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
Daniel Handler on the Verdi opera "Rigoletto", as well as "Kill the Poor", which was based on the novel by Joel Rose. Handler was involved in the screenwriting process for the film "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", but was ultimately removed from the project. He had completed eight separate drafts of the film before giving up following a change in those who were producing the film. Robert Gordon was hired to replace Handler and eventually received credit for the film's screenplay, under Handler's request. Handler did submit a commentary track for the DVD version, alongside director Brad Silberling. In character