Elliot Handler daughter, Barbara, who was the namesake of Barbie dolls; and a son, Kenneth (who died of a brain tumor in 1994) who was the namesake of Ken dolls. While a struggling art student and designer of light fixtures, Handler partnered with Harold Matson to design a realistic-looking miniature piano that received roughly 300,000 orders; however, they mispriced the product and lost a dime on each one produced. Mattel received its name from business partners Harold Matt Matson and Elliot Handler in 1945. Elliot's wife, Ruth, took Matson's role when the Handlers bought his share in the late 1940's. Ruth Handler
Ruth Roche (comics) the first Muslim superhero, published in the comic book Bomber Comics from Elliot Publishing Company. She soon became Iger's associate editor; later they became business partners, and the studio became the Roche-Iger studio. She stayed with the Roche-Iger studio until it ceased operations in 1961. She later married a man named Schaffer (or possibly "Schaefer"). She died in 1983. Trina Robbins and Catherine Yronwode dedicated their 1985 book, "Women in the Comics", to Roche. Ruth Roche (comics) Ruth Ann Roche (1921–1983), also credited as R. A. Roche and Rod Roche, was a writer and editor in the Golden Age of