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{{Short description|American Toy Company}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
|name = Larami Corp.
|name = Larami Corp.
|logo =
|logo =
|type = Subsidiary
|type = Subsidiary
|genre =
|genre =
|foundation = 1947
|foundation = 1959
|founder =
|founder = David W. Ring
|defunct = 2002
|defunct = 2002
|location =
|location =
|locations =
|locations =
|origins =
|origins =
|key_people =
|key_people =
|area_served =
|area_served =
|industry = [[Toy]]s
|industry = [[Toy]]s
|products = [[Water gun]]s, [[Action figure]]s
|products = [[Water gun]]s, [[action figure]]s
|services =
|services =
|revenue =
|revenue =
Line 25: Line 26:
|slogan =
|slogan =
|homepage =
|homepage =
|dissolved =
|footnotes =
|footnotes =
|successor = [[Nerf]]
|successor = [[Nerf]]
}}
}}
The '''Larami Corporation''' was a [[toy]] [[company (law)|company]] established by David W. Ring in [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], in 1959.<ref name="daveringobit">{{cite web |last1=PSU Administration |title=David W.Ring Family Scholarship created to help entrepreneurship students |url=https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/david-w-ring-family-scholarship-created-help-entrepreneurship-students/ |website=Penn State University |access-date=24 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> It produced licensed toys based on movies and television shows. Often low-quality, these were manufactured in Hong Kong and Japan for sale on grocery store toy aisle racks for under a dollar.
'''Larami Corp.''' was founded in 1947 and was a [[toy]] [[company (law)|company]] whose products usually ranged from the cost of $0.39 to $0.99.<ref name="iSoaker.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.isoaker.com/Info/history_presupersoaker.html|title=Pre-Super Soaker History}}</ref><ref name="Toynfo">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?laramiindex|title=Larami Toys|accessdate=2008-08-25}}</ref><ref name="Toynfo2">Toynfo {{cite web|url=http://www.toynfo.com/ |title=Toy Encyclopedia|accessdate=2008-08-25}}</ref> Larami Corp. was eventually acquired by [[Hasbro Inc.]], becoming Larami Inc. in 1995. The Larami company name was finally retired in 2002.<ref name="iSoaker.com"/>


By the 1980s, Larami had a growing [[water gun]] product line, and launched the [[Super Soaker]] brand in 1991. In 1995, it was acquired by [[Hasbro Inc]], which renamed it '''Larami Inc.''' before retiring it in 2002.<ref name="iSoaker.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.isoaker.com/Info/history_presupersoaker.html|title=Pre-Super Soaker History}}</ref>
⚫
== Products ==
⚫
Larami toys were produced based on several movies, television shows, etc.<ref name="Toynfo"/> By the 1980s, Larami Corp. had a growing [[water gun]] product line.<ref name="iSoaker.com"/> It was Larami Corp. that eventually marketed and sold the Power Drencher, rebranded as the [[Super Soaker]] in 1991.<ref name="iSoaker.com"/>


=== Movies ===
==History==
In 1947, David W. Ring and his brother founded Ring Brothers Toy Wholesale, selling toys to retailers out of the back of his car.<ref name="daveringobit"/> Ring founded the Larami Corporation in 1959 after being introduced to toy imports during a trip to Japan earlier that year.<ref name="daveringobit"/> Larami specialized in low-cost, low-quality licensed toys based on popular movies and television shows during the 1960s and 1970s, toy guns, and toy water guns.<ref name="Toynfo">{{cite web|url=http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?laramiindex|title=Larami Toys|access-date=2008-08-25}}</ref><ref name="Toynfo2">Toynfo {{cite web|url=http://www.toynfo.com/ |title=Toy Encyclopedia|access-date=2008-08-25}}</ref> During the 1980s, Larami expanded its water gun line, licensing designs for a battery-operated water gun from inventor [[Alan Amron]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|last=Porges|first=Seth|title=The Best Battery Powered Gun|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/toys/4322164-best-battery-powered-gun#slide-4|work=The Top 6 Water Guns of All Time|publisher=Popular Mechanics|access-date=16 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Green|first=Amanda|title=History Of The Water Gun|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/toys/a-brief-history-of-the-water-gun#slide-6|magazine=Popular Mechanics|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> By 1987, Alvin Davis and Myung Song had become co-owners of Larami.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Bonnie |title=Alvin Davis, 78, businessman behind the Super Soaker |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/20150609_Alvin_Davis__businessman_behind_the_Super_Soaker.html |website=Philadelphia Inquirer |access-date=24 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

