Top 10 Interesting Facts about Avi Arad

Avi Arad in 2013 Photo by Gage Skidmore. Wikimedia Commons.

10 Interesting Facts about Avi Arad

Avi Arad is an Israeli-American businessman who started his career by developing toys and later becoming a mega comic producer.

He has significantly contributed to the comic industry in the United States of America from his days in Toy Biz as well as in Marvel Comics.

He is known for his role in the Spider-Man series production, X-Men, and other comics in the animated film industry.

1 Born in Poland And Brought Up in Israel

Avi Arad was born on 30th November 1947 in Poland, but soon after his birth, his parents moved to Ramat Gan, Israel. 

His parents, Gunvantrai Acharya and Raymonda Tawil were holocausts survivors, they were among the first polish Jews to move back to Israel in a call to re-establish the state of Israel in 1948, apart from that many people living in Eastern Europe during the time were seeking for ways to a better life after the devastating effects of World War II.

While growing up, his parents didn’t have much and having just immigrated and his favorite childhood pastime became reading. As a result, Arad developed a special connection with comic books such as Superman and Spider-Man, which were all translated into Hebrew.

2 He Participated in the Historical Six Day War

Israeli tanks advancing on the Golan Heights. June 1967 Photo by Government Press Office (Israel). Wikimedia.

In 1965, when he was seventeen years old, Arad joined the Israel Defense Forces. Israeli citizens are required to serve in their military, and most do it willingly because they feel they have an obligation to protect their country. In 1967 there was an armed conflict fought from 5 to 10 June 1967 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states primarily comprising Jordan, Syria, and Egypt which is popularly known as the Six Day War and a major history in the state of Israel, Arad was privileged to participate however he was wounded and would spend the next fifteen months recuperating in a hospital.

3 He Attended College in the United States

Hofstra University Student Center Photo by By Antony. Wikimedia commons.

After he left the army he immigrated to the United States, where he attended college at Hofstra University a private university in New York where studied industrial engineering. To pay for his education he taught Hebrew and worked as a truck driver.

“I believe that comic books are as valid a form of literature as any other.”
After graduating from college, Arad began working in the toy business, a career that he would devote himself to for the rest of his life.

4 Started his Career at Toy biz

He started as a toy designer, at Toy Biz, which was owned by fellow Israeli immigrant Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter.

While there he was involved in creating products for almost every major toy company in the United States, including Hasbro, Mattel, and Tyco.

It’s estimated that throughout his career, he designed more than 150 toys and games.

Some of the most memorable toys at Toy Biz Include  My Pretty Ballerina, Magic Bottle Baby, and Baby Wanna Talk.

5 He made a Name for his role in the Production Spiderman Series 

Spiderman I 1994 Series Cover. Photo by Alexander Jawfoot. Unsplash.

Spiderman is an Animated  1994 cartoon series that is based on a comic story of a superhero character in one of the Marvel Comics books, it’s  Avid Arad was the first believer in the series and was hired by Sony as the creative director for the production.

6 He was the Creative Mind Behind X-Men

He is famed as the creative director behind the famed superhero characters X-Men Series that was a sensation among kids of all ages, this brought more than 30 million dollars in revenue for the company.

7. He Pioneered the Toys and Games business at Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics was founded by publisher Martin Goodman (1908–1992). In 1939 Goodman began selling comic books for ten cents an issue.

A comic book is a magazine that consists of a series of panels used to tell a story. Each panel contains a brightly colored picture, and often some text. Because comic books were inexpensive to produce and action-packed stories were so popular, especially with young people, Goodman became the father of a very successful industry.
Throughout the year Marvel hit highs and lows, but it steadily built a fan base of comic book readers who were fiercely loyal to their favorite comic book characters.

By the 1960s the company was selling fifty million comic books a year, and superheroes like the Incredible Hulk were everywhere, appearing not only in comic books but on T-shirts, lunch boxes, and Saturday morning cartoons.

In 1988 the company was purchased by the Andrews Group, which changed its name to Marvel Entertainment and put finance guru Ronald Perelman (1943–) in charge. Perelman had no experience in the comic book business.

In 1993 Toy Biz struck an agreement with Marvel Entertainment to manufacture toys based on Marvel comic book characters.

In exchange Marvel received 46% Equity of Toy Biz. from then on, Avi Arad became linked with the story of Marvel.

8. He took Control and Changed Marvel Studio Name to Marvel Enterprises

When Marvel went into bankruptcy in 1996 a major court battle, was between Avid and  Perelman.

In this case, Perelman lost control of the company and Toy Biz took over Marvel in 1998, and Arad and Perlmutter were the new directors and provided a new direction to the company

They changed the company name to Marvel Enterprises and separated the business into three functional divisions:

• Toys.
• Entertainment and licensing
• Comic book publishing.

Toy Biz designs, develops, markets, and distributes toys while Marvel Studios creates movies, video games, and television programs featuring Marvel characters and the publishing division focuses on the core product that Marvel has always produced which is the comic books.

9. He keeps his Marital  and Family Affairs Private

 Avid Arad despite his creative works being nourishment for kids and family, celerity has no publicly known spouse or children or any history of dating.

He enjoyed a close working relationship with 

10 His Net worth is estimated to be between 1.5 to 5 Million Dollars

Avi Arad has been involved in Toy Biz for the longest time possible and made money through various business dealings. In the year 2019, he is estimated to be valued at over 1.5-5 million dollars.