Elliot Handler Elliot Handler Elliot Handler (April 9, 1916 – July 21, 2011) was an American inventor, businessman, and co-founder of Mattel. With his wife, he developed some of the biggest-selling toys in American history, including Barbie, Chatty Cathy, Creepy Crawlers, and Hot Wheels. Handler was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, on April 9, 1916, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. He studied industrial design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 1929, he met his future wife Ruth Mosko at a B'nai B'rith dance for teenagers. They later married and had two children: a
Ganz (toy company) Ganz (toy company) Ganz is a Canadian company best known for distributing plush animals and collectibles. They are the manufacturer of Webkinz, the toy with an interactive virtual-reality Internet site for children. Founded in 1950 by Holocaust survivors Samuel Ganz and sons Jack and Sam Ganz, it was originally called Ganz Bros.Toys. and sold products for the Canadian home market. They were also carnival suppliers and manufactured many products in their own factory. A private company with headquarters just north of Toronto in Woodbridge, Ontario, Ganz is known as a user of Ty's copyrighted TyTips fabric, which is used for