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:JTKG-X3T in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

. Robbins served in the US Army in the Second World War.

Career

In 1949, he co-founded the toy company Remco in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, with his cousin Isaac Heller. The name was a contraction of "REMote COntrol", and its first products were children's walkie-talkies. Heller had been a U.S. Navy electronics technician, and 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. Robbins was president of the

Toy Manufacturers Association of America 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 ...

, and of the YM-YWHA of Metrowest.

Personal life

Robbins and his wife Ruth Fern had two children, Ralph Robbins and Dr Marcia Robbins-Wilf. His daughter Marcia Robbins-Wilf was married to

Leonard Wilf Leonard A. Wilf (born 1947) is an American businessman, the president of Garden Homes, the co-owner and vice chairman of the Minnesota Vikings football team, and co-owner of the Nashville SC. Early life Leonard Wilf was born in Göggingen, Ger ...

. Saul Robbins died at his home in

Verona, New Jersey Verona is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,572, an increase of 1,240 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 13,332, which in turn reflected a dec ...

on June 13, 2010, aged 88.

References

1922 births 2010 deaths American company founders Rutgers University alumni People from Brooklyn People from Verona, New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-business-bio-stub