{{short description|American toy manufacturer}} {{Infobox person | name = Isaac Heller | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = July 23, 1926 | birth_place = Ellenville, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{dda|2015|03|07|1926|07|23}} | death_place = Scotch Plains, New Jersey, U.S. | education = | occupation = Toy manufacturer | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | known_for = Co-founder of Remco | boards = | spouse = | children = | parents = | relatives = Saul Robbins (cousin) | website = }}
'''Isaac "Ike" Heller''' (July 23, 1926 – March 7, 2015) was an American toy manufacturer and engineer, the co-founder of Remco with his cousin Saul Robbins.
==Early life and education== Isaac Heller was born on July 23, 1926, in Ellenville, New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Morris Heller and Yetta Shapiro.<ref name="NYTimes" /><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.toyassociation.org/PressRoom2/News/2015_News/Isaac_Heller__Prolific_Toymaker_and_Co-Founder_of_Remco_Industries__Dies_at_88.aspx|title=Isaac Heller, Prolific Toymaker and Co-Founder of Remco Industries, Dies at 88|first=Toy Industry Association|last=Inc.|website=www.toyassociation.org|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title= Isaac Heller, Man Behind Whirlybird Helicopter, Dies Aged 88 |newspaper=Haaretz|date=March 11, 2015 |url= https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/isaac-heller-dies-aged-88-1.5335719 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190823020809/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/isaac-heller-dies-aged-88-1.5335719 |url-status= dead |archive-date= August 23, 2019 }}</ref> Heller moved with his family to Brooklyn, where he attended Brooklyn Technical High School as part of the class of 1943. After attending engineering classes at Cooper Union, he served in the United States Navy at the end of World War II, where he worked on the repair of electronic equipment and built toys using excess work materials.<ref name="NYTimes"/> Following the war, he returned to Cooper Union in 1946 to finish his engineering degree, which he completed in 1952. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Isaac Heller Donates $1 Million to Annual Fund |url=https://cooper.edu/about/news/isaac-heller-donates-1-million-annual-fund |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=The Cooper Union |language=en}}</ref>
==Career== In 1949, while he was still a student at Cooper Union, Heller co-founded the toy company Remco in Newark, New Jersey, with his cousin Saul Robbins.<ref name="nj.com">{{cite web|url=http://obits.nj.com/obituaries/starledger/obituary.aspx?n=saul-robbins&pid=143585102|title=Saul Robbins's Obituary on The Star-Ledger|website=The Star-Ledger|access-date=26 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="nj.com1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/12/made_in_jersey_remco_toys_-_re.html|title=Made in Jersey: Remco Toys - remote control toys were 'controlled' nearby in NJ|access-date=26 December 2017}}</ref> The name was a contraction of "REMote COntrol", and its first products were children's walkie-talkies.<ref name="nj.com1"/> Building on his experience as a U.S. Navy electronics technician, they started by buying large amounts of military surplus and "transforming it into toys that could zoom, soar or otherwise move."<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/business/isaac-heller-co-founder-of-remco-and-toymaker-to-a-generation-dies-at-88.html|title=Isaac Heller, Co-Founder of Remco and Toymaker to a Generation, Dies at 88|first=Margalit|last=Fox|author-link=Margalit Fox|date=10 March 2015|access-date=26 December 2017|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>
Until the 1960s, they only made toys for boys, and they were the first toy company to use television advertising.<ref name="nj.com1"/> Their toys included the Whirlybird helicopter, the Barracuda atomic submarine, the Johnny Reb cannon, the Dick Tracy wrist radio, the Screaming Mee Mee-e rifle and Mr. Kelly's Automatic Car Wash.<ref name="NYTimes"/>
After selling the company in 1966, Heller turned his experiences to industrial park development. He founded Heller Industrial Parks, Inc., which he developed into one of the largest industrial park owner / developers in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us: The Heller Story - Heller Industrial Parks, Inc. |url=https://www.hellerpark.com/Heller_Story.cfm |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=www.hellerpark.com}}</ref>
==Personal life== In 1953, Heller married Helaine Hirsh, and they had four daughters.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="NYTimes" />
Ike and Helaine were generous philanthropists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The JCC of Central NJ Is Pleased to Announce the New Isaac and Helaine Heller Financial Assistance Endowment |url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/springfield/articles/the-jcc-of-central-nj-is-pleased-to-announce-the-new-isaac-and-helaine-heller-financial-assistance-endowment |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=TAPinto |language=en}}</ref> He donated $1 million to Brooklyn Tech, and was inducted into the school's hall of fame, in 2013.<ref>[https://www.bthsalumni.org/BTAF-Enewsletter-May-2013-Hall-of-Fame-Induction "Seven Inducted Into Brooklyn Tech Alumni Hall Of Fame"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228000207/https://www.bthsalumni.org/BTAF-Enewsletter-May-2013-Hall-of-Fame-Induction |date=2017-12-28 }}, Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation. Accessed December 27, 2017. "Isaac 'Ike' Heller ’43, founder of Remco Toys and Heller Industrial Parks; philanthropist: Mr. Heller founded the iconic 1950s and 1960s toy company Remco, and later started what has grown into one of the nation’s largest privately held industrial park companies. A generous philanthropist, he recently donated $1million to Brooklyn Tech."</ref> That same year, he donated $1 million to Cooper Union in response to their financial crisis. He used his resources to build the John Kenney Childcare Center in Edison, NJ. Other causes he supported included hospitals, community foundations, libraries, senior centers, and schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ike Heller - Heller Industrial Parks, Inc. |url=https://www.hellerpark.com/IkeHeller.cfm |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=www.hellerpark.com}}</ref>
Heller died at his home in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, on March 7, 2015, and was survived by his wife and four daughters, Audrey Romberg, Laurie Kaufman, Hollie Heller, and Hillary Granfield.<ref name="NYTimes" />
==Honors== In 1999, Heller received the President's Citation Award from Cooper Union, and was inducted into the Cooper Union Alumni Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-06 |title=President’s Citation Award Winners |url=https://www.cooperalumni.org/about/hall-of-fame/presidents-citation-award-winners/ |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Cooper Union Alumni Association |language=en-US}}</ref> He received a Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of the State of New Jersey, and was frequently recognized by the many charitable causes that he supported. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-27 |title=Students, Staff and Family Honor Isaac “Ike” Heller; Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of John Kenney Child Care Center |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/woodbridge/an--students-staff-and-family-honor-isaac-ike-heller-b0446aa620 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=Woodbridge, NJ Patch |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Isaac}} Category:1926 births Category:2015 deaths Category:American company founders Category:20th-century American Jews Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II Category:Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Category:Cooper Union alumni Category:People from Ellenville, New York Category:People from Scotch Plains, New Jersey Category:United States Navy sailors Category:21st-century American Jews