Shirley Slesinger Lasswell
Shirley Slesinger Lasswell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shirley Ann Basso May 27, 1923 |
| Died | July 19, 2007 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessperson and performer |
| Spouses | |
Shirley Slesinger Lasswell (May 27, 1923 – July 19, 2007) was an American
Early and personal life
Lasswell was born Shirley Ann Basso in
In 1964, she married
Winnie the Pooh
Stephen Slesinger created brands and trademarks for literary and cartoon characters. He is credited with creating the image of Winnie the Pooh in his red shirt when he obtained exclusive rights from A. A. Milne, beginning in 1930. In exchange, Milne received 3% of sales and 15% to 50% of other Pooh rights Slesinger would commercialize. Slesinger's rights included exclusive rights of character and name reproduction in connection with goods and services and all media such as television, radio and any future sound, word and picture reproduction devices. The deal included the rights to Winnie the Pooh, as well as the other now famous characters, such as
Stephen Slessinger died in 1953. His death left Lasswell a widow with a one-year-old daughter, Pati.[2] Lasswell assumed leadership of her husband's company in 1956 and took over the marketing and licensing of Pooh along with Slesinger's other characters. She later said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "I thought, 'Now what do I do?' But it was right there for me. I decided to promote Pooh."[2]
Lasswell initially began designing Winnie the Pooh related products, such as clothing, toys and dolls for sale at upscale American department stores in the 1950s under
References
- ^ The Associated Press. Legacy.com. 2007-07-20. Retrieved 2007-08-07..
- ^ Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
