The well-known American media personality and toy consultant passed away last week after suffering from ALS for the past few years.

Richard with one of his beloved costume characters at the recent New York Toy Fair, which he attended with his wife, Wendy

Toy World is very sad to announce that Richard Gottlieb has passed away. Richard has been a renowned commentator on the US and global toy market for many years, and as a long-term contributor to Toy World, he regularly shared his unique perspective on the latest developments from the industry with our readers.

He was the founder and CEO of Global Toy Experts, a consultancy to US and international toy companies. Also the publisher of Global Toy News, a web-based magazine founded in 2009 that covers toy industry news and provides resources to the toy industry, Richard regularly co-hosted The Playground Podcast and published The Toy Intelligencer report.

Publisher John Baulch commented: “As someone I counted as a good friend over many years, I loved Richard’s sense of humour and his quirky way of looking at things through a completely different lens to the rest of us. He was always fantastic company and, in recent years, the ‘four amigos’ podcasts with Richard, Christopher Byrne, James Zahn and myself were a joy to record. He bore his recent health issues with incredible fortitude and courage – he actually looked at peace with his condition when I saw him in New York only a few weeks ago. The fact that he was able to carry on doing what he loved almost to the end will have made him extremely happy.”

Richard was diagnosed with ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease – just under a year ago. This is the same disease that scientist Stephen Hawking contracted, although in Richard’s case it was his throat and tongue which were predominantly affected. This had a profound impact on Richard’s speech, especially in recent months, which must have been incredibly frustrating for someone so eloquent and brimming with ideas. However, not one to be easily deterred, Richard posted an update just ahead of this year’s New York Toy Fair: “I now communicate in writing or with a text-to-speech app. How amazing that science and technology allow this to happen. So, I will do a lot of smiling and walking around but only a little talking.”

Posting on LinkedIn, Chris Byrne, Richard’s good friend and partner in the Playground Podcast, wrote: “I knew Richard for many years, but it was in the past four, doing The Playground Podcast, that we really got to know one another. We shared an abiding love for the toy industry, children and child development. We also shared a love for literature, especially 19th Century novels, poetry and Shakespeare that we loved talking about – as well as being able to quote classic Looney Tunes cartoons to one another. Off mic, Richard always made me laugh, and his sometimes-quirky, always mordant, humour was a constant delight. Richard had a huge heart, loved his wife Wendy and of course his kids and grandkids. He took great pleasure in one grandson’s approach to play and loved watching that. We’re all a little richer for having known him, and his loss will be deeply felt.”

A very sad loss to the toy community and our deepest condolences to Wendy and the family, and to all who knew and worked with Richard over the years.