"Meyer succeeded by straddling two often conflicting worlds, carrying a boundless childlike imagination alongside a pragmatic understanding of machines. The idea for Lite-Brite came in 1966 when Meyer was walking in Manhattan with Marvin Glass, who owned one of the largest toy design companies at the time, and the two men passed a window display featuring hundreds of colored lights. Engineers at the company doubted that electic lights could be safely adapted for children, according to Tim Walsh."
"There's billions of ideas out there, Walsh wrote, but executing them into a final creative solution is often the hard part. Meyer came up with a small backlit box and black paper sheets that allowed kids to create illuminated patterns. Lite-Brite was a hit, earning spots on Time Magazine's list of 100 greatest toys and in the Strong National Museum of Play's hall of fame. New versions are still being sold."
Burt Meyer invented iconic toys in the 1960s including Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lite-Brite and MouseTrap, and died at 99 on Oct. 30 at King-Bruwaert House in Burr Ridge, Illinois. His designs emerged during a postwar boom when plastic molding and mass production changed children's play. Meyer combined childlike imagination with practical engineering to turn ideas into manufacturable products. He developed Lite-Brite in 1966 after seeing a Manhattan window of colored lights and convinced engineers to adapt safe, backlit boxes and black paper sheets for children. Lite-Brite became a hit, earning spots on Time's 100 greatest toys and the Strong Museum's hall of fame; new versions remain available. Meyer also helped reimagine a bulky arcade boxing game for home use.
Read at www.bostonherald.com
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