Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc., was a toy company headquartered in

South San Francisco South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 census. ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. They are perhaps best known for creating

Micro Machines Micro Machines are a line of toys originally made by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) in the mid-1980s and throughout the 1990s. Micro Machines are tiny scale component style "playsets" and vehicles that are slightly larger than N scale. The toys Ma ...

, which accounted for 50% of its sales in 1989, and distributing the

Game Genie Game Genie is a line of video game cheat cartridges originally designed by Codemasters, sold by Camerica and Galoob. The first device in the series was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with subsequent devices released for th ...

in the United States.

History

Lewis Galoob Toys was founded in 1957 by

Lewis Galoob Lewis Galoob (November 22, 1918 – August 4, 1971) was an American entrepreneur, inventor and the founder of Lewis Galoob Toys. Early life Lewis Galoob was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on November 22, 1918, as the third-youngest of seve ...

and his wife, Barbara Galoob, as a small distributor of toys and stationery. Galoob's first toy success was the reintroduction of a battery-powered Jolly Chimp, a

cymbal-banging monkey toy A cymbal-banging monkey toy (better known as Jolly Chimp) is a mechanical depiction of a monkey holding a cymbal in each hand. When activated it repeatedly bangs its cymbals together and, in some cases, bobs its head, chatters, screeches, grins, ...

that nodded his head when activated. The company was incorporated in 1968. In 1970, Lewis Galoob became too ill to continue as president, and his 21-year-old son, David, dropped out of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

to take over the family business. In partnership with his brother, Vice-President Robert Galoob, David aggressively pursued new product development, and transformed the company into a $1 million business by 1976. The company was greatly affected by the financial collapse of Black Monday in 1987, year in which it lost $25 million, but the following year it recovered by generating a profit of $6 million. By 1988 the company manufactured 85% of its toys in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Galoob was involved in a landmark

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

lawsuit, ''

Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. ''Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.'' is a 1992 legal case where the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that there was no copyright infringement made by the Game Genie, a video game accessory that ...

'', over the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

version of the Game Genie.

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

charged that the Game Genie violated copyright by creating an unlicensed derivative of their copyrighted games. Galoob won the lawsuit and continued to produce the Game Genie. In September 1998, American toy giant

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

purchased Galoob for $220 million.Fost, Da
Hasbro Adds Galoob to Its Toy Chest
" ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

''. Tuesday September 29, 1998. Retrieved on April 25, 2010. Today, Galoob is a Hasbro brand name. The name began appearing on retail products starting in 2005. Hasbro has used the Galoob brand logo on its Titanium Series die-cast metal collectibles, including various items from Transformers, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica.

Franchises licensed to Galoob for merchandising

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company. It was broadcast in syndication between 1986 and 1989. The series combines sci-fi sto ...

(not released in America) *The Animal 4x4 *

Anastasia (1997 film) ''Anastasia'' is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy drama film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. The film stars ...

*Army G.E.A.R. (toys) *Baby Buddies *

Baby Face (toy) Baby Face is an American brand of baby dolls that were manufactured by Galoob in 1990-1991. They were designed by toy inventor Mel Birnkrant. Baby Face dolls are all vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particula ...

*Battle Squads Military Action Fleet *

BlackStar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...

Biker Mice from Mars ''Biker Mice from Mars'' is an American science fiction action animated series created by Rick Ungar. The series premiered in syndication the week of September 19, 1993. It consists of three seasons of 65 episodes, with the final episode airing ...

(1993 series) *

Bouncing Babies ''Bouncing Babies'' is a 1929 '' Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 92nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot Wheezer is jealous o ...

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

*Cutie Club *

Defenders of the Earth ''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assista ...

Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada, produced by DIC Animation City and distributed in syndication in the US by Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created by producer Michael ...

(not released in America) *Dozzy Doll *

DragonFlyz ''Dragon Flyz'' is an animated television series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and produced by Gaumont Multimédia in association with Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. The show, based on a toy line by Galoob, ran for two seasons, in syndication ...

*Fancy Sounds *

Garbage Pail Kids (TV series) ''Garbage Pail Kids'' is an American animated series which was produced in 1987, based on the ''Garbage Pail Kids'' trading cards, produced and directed by Bob Hathcock and co-written and developed by Flint Dille. Due to controversial themes, i ...

(not released) *General Patch (figures packaged as Gen Patch) * Ghostbusters (1984 film) *

Go Monkey Go The discography of Devo, an American new wave band formed in 1973, consists of 25 singles and 9 studio albums. Devo was founded by Gerald Casale, Bob Lewis and Mark Mothersbaugh. Devo currently consists of brothers Mark Mothersbaugh (synthesiz ...

* Golden Girls (toys) *Hollywood's *The Infaceables * Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures *

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also features Robert ...

(not released) *Lost n' founds *Magic Diaper *Macro Machines *

*Titanium series Micro Machines Transformers (in conjunction with

) *

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...

*Mr. Game Show * Married... with Children *

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

* Men in Black (film) * Mutant League *

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

*Peeper Pals *

Pound Puppies Pound Puppies is a toy line that was created by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, two animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries. Toy ...

Power Machines OJSC Power Machines ( translit. Siloviye Mashiny abbreviated as Silmash, russian: ОАО «Силовы́е маши́ны») is a Russian energy systems machine-building company founded in 2000. It is headquartered in Saint Petersburg. Power M ...

Punky Brewster ''Punky Brewster'' is an American sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes). The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and again in syndication from Octobe ...

dolls *Razz Blasters *San Francisco Mint Model Gun Club *

Sky Dancers Sky Dancers is the name of a line of toys and an animated show spin-off that were popular in the mid-1990s. The toys were constructed of a pull-string base and a doll with foam wings. When the doll was inserted into the base and the string pulle ...

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

dolls *

Starship Troopers (film) ''Starship Troopers'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein and was written by Ed Neumeier. Set in the 23rd century, the film fol ...

* Star Trek V: The Final Frontier * Star Trek: The Next Generation *

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

* Super Force (not released) * Sweet Secrets *

T. and T. ''T. and T.'' is a television series, in production from 1987 to 1990. It premiered in first-run syndication in January 1988, moving to new episodes on the Family Channel in 1990. It is a starring vehicle for Mr. T, after the cancellation of '' ...

(not released) * Trash Bag Bunch * Terminator 2: Judgment Day *

Ultraforce (comics) The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in American comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel. The purpose of the group was to protect the public and keep other "Ultras" (superheroes) from becoming unruly. The group c ...

*Unifighters *

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

*Xpanders *

Zbots Zbots (or Z-Bots) are small action figures that were made by Galoob and first released in 1992. Galoob released four series of Zbots from 1992 to 1994. Galoob also created a number of Zbot vehicles alongside the figures. The heroes were the ZBo ...

References

External links

Galoob.com
(Archive) {{Hasbro Toy companies of the United States Former Hasbro subsidiaries Manufacturing companies established in 1957 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 South San Francisco, California Companies based in San Mateo County, California Doll manufacturing companies 1957 establishments in California 1998 disestablishments in California 1998 mergers and acquisitions