At the 1989 [[North American International Toy Fair]] in [[New York City]], Davis and Song met former Jet Propulsion Lab engineer [[Lonnie Johnson (inventor)|Lonnie Johnson]]. After being impressed by his prototype of a pressurized water-air reservoir, Larami licensed his designs and developed the Power Drencher. In 1991, the Power Drencher line was relaunched as the [[Super Soaker]].<ref name="toybook">{{cite book |last1=Walsh |first1=Tim |title=Timeless toys : classic toys and the playmakers who created them |date=2005 |publisher=Andrews McMeel Pub |location=Kansas City, Mo. |isbn=9780740755712}}</ref><ref name="historysoaker">{{Cite web|url=http://www.isoaker.com/Info/history_supersoaker.php|title=History of the Super Soaker :: :: iSoaker.com|website=www.isoaker.com|access-date=2018-09-04}}</ref> Talk To Me Products filed suit against Larami in 1993, alleging that the Super Soaker infringed on their 1978 patent for a battery-powered water gun. On March 11, 1993, Talk To Me Products' claims were dismissed,<ref>{{cite web |title=Larami Corp. v. Amron, 27 U.S.P.Q.2d 1280 (E.D. Pa. 1993) |url=https://www.nathenson.org/courses/innovations/larami-v-amron/ |date=3 March 2018}}</ref> as their patent referred to a water gun "having a chamber therein". Instead, the Super Soaker had a detachable chamber at the top of the water gun.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eastwood |first1=Brian |title=The case of the Super Soaker and the chamber therein |url=https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/case-super-soaker-and-chamber-therein |website=MIT Sloan |language=en}}</ref>

Larami was acquired by [[Hasbro Inc]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Greg |title=Little Squirt Turns Big Shot |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-29-mn-60697-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=29 July 1999}}</ref> Hasbro continued to manufacture Super Soakers under the Larami name until 2002, when Hasbro began marketing the Super Soaker as part of the [[Nerf]] line.<ref name="historysoaker"/>

⚫
==Products==
⚫
Larami toys were produced based on several movies, television shows, etc.<ref name="Toynfo"/> By the 1980s, Larami Corp. had a growing [[water gun]] product line.<ref name="iSoaker.com"/> It was Larami Corp. that eventually marketed and sold the Power Drencher, rebranded as the [[Super Soaker]] in 1991<ref name="iSoaker.com"/> which was based on the pressurized water-air reservoir invented and developed by the former Jet Propulsion Engineer Dr. Lonnie Johnson and Larami designer William Raucci.<ref name="historysoaker"/>

===Movies===
*''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]''
*''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]''
*''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''
*''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''
*''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''
*''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''


=== Television shows ===
===Television shows===
*''[[The A-Team]]''
*''[[The A-Team]]''
*''[[The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan]]''
*''[[The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan]]''
*''[[Banana Splits]]''
*''[[The Banana Splits]]''
*''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''
*''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]''
*''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia">{{cite web |url=http://www.lurexlounge.com/bsg/larami.php|title=Larami|author=David Moss |date= |work= |publisher=Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia |accessdate=20 August 2010}}</ref>
*''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia">{{cite web |url=http://www.lurexlounge.com/bsg/larami.php|title=Larami|author=David Moss |publisher=Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia |access-date=20 August 2010}}</ref>
*''[[The Brady Bunch]]''
*''[[The Brady Bunch]]''
*''[[CHiPs]]''
*''[[CHiPs]]''
*''[[Deputy Dawg]]''
*''[[Deputy Dawg]]''
*''[[Hawaii Five-0]]''
*''[[Hawaii Five-0 (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-0]]''
*''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]''
*''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]''
*''[[Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)|Land of the Lost]]''
*''[[Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)|Land of the Lost]]''
*''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]''
*''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]''
*''[[The Mod Squad]]''<ref> Heiler, Brian. ''Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings''. PlaidStallions, 2012, 88. {{ISBN|9780991692200}}</ref>
*''[[Space: 1999]]''<ref name="Space1999.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/merc/vmtlarami.html|title=Space 1999 Merchandise Guide: Larami|author= |date= |work= |publisher= |accessdate=21 August 2010}}</ref>
*''[[Space: 1999]]''<ref name="Space1999.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/merc/vmtlarami.html|title=Space 1999 Merchandise Guide: Larami|access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref>
*''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''
*''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''
*''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]''
*''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]''


== Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine ==
===Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine===
[[Image:Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine.jpg|thumb|Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine in its packaging]]
[[Image:Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine.jpg|thumb|Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine in its packaging]]
In 1978, Larami created a [[Cylon (1978)|Cylon]] [[soap bubble]] toy called the Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine to coincide with the [[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|television series]] of the same name.<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia"/> In the same year, a commercial was also made for the product featuring its use in dispensing "big bunches of bubbles"<ref name="YouTube">{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxFhmtCQ9d4|title=YouTube - Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine Commercial|author=goldcylon |date=9 January 2007 |work= |publisher=[[YouTube]] |accessdate=21 August 2010}}</ref> and a [[jingle]].<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia"/><ref name="YouTube"/> In a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' article covering ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'''s influence on [[Facebook]], the toy's [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Battlestar-Galactica-Cylon-Bubble-Machine/42793566285?ref=s Facebook Fan Page] is noted alongside the book ''The Science of Battlestar Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/01/battlestar-ga-2.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Facebook was possibly built by Cylons|author=Jevon Phillips |date=7 January 2009 |work= |publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' |accessdate=21 August 2010}}</ref>
In 1978, Larami created a [[Cylon (1978)|Cylon]] [[soap bubble]] toy called the Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine to coincide with the [[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|television series]] of the same name.<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia"/> In the same year, a commercial was also made for the product featuring its use in dispensing "big bunches of bubbles"<ref name="YouTube">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxFhmtCQ9d4|title=YouTube - Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine Commercial|author=goldcylon |date=9 January 2007 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref> and a [[jingle]].<ref name="Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia"/><ref name="YouTube"/> The jingle was described in one review as "amazingly goofy with a chorus yelping, 'Battlestar Galacticaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...CYLON BUBBLE MACHINE!'"<ref name="Retrocrush">{{cite web |url=http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/tvthemes/part1.html |title=#89 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA|access-date=21 August 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017033719/http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/tvthemes/part1.html |archive-date = 17 October 2007}}</ref> and in an interview [[Battlestar Galactica (comics)#Reimagined continuity adaptations|Re-imagined Series]] comics writer [[Greg Pak]] as said "I still periodically find myself humming the tune song [sic] to the Cylon Bubble Machine commercial."<ref name="Broken Frontier">{{cite web |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=420 |title=Battlestar Galactica Comics Are Dynamite!|author=Jason Berek-Lewis |date=5 April 2006 |publisher=Broken Frontier |access-date=21 August 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060509022636/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=420 |archive-date = 9 May 2006}}</ref> In a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' article covering ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'''s influence on [[Facebook]], the toy's [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Battlestar-Galactica-Cylon-Bubble-Machine/42793566285?ref=s Facebook Fan Page] is noted alongside the book ''The Science of Battlestar Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/01/battlestar-ga-2.html|title='Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Facebook was possibly built by Cylons|author=Jevon Phillips |date=7 January 2009 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=21 August 2010}}</ref>

..CYLON BUBBLE MACHINE!"<ref name="Retrocrush">{{cite web |url=http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/tvthemes/part1.html |title=#89 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA|author= |date= |work= |publisher= |accessdate=21 August 2010 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017033719/http://retrocrush.buzznet.com/tvthemes/part1.html |archivedate = 17 October 2007}}</ref> and in an interview [[Battlestar Galactica (comics)#Reimagined continuity adaptations|Re-imagined Series]] comics writer [[Greg Pak]] as said "I still periodically find myself humming the tune song [sic] to the Cylon Bubble Machine commercial."<ref name="Broken Frontier">{{cite web |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=420 |title=Battlestar Galactica Comics Are Dynamite!|author=Jason Berek-Lewis |date=5 April 2006 |work= |publisher=Broken Frontier |accessdate=21 August 2010 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060509022636/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/columns/details.php?id=420 |archivedate = 9 May 2006}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
==External links==
*[[BattlestarWiki:Larami Corp|Larami Corp]] at the Battlestar Wiki
*[[BattlestarWiki:Larami Corp|Larami Corp]] at the Battlestar Wiki
*[http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/merc/vmtlarami.html Space 1999 Merchandise Guide: Larami]
*[http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/merc/vmtlarami.html Space 1999 Merchandise Guide: Larami]
Line 72: Line 80:
[[Category:Defunct toy manufacturers]]
[[Category:Defunct toy manufacturers]]
[[Category:Toy companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Toy companies of the United States]]


{{US-manufacturing-company-stub}}
{{Galactica-stub}}

Latest revision as of 04:23, 3 July 2024

Larami Corp.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryToys
Founded1959
FounderDavid W. Ring
Defunct2002
SuccessorNerf
ProductsWater guns, action figures
ParentHasbro

The Larami Corporation was a toy company established by David W. Ring in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1959.[1] It produced licensed toys based on movies and television shows. Often low-quality, these were manufactured in Hong Kong and Japan for sale on grocery store toy aisle racks for under a dollar.

