Isaac Heller

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Isaac "Ike" Heller (July 23, 1926 – March 7, 2015) was an American toy maker and engineer who co-founded the toy company Remco with his cousin Saul Robbins. He was born in Ellenville, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in Brooklyn. He finished Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943 and studied engineering at Cooper Union. After World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy, where he repaired electronic equipment and built toys from surplus materials. He completed his engineering degree at Cooper Union in 1952.

In 1949, while still a student, Heller and Robbins started Remco in Newark, New Jersey. Remco, short for REMote COntrol, bought military surplus and turned it into moving toys. The company was the first to advertise on television. Notable Remco toys included the Whirlybird helicopter, the Barracuda atomic submarine, the Johnny Reb cannon, the Dick Tracy wrist radio, the Screaming Mee-Mee rifle, and Mr. Kelly's Automatic Car Wash. Remco was sold in 1966.

After leaving Remco, Heller founded Heller Industrial Parks, Inc., becoming one of the largest industrial park developers in the United States.

In 1953, he married Helaine Hirsh, and they had four daughters. He and his wife were noted philanthropists, donating $1 million to Brooklyn Tech and another $1 million to Cooper Union during its financial crisis in 2013. He also supported the John Kenney Childcare Center in Edison, New Jersey, and funded hospitals, libraries, senior centers, and schools.

Heller died at his home in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, on March 7, 2015, survived by his wife and four daughters: Audrey Romberg, Laurie Kaufman, Hollie Heller, and Hillary Granfield. He received the Cooper Union President's Citation Award in 1999 and was inducted into the Cooper Union Alumni Hall of Fame that same year, along with receiving a humanitarian award from the National Conference of the State of New Jersey.