Earl Kenneth Forsse (September 17, 1936 – March 19, 2014) was an American inventor, author, and producer who created the toy

Teddy Ruxpin Teddy Ruxpin is an animatronic children's toy in the form of a talking 'Illiop', a creature which looks like a bear. The toy's mouth and eyes move while he reenacts stories played on an audio tape cassette deck built into its back. It was crea ...

and the subsequent animated series ''

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'' is a children's animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder. Produced in 1986–7 for television syndic ...

''. After working for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Sid & Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a Canadian sibling team of television creators and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they have made numerous children's television a ...

Entertainment and other entertainment companies, he founded Alchemy II, Inc. One of Alchemy II's first projects was building the animatronic characters used on the television show ''

Welcome to Pooh Corner ''Welcome to Pooh Corner'' is a live-action/puppet television series that aired on Disney Channel, featuring the characters from the Winnie the Pooh universe portrayed by actors in human-sized puppet suits, except Roo, who was originally a traditio ...

''. Forsse and his team then brought Teddy Ruxpin to the marketplace. Teddy Ruxpin became the top selling toy of 1985 and 1986Teddy Ruxpin Earns Top Spot in 2006 Toy Awards
PRWeb, September 21, 2006. Accessed February 27, 2008.Barmash, Isadore

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', March 19, 1987. Accessed February 27, 2008. and was made by Worlds of Wonder. In 2005, Alchemy II made an agreement with toy manufacturer BackPack Toys to have Teddy Ruxpin back on the shelves yet again and the toy made a return in 2006 before being discontinued again in 2010. In addition, the animated TV series was released for the first time on DVD in 2008. Forsse died from congestive heart failure on March 19, 2014, aged 77. Forsse was not only one of the co-creators of Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction, but was also contracted by the Sid & Marty Krofft organization to design a haunted house attraction for their (short-lived) theme park in Atlanta.

In other media

Independent filmmaker Billy Tooma spent four years researching and making ''Ken Forsse: Come Dream with Me Tonight'', a nine-part docuseries on the man behind Teddy Ruxpin. It was produced by Grundo Gazette's Vincent Conroy and debuted on January 3, 2022. ''

The Toys That Built America The Toys That Built America is an American nonfiction docudrama series that premiered on the History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television ...

''’s second season’s seventh episode, “80’s Tech Toys,” covered Forsse’s creation of the Teddy Ruxpin animated talking toy, with British actor, David Brooks, portraying the inventor.

References

External links

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Grundo Gazette

1936 births 2014 deaths American inventors Animatronic engineers Disney imagineers People from Butler County, Nebraska Toy inventors {{Toy-designer-stub