Kransco

Barbie, that swinging California girl who has outlasted dozens of fads with nary a wrinkle to show for it, can now claim the granddaddy of all fads, the Hula Hoop, as another of her many accessories. On Monday, Barbie's maker, Mattel Inc., bought Kransco, the San Francisco company that makes Wham-O brand Hula Hoops and Frisbees, Morey Boogie boards and the increasingly popular Power Wheels ride-on toys.

Barbie, that swinging California girl who has outlasted dozens of fads with nary a wrinkle to show for it, can now claim the granddaddy of all fads, the Hula Hoop, as another of her many accessories. On Monday, Barbie's maker, Mattel Inc., bought Kransco, the San Francisco company that makes Wham-O brand Hula Hoops and Frisbees, Morey Boogie boards and the increasingly popular Power Wheels ride-on toys.

In the beginning there was the pie pan, whose aerodynamic abilities were known but unexploited. Then there was the plastic "flying disc" called Frisbee, produced by Wham-O Manufacturing. It became the darling of leaping dogs and college students, growing into one of the biggest recreational crazes of recent years. Then the lawsuits began flying.

Toy Autos Recalled: Kransco Power Wheels of San Francisco agreed to recall its children's Power Wheel Porsche automobile because a switch could become stuck in the "on" position, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The battery-operated toy is supposed to start when the child sitting in it presses a foot pedal and stop when the pedal is released. The commission said the switch's contact points may weld together during the initial surge of electricity, however.

Mattel Inc. has announced that it will shut down the original San Gabriel headquarters of Wham-O, the company that brought Hula Hoops, Frisbees and dozens of other toys to the world. Mattel is the new owner of Wham-O, which was founded in 1948 by Rich Knerr, who grew up in South Pasadena, and Arthur (Spud) Melin, who grew up in Pasadena. On May 31, Mattel closed a deal to buy Wham-O's parent company, Kransco, for an undisclosed amount. Mattel is the country's largest toy maker.

Wham-O Inc., the maker of Frisbees and Hula Hoops, said it is moving most of its San Gabriel manufacturing operations to an existing plant in La Mesa, Mexico. The manufacturing facility in San Gabriel will remain open as a distribution and research center, said Steve Schneider, vice president of corporate research and development for Kransco Group Cos., the San Francisco parent of Wham-O.

Wham-O generally makes anyone planning to use its trademark toys run through countless legal hoops, but when it came to Joel and Ethan Coen's "The Hudsucker Proxy," getting the corporate vote was practically a snap. The San Gabriel-based makers of the Hula-Hoop and its parent Kransco Group--known for its aggressive litigious behavior when it comes to protecting its trademarks--saw a potential windfall with the Coens' plans.

John N. Rosekrans, a San Francisco arts patron and heir to the Spreckels sugar fortune who co-founded a company that produced Frisbees, Power Wheels, Morey Boogie Boards and other famous toy and sports brands, has died. He was 73. Rosekrans died of heart failure Oct. 27 in Paris, where he and his wife, Dodie, maintained a home.

Boogie Board inventor Tom Morey is getting back into the surf business with a new company called Starwaves in Capistrano Beach. The new enterprise will begin making surfboards this week. Contractual obligations prevent Morey from using his name to make some types of water sports equipment. Morey will handle the design and engineering of his new "user-friendly" surfboards, which will be subcontracted out for manufacturing and sold on the Internet.

When Family Fun magazine decided to list the best new toys of the year, it empaneled a group of experts: 375 children ages 2 to 10. In a study conducted by a market research company, children in seven day care centers across the country were given three weeks to play with more than 200 toys. At the end of the period, the children were interviewed and made their selections.

Hula-Hoops, those wacky plastic rings that millions of Americans swung around their hips and waists a quarter-century ago, are coming 'round again. Part toy, part fad and definitely all pop culture, the Hula-Hoop today is embraced by kids and aerobics-minded Baby Boomers who remember the craze from the early 1960s. "I try to Hula-Hoop for 15 minutes each day," says Eve Diamond, a 34-year-old Encinoite who'd hula'd as a child.