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
Ellen Handler Spitz Magazine, taught art history and studio art to children and adolescents in Providence, Rhode Island and New York, where she was elected to membership in the Mamaroneck Artists Guild and exhibited woodcuts and drawings; she also performed with The Potpourri Dancers, a modern dance company based in Croton-on-Hudson. Ellen Handler Spitz was married on April 29, 2018 to R. Howard Bloch, Sterling Professor of French at Yale University. She divides her time between Manhattan and Hamden, Connecticut. Her website is: http://www.ellenhandlerspitz.net Ellen Handler Spitz Ellen Handler Spitz is an American writer and academic noted for her expertise on children, psychology,