Marvin Glass (1914–1974), the company was responsible for creating legendary toys including Mr. Machine, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite Brite, Ants in the Pants, Mouse Trap, Operation, Simon, Body Language, and the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle.
History
Established in 1941, Marvin Glass and Associates combined Marvin Glass’s entrepreneurial insight with inventive leadership, fostering a culture of creativity among its design team. One of its early commercial achievements came in 1949 with the licensing of Eddy Goldfarb’s "Yakity Yak Talking Teeth."
A defining success for MGA was the invention of Mr. Machine by Leo Kripak, a former watchmaker. This product, licensed to Ideal Toys, quickly became a bestseller. Ideal’s president embraced Mr. Machine as the company mascot and prominently featured it in marketing campaigns. As MGA’s prominence grew, their logo began appearing on all packaging of their licensed products.
The company's business approach, crafted with input from attorney James F. Coffee and accountant Ernest Sonderling, focused on securing patents for designs and licensing them to manufacturers who paid royalties based on sales volume. Legal protection of intellectual property was overseen by external counsel Robert J. Schneider, who played a pivotal role in obtaining patents for MGA’s inventions.
From the mid-1960s through the early 1980s, senior designer Joseph M. Burck made major contributions, developing popular products such as Lite-Brite, Inch Worm, Astrolite, Which Witch?, Masterpiece, SSP Racers, Chu-Bops, and the Evel Knievel toy series. Burck is credited with 10 US patents for MGA innovations; notably, Lite-Brite was honored by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 toys ever created.
Following Marvin Glass’s passing in 1974, MGA endured a tragic event in 1976 when a disturbed employee at the Chicago office fatally shot managing partner Anson Isaacson, partner Joseph Callan, and designer Kathy Dunn.
In the 1980s, MGA diversified into video arcade game development through contracts with Bally-Midway, producing games like Tapper, Domino Man, and Timber. The company continued until 1988, after which several partners established Chicago-based Big Monster Toys.
Designs
| Year | Product | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Tic Toy Clock | Ideal |
| 1960 | Mr. Machine | Ideal |
| 1961 | Great Garloo | Marx |
| 1961 | PopZaBall | Mattel |
| 1961 | Robot Commando | Ideal |
| 1962 | Bop the Beetle | Ideal |
| 1962 | Gaylord | Ideal |
| 1962 | Golferino | Hasbro |
| 1962 | King Zor | Ideal |
| 1963 | Ambush! | Hasbro |
| 1963 | Dandy the Lion | Irwin |
| 1963 | Jungle Hunt | Milton Bradley |
| 1963 | King of the Hill | Schaper Toys |
| 1963 | Mouse Trap | Ideal |
| 1963 | Penny the Poodle | Marx |
| 1964 | Clancy the Great | Ideal |
| 1964 | Crazy Clock | Ideal |
| 1964 | Interior Decorator Set | Irwin |
| 1964 | Perils of Pauline | Marx |
| 1964 | Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots | Marx |
| 1964 | Time Bomb | Milton Bradley |
| 1965 | American Flyer All Aboard Sets | Gilbert |
| 1965 | Fish Bait | Ideal |
| 1965 | James Bond 007 Action Toys | Gilbert |
| 1965 | Mystery Date | Milton Bradley |
| 1965 | Operation | Milton Bradley |
| 1965 | Tigeroo Bike Siren | Ideal |
| 1966 | Babysitter Game | Ideal |
| 1966 | Mosquito | Milton Bradley |
| 1966 | Thing Ding | Schaper Toys |
| 1967 | Careful | Ideal |
| 1967 | Clean Sweep | Schaper Toys |
| 1967 | Fang Bang | Milton Bradley |
| 1967 | Lite Brite | Hasbro |
| 1967 | That Kid Doll | Hasbro |
| 1968 | Big Mouth | Schaper Toys |
| 1968 | Bucket of Fun | Milton Bradley |
| 1968 | Little Lost Baby | Ideal |
| 1968 | Sand Lot Slugger | Milton Bradley |
| 1968 | Situation 4 | Parker Brothers |
| 1969 | Ants in the Pants | Ideal / Schaper Toys |
| 1969 | Astro Sound | Hasbro |
| 1969 | AstroLite | Hasbro |
| 1969 | Dynamite Shack | Milton Bradley |
| 1969 | Finders Keepers | Cardinal |
| Year | Product | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Brink Ball |Lakeside | ||
| Mad Marbles |Lakeside | ||
| Mind Maze |Parker Brothers | ||
| Mr. Mad |Ideal | ||
| Rattle Battle |Parker Brothers | ||
| Snoopy and the Red Baron |Milton Bradley | ||
| SSP |Kenner | ||
| The Tiny Tim of Beautiful Things |Parker Brothers | ||
| Twiddler |Parker Brothers | ||
| The Wall Walker |Kenner | ||
| Which Witch? |Milton Bradley | ||
| Alley Up |Hasbro | ||
| Gnip Gnop |Parker Brothers | ||
| Inchworm |Parker Brothers | ||
| Masterpiece |Parker Brothers | ||
| Smash Up Derby |Kenner | ||
| Stay Alive |Milton Bradley | ||
| Big M-X |Matchbox | ||
| Blythe Doll |Kenner | ||
| Bops 'n Robbers |Marx | ||
| Don't Blow Your Top |Schaper Toys | ||
| Skittle Horseshoes |Aurora |
External links
- WBBM Channel 2 Chicago News Video An interview and feature story with Marvin Glass from 1972
- Insights from Former Employee Erick Erickson Memories of working at the Marvin Glass Studio
- Profile of Marvin Glass on Boardgame Geek
- Photograph: Marvin Glass (center) mandates signing a confidentiality agreement before presenting new toy concepts. To the left: engineer John Parks.
- Articles with short description
- Toy companies of the United States
- Defunct toy manufacturers
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- Toy inventors
- Companies based in Chicago
- American companies established in 1941
- Consulting firms established in 1941
- Design companies established in 1941
- American companies disestablished in 1988
- 1941 establishments in Illinois
- 1988 disestablishments in Illinois
- Defunct companies based in Illinois