Roger Sweet, the toy designer known for creating He-Man, has died at the age of 91 after battling dementia.
Sweet, the muscular star of the ’80s cartoon “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” passed away peacefully Tuesday morning at a nursing home, his wife Marlene told TMZ.
The last months of He-Man’s creator were marked by serious health struggles.
Marlene previously revealed that Roger suffered a terrifying fall while walking alone and could not remember what happened.
Doctors later discovered two brain bleeds and he was rushed to the ICU and then transferred to a memory care facility, which costs more than $10,000 a month.
Faced with a high bill, Marlene turned to the public for help. And fans gathered.
Her GoFundMe far exceeded its $50,000 goal, ultimately raising nearly $94,000 from supporters who grew up with this iconic series, and the Mattel Foundation also raised $5,000.
Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Sweet graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and then pursued design studies at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Illinois.
He worked at Mattel in the ’70s and ’80s and helped envision one of the company’s biggest hits after the company missed out on producing “Star Wars” toys. This decision caused a huge loss for the company, forcing it to find success in its home country.
Looking for his next hit, Sweet experimented with existing figures, enlarging the Big Jim figure out of clay and posing him in a powerful pose.
He pitched the concept internally and it stuck. That rough prototype became He-Man, which debuted in 1982 and quickly became a toy aisle powerhouse.
By 1983, He-Man was everywhere. The animated series began and followed Prince Adam as he transformed into a sword-wielding hero with the now famous line, “By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!”
The show ran for 130 episodes and became a staple of ’80s pop culture, driving mass toy sales and cementing the brand’s place in entertainment history.
The franchise spawned spin-offs, merchandise, and a loyal fan base that stuck around decades after the original series ended.
Sweet’s death comes as Hollywood prepares for a new revival, with a new live-action film, Masters of the Universe, set to hit theaters this summer and introduce the character to a new generation.
The film stars a stellar cast, including Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, Camila Mendes as Teela, Jared Leto as Skeletor, Alison Brie as Evil Lyn, and Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms.
Marlene told TMZ that she is trying to contact the film’s producers in hopes of dedicating the film to her late husband.
Decades after He-Man first hit store shelves, Sweet’s influence is still being felt, and fans haven’t forgotten the man who gave them power.