By the 1980s, Larami had a growing water gun product line, and launched the Super Soaker brand in 1991. In 1995, it was acquired by Hasbro Inc, which renamed it Larami Inc. before retiring it in 2002.[2]

History

[edit]

In 1947, David W. Ring and his brother founded Ring Brothers Toy Wholesale, selling toys to retailers out of the back of his car.[1] Ring founded the Larami Corporation in 1959 after being introduced to toy imports during a trip to Japan earlier that year.[1] Larami specialized in low-cost, low-quality licensed toys based on popular movies and television shows during the 1960s and 1970s, toy guns, and toy water guns.[3][4] During the 1980s, Larami expanded its water gun line, licensing designs for a battery-operated water gun from inventor Alan Amron in 1984.[5][6] By 1987, Alvin Davis and Myung Song had become co-owners of Larami.[7]

At the 1989 North American International Toy Fair in New York City, Davis and Song met former Jet Propulsion Lab engineer Lonnie Johnson. After being impressed by his prototype of a pressurized water-air reservoir, Larami licensed his designs and developed the Power Drencher. In 1991, the Power Drencher line was relaunched as the Super Soaker.[8][9] Talk To Me Products filed suit against Larami in 1993, alleging that the Super Soaker infringed on their 1978 patent for a battery-powered water gun. On March 11, 1993, Talk To Me Products' claims were dismissed,[10] as their patent referred to a water gun "having a chamber therein". Instead, the Super Soaker had a detachable chamber at the top of the water gun.[11]

Larami was acquired by Hasbro Inc in 1995.[12] Hasbro continued to manufacture Super Soakers under the Larami name until 2002, when Hasbro began marketing the Super Soaker as part of the Nerf line.[9]

Products

[edit]

Larami toys were produced based on several movies, television shows, etc.[3] By the 1980s, Larami Corp. had a growing water gun product line.[2] It was Larami Corp. that eventually marketed and sold the Power Drencher, rebranded as the Super Soaker in 1991[2] which was based on the pressurized water-air reservoir invented and developed by the former Jet Propulsion Engineer Dr. Lonnie Johnson and Larami designer William Raucci.[9]

Movies

[edit]

Television shows

[edit]

Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine

[edit]
Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine in its packaging

In 1978, Larami created a Cylon soap bubble toy called the Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine to coincide with the television series of the same name.[13] In the same year, a commercial was also made for the product featuring its use in dispensing "big bunches of bubbles"[16] and a jingle.[13][16] The jingle was described in one review as "amazingly goofy with a chorus yelping, 'Battlestar Galacticaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...CYLON BUBBLE MACHINE!'"[17] and in an interview Re-imagined Series comics writer Greg Pak as said "I still periodically find myself humming the tune song [sic] to the Cylon Bubble Machine commercial."[18] In a Los Angeles Times article covering Battlestar Galactica's influence on Facebook, the toy's Facebook Fan Page is noted alongside the book The Science of Battlestar Galactica's.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c PSU Administration. "David W.Ring Family Scholarship created to help entrepreneurship students". Penn State University. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Pre-Super Soaker History".
  3. ^ a b "Larami Toys". Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  4. ^ Toynfo "Toy Encyclopedia". Retrieved 2008-08-25.
  5. ^ Porges, Seth. "The Best Battery Powered Gun". The Top 6 Water Guns of All Time. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  6. ^ Green, Amanda. "History Of The Water Gun". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. ^ Cook, Bonnie. "Alvin Davis, 78, businessman behind the Super Soaker". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. ^ Walsh, Tim (2005). Timeless toys : classic toys and the playmakers who created them. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Pub. ISBN 9780740755712.
  9. ^ a b c "History of the Super Soaker :: :: iSoaker.com". www.isoaker.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  10. ^ "Larami Corp. v. Amron, 27 U.S.P.Q.2d 1280 (E.D. Pa. 1993)". 3 March 2018.
  11. ^ Eastwood, Brian. "The case of the Super Soaker and the chamber therein". MIT Sloan.
  12. ^ Miller, Greg (29 July 1999). "Little Squirt Turns Big Shot". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ a b c David Moss. "Larami". Battlestar Galactica Memorabilia. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  14. ^ Heiler, Brian. Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings. PlaidStallions, 2012, 88. ISBN 9780991692200
  15. ^ "Space 1999 Merchandise Guide: Larami". Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  16. ^ a b goldcylon (9 January 2007). "YouTube - Battlestar Galactica Cylon Bubble Machine Commercial". YouTube. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  17. ^ "#89 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA". Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  18. ^ Jason Berek-Lewis (5 April 2006). "Battlestar Galactica Comics Are Dynamite!". Broken Frontier. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  19. ^ Jevon Phillips (7 January 2009). "'Battlestar Galactica' countdown: Facebook was possibly built by Cylons". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
[edit]
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