# Louis Marx > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louis_Marx > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Louis_Marx.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marx > Source revision: 1328139213 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American toy maker and businessman}} {{Infobox person |name = Louis Marx |image = |caption = |birth_date = {{Birth date|1896|8|11}} |birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|1982|2|5|1896|8|11}} |death_place = [White Plains, New York](/source/White_Plains%2C_New_York), U.S. |resting_place = [Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx%2C_New_York)) |resting_place_coordinates = |other_names = Louis Marx, Sr. |known_for = |education = |title = Founder and owner of [Louis Marx and Company](/source/Louis_Marx_and_Company) |occupation = Businessman |years_active = 1919–1972 |spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Irene (Renee) Freda Saltzman|1927|1942|reason=died}} * {{marriage|Idella Ruth Blackadder|1947}} }} |children = 4 |parents = |signature = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Louis Marx''' (August 11, 1896 – February 5, 1982) was an American toy maker and businessman whose company, [Louis Marx and Company](/source/Louis_Marx_and_Company), was the largest toy company in the world in the 1950s. He was described by some as an experienced businessman with the mind of child.{{Cite web|title = Information Marx History|url = http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/info_marx_history.htm|website = marxtoymuseum.com|accessdate = 2015-12-04}} Marx was known by numerous nicknames, including "Toycoon," "the [Henry Ford](/source/Henry_Ford) of the toy industry," "the hawk of the toy industry," and "the toy king of America."[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711904,00.html Time Magazine 1955];Fortune Magazine, January 1946 ==Biography== Born in [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn), to [Austrian Jewish](/source/Austrian_Jewish) parents, Marx graduated from high school at age 15 and started his career working for [Ferdinand Strauss](/source/Ferdinand_Strauss_Company), a manufacturer of mechanical toys. By 1916, Marx was managing Strauss' plant in [East Rutherford, New Jersey](/source/East_Rutherford%2C_New_Jersey), but was eventually voted out by Strauss' board of directors over a disagreement about retail sales practices. Marx then entered the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) as a private and attained the rank of sergeant before returning to civilian life in 1918. Marx's passion for the Army was reflected throughout his life. Most of Marx's military toys represented Army equipment, and Marx would later make a practice of befriending generals and naming his sons after them. Following military service, Marx then went to work selling for Newton and Thompson, a Vermont-based manufacturer of [wood](/source/wood) toys, where he redesigned their product line and increased the company's sales tenfold.[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711904,00.html Time Magazine 1955]; In 1919, Marx and his brother David incorporated, founding the company that bore his name. Initially working as a middle man, Marx was soon able to purchase tooling to manufacture toys himself. When Strauss fell on hard financial times, Marx was able to buy the [dies](/source/Die_casting) for two Strauss toys and turn them into best-sellers. By age 26, three years after founding his company, Marx was a millionaire. He was declared "Toy King of the World" in October 1937 in a [London](/source/London) newspaper. By 1938, Marx employed 500 workers in the [Dudley](/source/Dudley) factory and 4000 in the American factories.Kern, Rusty (2015) "Marx Toy Kings", Volume 1. Blurb Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-364-74792-8}} By utilizing techniques of [mass production](/source/mass_production) and revitalizing old designs as much as possible – Marx utilized some of his [toy train](/source/toy_train) tooling developed in the early 1930s until 1972 – Marx was able to sell a broad line of inexpensive toys. All US-made toy trains would come from a plant in [Girard, Pennsylvania](/source/Girard%2C_Pennsylvania), which produced millions of lithographed tin and plastic toy trains.{{cite web|url=http://reviews.ebay.com/MarX-Trains-and-Toys-Guide-The-Toy-King-Louis-Marx_W0QQugidZ10000000004057543|title=Introduction Guide to MarX Trains & Toys -The Toy King Louis Marx|work=eBay}} By 1951, the Marx company had 12 factories worldwide. For much of the 1950s, it was the largest toy manufacturer in the world, with much of the success coming from [Sears, Roebuck & Co.](/source/Sears) catalog sales and the many themed [playset](/source/playset)s available. As [World War II](/source/World_War_II) drew to a close, Marx had toured [Europe](/source/Europe) and acted as a consultant on how toy manufacturing could aid reconstruction efforts. Marx used the contacts he made in this manner to forge partnerships and open factories in Europe and [Japan](/source/Japan). Marx was featured on the [https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19551212,00.html cover] of ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' magazine on December 12, 1955, with his portrait eclipsing an image of [Santa Claus](/source/Santa_Claus), while examples of his toys swirl in the background. The industrialist retired in 1972, selling his company to [Quaker Oats](/source/Quaker_Oats_Company) for $54 million.Fantle, David & Johnson, Tom (2018) "Hollywood Heyday". McFarland & Co. Inc. Publishing. {{ISBN|1-476-66805-1}} Marx was 76 years old and had thought about retiring for a number of years. In the later years, Marx had less hands-on involvement in the manufacturing process. Marx ruled his toy empire from the 200 5th Avenue, New York office, with open 24-hour telephone communication. His last plant visit had been in 1950.Matzke, Eric (1989) "Greenberg's guide to Marx Trains", Volume 1. Greenberg Publishing Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-897-78131-7}} Louis Marx died at the hospital in [White Plains, New York](/source/White_Plains%2C_New_York), at age 85.{{cite news|title=Toy Tycoon Marx is Dead at 85|work=[The Capital Times](/source/The_Capital_Times)|date= February 6, 1982|page= 4}} He is interred in a private [mausoleum](/source/mausoleum) in [Woodlawn Cemetery](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx)) in The [Bronx](/source/The_Bronx), New York City. ==Personal life== Marx married his first wife Irene Saltzman, nicknamed René, on December 31, 1927 in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan), New York."New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch Rene died in April 1944 of [breast cancer](/source/breast_cancer) at age 37. Marx became very depressed at this time and suggested he might quit the business to take care of his four children. On March 30, 1947, Marx married Idella Ruth Blackadder, Louis' chief jewelry designer for his Charmore line and nearly 28 years his junior.Kern, Rusty (2015) "Marx Toy Kings", Volume 1. Blurb Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-364-74792-8}} [[File:Louis Marx Mausoleum 1024.jpg|thumb|300px|The mausoleum of Louis Marx in [Woodlawn Cemetery](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx%2C_New_York))]]Marx's daughter, Patricia, was born in 1938. She went on to become an activist author, and the second wife of [Daniel Ellsberg](/source/Daniel_Ellsberg), assisting him in the release of the [Pentagon Papers](/source/Pentagon_Papers) in 1971. Louis Marx, a strident anti-[Communist](/source/Communism) and supporter of [Richard Nixon](/source/Richard_Nixon), regarded Ellsberg as a traitor afterwards.Wells, Tom (2001). ''Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg''. Palgrave. {{ISBN|0-312-17719-4}} His eldest child, [Barbara Marx Hubbard](/source/Barbara_Marx_Hubbard) (1929–2019), was a [New Age](/source/New_Age) [futurist](/source/futurist) Barbara's daughter, [Alexandra Morton](/source/Alexandra_Morton), is a notable marine biologist. Marx's son, Louis Marx Junior, is a [venture capital](/source/venture_capital)ist and [philanthropist](/source/Philanthropy) who has contributed to the arts, education and medicine.Kern, Rusty (2015) "Marx Toy Kings", Volume 1. Blurb Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-364-74792-8}} One such example is the Louis Marx Center for Children and Families of New York.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020|reason=The Louis Marx Center for Children and Families of New York cannot be found online.}} With his last wife he had 5 sons. ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== * Fantle, David & Johnson, Tom (2018) "Hollywood Heyday: The Toy King". McFarland & Co. Inc. Publishing. {{ISBN|1-476-66805-1}} * Kern, Rusty (2015) "Marx Toy Kings", Volume 1. Blurb Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-364-74792-8}} * Matzke, Eric (1985) ''Greenberg's Guide to Marx Trains'', 2nd Edition. Greenberg Publishing Company, 1985. {{ISBN|0-89778-026-4}}. * Matzke, Eric (1989) "Greenberg's guide to Marx Trains", Volume 1. Greenberg Publishing Company Inc. {{ISBN|0-897-78131-7}} * Wells, Tom (2001). ''Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg''. Palgrave. {{ISBN|0-312-17719-4}}. * Schievelbein, D (2007) "MarX Trains and Toys Guide : The Toy King Louis Marx". eBay Guide {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Louis}} Category:American businesspeople in the toy industry Category:Toy inventors Category:1896 births Category:1982 deaths Category:American businesspeople in manufacturing Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:Businesspeople from Brooklyn Category:Military personnel from Brooklyn Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American inventors Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Louis Marx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marx) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Marx?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). 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