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
Ron Handler John Hiatt, Diane Warren, Holly Knight, Mike Chapman (Tina Turner), Gerry Goffin (Aretha Franklin), and Robbie Robertson. Ron is featured in the book On the Record: Over 150 of the most talented people in music share the secrets of their success. Currently, Ron formed Handler Entertainment, an independent film production company producing feature documentaries and short form internet content. Ron Handler Ronald Craig Handler is a music publisher, A & R executive and artist manager, who lives in Los Angeles. He has worked for influential companies such as Arista Music Publishing, BMG, EMI, DreamWorks and Interscope/Geffen. During his career, he