Isaac "Ike" Heller (July 23, 1926 – March 7, 2015) was an American toy manufacturer, the co-founder of
Remco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Voi ...
, with his cousin
Saul Robbins
Saul Robbins (February 16, 1922 – June 13, 2010) was an American toy manufacturer, the co-founder of Remco, with his cousin Isaac Heller.
Personal life
Saul Robbins was born on February 16, 1922,https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTK ...
.
Personal life
Isaac Heller was born on July 23, 1926, in
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, United States. Its population was 4,135 at the 2010 census.
Geography
The village of Ellenville is about 90 miles northwest of New York City and 90 miles southwest ...
, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Morris Heller and Yetta Shapiro. Heller moved with his family to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where he attended
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of t ...
as part of the class of 1943; he donated $1 million to his alma mater and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2013."Seven Inducted Into Brooklyn Tech Alumni Hall Of Fame" Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation. Accessed December 27, 2017. "Isaac 'Ike' Heller ’43, founder of Remco Toys and Heller Industrial Parks; philanthropist: Mr. Heller founded the iconic 1950s and 1960s toy company Remco, and later started what has grown into one of the nation’s largest privately held industrial park companies. A generous philanthropist, he recently donated $1million to Brooklyn Tech." After attending
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
, he served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
at the end of
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, where he worked on the repair of electronic equipment and built toys using excess work materials.
Career
In 1949, he co-founded the toy company
Remco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Voi ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. The name was a contraction of "REMote COntrol", and its first products were children's walkie-talkies. Building on his experience as a U.S. Navy electronics technician, they started by buying large amounts of military surplus and "transforming it into toys that could zoom, soar or otherwise move."
Until the 1960s, they only made toys for boys, and they were the first toy company to use television advertising. Their toys included the Whirlybird helicopter, the Barracuda atomic submarine, the Johnny Reb cannon, the Dick Tracy wrist radio, the Screaming Mee Mee-e rifle and Mr. Kelly's Automatic Car Wash.
Personal life
In 1953, Heller married Helaine Hirsh, and they had four daughters.
Heller died at his home in
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 201 ...
, on March 7, 2015, and was survived by his wife and four daughters, Audrey Romberg, Laurie Kaufman, Hollie Heller and Hillary Granfield.