Entertainers Turning 100 In 2023

Hillel and Henry (and later Herman) Hassenfeld fled antisemitism in Poland and immigrated to America, where they eventually set up a Rhode Island textiles company selling "woolen and cotton piece goods, flannels, domestics." In 1923, under the name Hassenfeld Brothers, they moved on to "making pencil boxes, which were like a doctor kit. And so, that is how we got into the toy business," third generation family toymaker Alan Hassenfeld told Family Business, a literary "rags-to riches story." 

Things really started sprouting for the company when they introduced Mr. Potato Head to the world in 1952 (the first toy to be advertised on television). The action heated up even more in 1964 when they produced "figures that moved and posed any which way the human body did," a young boy's answer to the Barbie Doll, the action figures G.I. Joe.

In 1968, the company went public under the name Hasbro Industries, Inc, and in the ensuing decades acquired other toy and game giants like Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Tonka, Tiger Games, Playskool, Knickerbocker Toy Co, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. That brought together on one amazing toy shelf such familiar names as Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble, Connect 4, Twister, The Game of Life, Ouija, Star Wars, Nerf, Play-doh, My Little Pony, Dungeon & Dragons and Transformers. Naturally, there had been missteps over the years, like Flubber (which gave some kids rashes), unprofitable day-care centers, being called "Hasbeen" by not jumping into the electronics craze of the '70s, and oversaturating the market with "Star Wars" toys.

Hasbro Inc may no longer have any Hassenfelds running the company, but they are still going strong, with hot properties and licenses like Peppa Pig and Marvel, branching out more into film and television with the "Transformers" films alone grossing close to $5 billion worldwide, and fan focused divisions Hasbro Pulse and Haslab offering up selfie action figures that look like you.