Burt Meyer is...

Burt Meyer is the closest I will ever get to meeting an astronaut. He’s in his 80s and still flies planes. When he was in his 70s, he decided he wanted to dog-sled to the North Pole. And then that’s what he did. Before that, he decided he wanted to bicycle across America. And then that’s what he did. In the 55 years that he was in the toy business all he did was invent or co-invent some of the most enduring toys in history, including Lite Brite, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Toss Across, and Mr. Machine. More recently he and his son Steve had a hand in giving the world, Pretty, Pretty Princess and Catch Phrase.

As if that wasn’t enough, Burt Meyer is a genuinely nice guy. He opened up his home to us and allowed us to interview him for our documentary on toy inventors. After we gabbed for a while, he took us to his favorite lunch joint, where all the waitresses called him by name. After lunch it was back to his home and over coffee in his kitchen, he told us story after story of his years working for Marvin Glass and Associates (1952-1988), and then is time at Meyer/Glass, the design firm founded by him and his son Steve (1988-2006).

When Burt was in his 60s (65 to be exact) the employees at Meyer/Glass surprised him with a gold-plated Lite Brite for his birthday. You don’t get waitresses calling you by name or gold-plated gifts from your employees unless you’re a nice guy.

The day ended with a spin in his private plane. Burt Meyer is also a funny guy. Once we were strapped in and took off, I asked him why he loves to fly. After he told us about the feeling of freedom it gives him and how relaxing it is, he asked us, “Do you know what the next best thing to flying a plane is?”

“Carnal relations?” Someone guessed.

“No,” he said. “The next best thing to flying a plane is landing a plane.”

And then that’s what he did.