REUBEN KLAMER: A LIFE WELL PLAYED

Reuben Klamer, who passed away on September 14, 2021, may not be a household name, but his amusing inventions delighted generations of kids from the 1950s to the present day.

Klamer is credited with creating more than 200 games and toys. They include the Spin-A-Hoop, a Hula Hoop made with unbreakable plastic; Gaylord the Walking Dog, a popular pull-toy; and Fisher-Price’s plastic trainer skates.

Early on, Klamer recognized the. A plastic handgun, it converted into a machine gun, complete with a telescopic sight and a bipod. Gene Roddenberry even asked Klamer to design a special weapon for his new series, . That’s his phaser rifle Captain Kirk uses to set off a rockslide and kill his nemesis in the season one episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”