Burt Meyer, Inventor of Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots and Other Hit Toys, Dies at 99

What does it take to keep kids amused? Before the invention of electronic games and smartphones, that was a more complicated question for parents. Burt Meyer provided many of the answers.

Meyer, who died Oct. 30 at the age of 99, played a large role in the design of toys that entranced baby boomers and still have fans today, including Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, Lite-Brite, Toss Across and Mouse Trap. Randy Klimpert, who worked for Meyer, recalls him as the most successful partner at Chicago-based Marvin Glass & Associates, the most prominent toy-design firm of the boomers’ childhood era.