Jeff Knurek is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...

, and

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 pet ...

. He is the current cartoonist for the syndicated Jumble puzzle, working with

David L. Hoyt David L. Hoyt is an American puzzle and game inventor and author.Tribune Content Agency Biography - David L. Hoy Retrieved 8 October 2018 He is the most syndicated puzzle maker in America.The Word Winder™ App, Adveractiv Retrieved 9 June 2012 P ...

Personal life

Knurek was born in 1966

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the coll ...

. In 2007, Knurek became an organ donor when he donated a kidney to a family member. Knurek and his cousin underwent the transplantation surgery at the

University of Michigan Health System Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Universi ...

’s Transplant Center on July 11, 2007. His cousin suffered from

Polycystic kidney disease Polycystic kidney disease (PKD or PCKD, also known as polycystic kidney syndrome) is a genetic disorder in which the renal tubules become structurally abnormal, resulting in the development and growth of multiple cysts within the kidney. These cy ...

. He currently lives in

Fishers, Indiana Fishers is a city in Fall Creek and Delaware townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 76,794, and by 2019 the estimated population was 95,310. A suburb of Indianapolis, Fishers has grown rapidl ...

, with his wife Kathy and his children Sydney and Cameron.

Professional life

Knurek graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a degree in industrial design. In 1989, while working for the I.D.E.A. toy invention studio, his creation

Spikeball Roundnet (also commonly known as spikeball) is a net sport. The game is played between two teams, usually with two players each. Players initially line up around a small trampoline-like net at the start of a point. The game starts with a serve f ...

was marketed by

Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...

. In 2002, Knurek partnered with David L. Hoyt,

Tribune Content Agency Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media Se ...

, and

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 ...

to develop the Boggle BrainBuster syndicated daily puzzle.Tribune Content Agency Biography - David L. Hoy

Retrieved 9 October 2018 Knurek is also the inventor of "What's in Ned's Head?" a popular game that has received several parenting awards. Since its creation in 2003, many schools are using this game as a secondary bonus to their classrooms and as an adjunct to speech therapy. In 2006, he developed

Fundex Games Fundex Games, Ltd. was an American toy and game company based in Plainfield, Indiana. Founded in 1986, Fundex Games produced many different games including card games, dice games, domino-based games, magic tricks, board games, and children's toy ...

's award winning "Monster Under My Bed!" He worked with

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

magician

Mac King Mac King (born December 2, 1959) is an American magician who has performed on television specials, often as a co-host. He has his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show", at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in the Thunderland Sh ...

to create and market Mac King's "Magic in a Minute" line of children's promotions, toys, magic tricks, videos, books, and events. Knurek took over as cartoonist for the Jumble in 2008, becoming the third cartoonist the syndicated feature's history. In 2014, he and Hoyt produced the Just Jumble app. He has been a member of the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

since 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knurek, Jeff American cartoonists American industrial designers Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design alumni