Allan Stone, one of the pioneers of the licensing industry, passed away on April 23rd.  He was 96.

Stone was responsible for many licensing “firsts” over the course of his decades long licensing career.  He began that career in 1949 at The Howdy Doody Show where he created and developed what may have been the first comprehensive licensing program based entirely on a children’s program broadcast on the new entertainment medium, television.  The Howdy Doody licensing program boasted over 100 licensees across multiple categories including toys, apparel, school supplies, food as well as promotions with sponsors of the show such as Welch’s, Kellogg’s and Colgate.

In 1960, he co-founded Licensing Corporation of America (LCA), the first independent licensing agency which would become the leading licensing agency in the world for many years.  LCA represented a host of sports properties including MLB and the NBA, celebrities including Arnold Palmer, motion pictures such as MGM’s James Bond, publishers including DC Comics, which included Batman and Superman, and events such as the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.  During those years he also attempted to license the trademarked characters of General Mills’ cereals (predicting an active area of licensing today) but found that consumers weren’t interested in corporate characters, a purchasing behavior that would change in later years.

In 1967 Stone was responsible for one of the first retail exclusives when he licensed the United States Lawn Tennis Association (now the USTA) to Macy’s to establish a shop-in-shop and to create a USLTA licensed tennis ball, which was used in the first U.S. Open Championship in 1968.

Following several acquisitions and mergers, LCA became part of Warner Communications in 1968.  Stone left LCA shortly thereafter and, in 1972, established his own licensing agency, Hamilton Projects.  At Hamilton, Stone continued to represent celebrities including Charlie Chaplin, television programs such as All in the Family (ABC), and other properties such as The Smithsonian Museum (perhaps the first museum licensing program), UNICEF, and the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.

He also returned to his earlier interest in corporate trademarks and was among the first to focus his attention on corporate brands, which were just beginning to gain traction in the licensing business.  Hamilton represented companies such as the leading athletic manufacturer of the time, Spalding, as well as McDonald’s, The Coca-Cola Company, Wendy’s, The Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and Campbell’s Soup, among others.

Stone sold Hamilton Projects to Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting Company (owner of The Hanna-Barbera Studios among other assets) in 1986 and departed shortly thereafter.  He continued to do consulting work in the licensing industry for several more years.

His legacy in the licensing business includes his sons Michael, co-founder and Chairman of Beanstalk and the 2019 Licensing International Hall of Fame Inductee, and Robert, President of Excel Branding Group.

Many in the licensing industry today owe a debt of gratitude to the creativity, innovation and vision of Allan Stone.