Edwin S. Lowe (1910February 23, 1986) was a U.S. salesman,

toymaker A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...

, game

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...

whose promotion of a game he renamed Bingo made it popular as a national pastime and fundraising activity for churches and schools. His company the E. S. Lowe Company produced bingo games and materials in addition to plastic toys and the dice game

Yahtzee Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro). It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier ...

. He later worked in film and stage production, including the Broadway 1981 play ''A Talent for Murder'', featuring

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

. Lowe also opened the Tallyho hotel on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas cit ...

in 1962.

Biography

Lowe was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, the eldest son of an Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

, and studied in Palestine before relocating to the United States at the age of eighteen.Los Angeles Times: "Edwin Lowe, Bingo Developer, Dies at 75 : Entrepreneur Reworked Game He Discovered at Georgia Carnival" by BURT A. FOLKART
February 27, 1986 While working as a traveling toy salesman in December 1929, Lowe encountered a group at an

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Georgia carnival engaged in a game called Beano. Returning to his Brooklyn, NY, home, he organized a game with several friends, one of whom became so excited at winning, she shouted "Bingo!" The popularity of the game among his acquaintances prompted Lowe to print game cards, which he later sold under the name Bingo. He established the E. S. Lowe Company for the production of his Bingo game cards, which initially were released as 24-card sets. The company later increased the number of variations to more than 6,000 card combinations, adding to the game's popularity. E. S. Lowe produced miniature chess and checker game sets that circulated widely among U.S. service personnel in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The company continued to produce games and plastic toys after the war, including a boxed toy casino set called Monte Carlowe. In 1956, he bought rights from a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

couple who approached him with a concept of a game that they played on their

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

. Lowe highlighted its origins in naming the game – Yahtzee. In 1959, Lowe produced the popular "Renaissance Chess Set" which featured highly detailed chessmen based on the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

period. The beautiful design of these chess pieces has made them a favorite with chess players and collectors.

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the ...

purchased E. S. Lowe Company in 1973 for $26 million.New York Times: "EDWIN S. LOWE, 75; TOY MANUFACTURER POPULARIZED BINGO"
February 25, 1986 In 1962, Lowe opened the 450-room Tallyho hotel on the

. It was the only major hotel in Nevada without a casino, as Lowe believed that there were some tourists to the city who were not interested in gambling. Because of low revenue caused by the lack of a casino, the hotel closed later that year, with Lowe stating that it was a mistake to open without a casino.

Personal life

His last wife was Barbara (Zolnerowich) Lowe. He had one daughter Gail Ann Lowe Haymes Maidman with Jeanette Marmott Lowe, Gail. He maintained a home at Quogue, Long Island, New York, but died at his Manhattan residence on February 23, 1986, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Ideafinder link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Edwin S 1910 births 1986 deaths American game designers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American businesspeople Polish emigrants to the United States