STAN WESTON (1933-2017)
Stanley Alan Weston was born in Brooklyn on April 1, 1933. His father worked in the garment industry, and his mother was a homemaker and jazz pianist. He received an undergraduate degree and an MBA from New York University. After Army service, he worked for the advertising firm McCann Erickson before starting a licensing company, Weston Merchandising.
Bankrolled by his brother, Stan made it big by landing a deal with MGM Studios and then Universal, handling licensing for all their classic movie monsters. On trips to Hollywood, he became friends with Elliot and Ruth Handler, the founders of Mattel Toys.
On a visit to a publisher of reference works in Chicago, he casually mentioned to a PR person that while he'd loved their collections (including the Encyclopedia Britannica and Great Books of the Western World), he'd never had the chance to read them all as a **09** because his family couldn't afford them. After making the licensing deal, a truck pulled up at his home three weeks later with a copy of every book they published.
He knew from his contacts in the toy industry that people were always looking for new ideas, so he spent time reading the Encyclopedia Britannica all the way through. He became enthralled with the military - the uniforms, the insignia, the history, the equipment....
At the 1963 Toy Fair, Stan ran into Don Levine, V.P. of Product Development for a toy company called Hassenfeld Bros. Don asked him to give him a call if he had any new ideas. A week later, Don stopped by Stan's office in Staten Island, NY. Before the meeting, Stan made two trips - to an Army-Navy store to grab assorted military paraphernalia, and then to the U.N. to get miniature flags from as many nations as he could.
At the meeting, Stan pitched the idea of military figures and their vehicles and equipment. And he emphasized that the figures should be moveable, so they could be adjusted to get in and out of the vehicles. Don loved the idea, and at a later meeting he showed mock-ups of boxes picturing a soldier, sailor, marine and pilot. He unveiled them and said to Stan, "You will make a fortune with these."
Three days before the 1964 Toy Fair, Merrill Hassenfeld, the president of the company, called Stan "Weston, half of the people say boys won’t play with dolls, and half think it is the greatest idea since white bread. We’ll guarantee you $75,000 win, lose or draw for the idea." Stan said, "Make it $100,000, and let me think about it." Stan asked him if he could see what they developed from his idea. The boss said he would have that opportunity in about a week at the toy fair. After some deliberation he called Hassenfeld and took the deal.
Three days later, in their showroom at the Toy Fair, Stan saw "The World of G.I. Joe," a full line of action figures and accessories. The toy company sold $7 million worth the first year and $28 million the second.
In 2004, G.I. Joe was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.
"For some critics, Joe's message of 'might makes right' is the wrong one to share with children," its citation reads. "Other adults counter that Joe encourages kids' stories of good triumphing over evil and fosters creativity, imagination, and self-esteem. But while grown-ups argue over Joe's merits and flaws, kids play on, and hundreds of other 'action figures' people the toy landscape."