Isaac Larian, and Melissa and Doug Bernstein will be inducted into the US Toy Industry Hall of Fame during the US TOTY Awards next February
Isaac Larian, founder and CEO of MGA Entertainment, and Melissa and Doug Bernstein, founders of eponymous toy company Melissa & Doug, are to be inducted into the US Toy Industry Hall of Fame ahead of next year’s New York Toy Fair.
The late Stanley Weston, inventor of the G.I. Joe action figure and founder of Leisure Concepts, will be posthumously honoured.
“Melissa and Doug Bernstein and Isaac Larian have earned their place among the very best of our industry by redefining play for generations,” said Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association. “Their induction into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame honors their extraordinary legacies.
“The Toy Association is equally proud to posthumously induct Stanley Weston, who changed toy history by introducing a new genre of play known by many today as action figures,” he added. “His creation of G.I. Joe gave children the power to imagine themselves as heroes, while his work in licensing built a foundation for modern entertainment. We look forward to celebrating all the 2026 Hall of Fame inductees at the Toy of the Year Awards ceremony in February!”
The 2026 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees will join an impressive roster of 98 industry leaders who each have had a significant impact on the lives of children through toys and play. Their induction was nominated and voted on by members of The Toy Association in recognition of their significant contributions to the industry and the impact they have had on the lives of children through a lifelong commitment to toys and play.
The Toy Industry Hall of Fame lives alongside the National Toy Hall of Fame in a special exhibit at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.
