Kay Kamen
Kay Kamen was an American merchandising executive who served as the exclusive licensing representative for the Walt Disney Company from 1932 until his death in 1949. He is best known for transforming Disney character merchandising into a major revenue stream, notably through the Mickey Mouse watch produced by Ingersoll-Waterbury, which sold millions of units and helped rescue the watchmaker from bankruptcy. His licensing work provided critical income to Disney during the Great Depression and helped fund projects including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
“That watch would sell two and a half million units over the next two years. The Ingersoll Watch Company was about to go bankrupt during the Depression. It saves the company.”
Source→“There is a real case to be made that besides Walt and Roy and Ub Iwerks — at least on the business side, besides Walt and Roy — Kay Kamen was the third most important person in the first half century of Disney.”
Source→AI-extracted from podcast / newsletter / paper summaries. May contain errors.