Eddy Goldfarb is a born optimist and a world-known person. The toys he invented are loved by many children. However, the man had to overcome many difficulties to earn respect and recognition. Learn more about his life and inventions at ichicago.net.
Difficult childhood
The future inventor was born in Chicago in 1921, in a family of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania. The boy had two siblings.
From an early age, Eddy showed an interest in technology. Once, the head of the family brought home a radio that didn’t work. He gave it to his 5-year-old son to take it apart and see what was inside the case. Thus, it became little Eddy’s favorite toy.
The boy’s father was a tailor at a garment factory. He died in 1933, which had a negative impact on the boy’s life. The mother couldn’t provide for a large family on her own, so Eddy and his brother had to work. A 12-year-old boy delivered newspapers and groceries and sold soda.
Nevertheless, he attended high school, where he excelled in math and science. The boy was also interested in physics. However, he didn’t go to university at the age of 17 because he couldn’t save enough money.
Military service
The Second World War was a major turning point in the life of the young man. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Eddy enlisted in a special program to study radar. The Navy sent him to the University of Houston, where he began studying electrical engineering and then ended up at a secret laboratory on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.
Eddy volunteered to serve on a submarine as a radar technician and was assigned to the Batfish submarine. While at sea, he created a special radar antenna. Then the boy decided to become an independent inventor.
Unique inventions
When the war was over, Goldfarb returned to Chicago, where he met a beautiful girl, Anita and married her soon after. Anita always supported her husband in his attempts to become an inventor.
The first toy Eddy sold was Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth. In 1949, he presented three toys at the New York Toy Fair. They became real hits and Goldfarb gained popularity.
Eddy and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1952. In 1957, Goldfarb’s business began to grow. Soon, he opened his own shop in a garage. At the height of his popularity, the man owned three businesses that employed 39 people, including industrial designers, engineers and sculptors.
Eddy developed a wide range of toys for girls and boys of all ages. He designed more than 800 toys and issued about 300 patents. Some of the most successful inventions were Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth, Battling Tops, Arcade Basketball, Baby Beans and others. Soon, he started to sell his creations to most companies in the US and then expanded to European and Asian markets.
He developed a close working relationship with two designers, Del Everitt, who created the Stompers, and Rene Soriano. In 1998, Eddy engaged his son Martin into the business. Thus, Eddy & Martin Goldfarb and Associates LLC continues to invent toys actively even today.
In 2003, Goldfarb was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame and in 2010 he received a TAGIE (Toy and Game Innovation) Award. He also became the first American to be awarded the International Designer and Inventor of Toys Award at the London Toy Fair.