Latest news with #hulahoop
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Australian woman who introduced the hula hoop to the world – but missed out on the profits
What began with a large bamboo ring wrapped in brown paper and posted across the Pacific to an Australian war bride in the US launched what became one of the world's greatest fads of the late 1950s – the hula hoop. But Joan Anderson, the parcel's recipient and the woman who delivered the concept of the hoop to America, was left out of the loop – ignored by the toy company that sold more than 100m hula hoops before the fad was replaced. It was not until 2018 that Anderson, who died on 14 July aged 101, was credited for her role in introducing the hula hoop after her story was shared in the short documentary film Hula Girl. The film provided Anderson the opportunity to tell her side of a story that involved the thrill of innovation quickly followed by the ache of betrayal and the worth of a 'gentleman's handshake'. In 1956, while on a return visit to her home town of Sydney, Anderson noticed how many people were having fun with large bamboo hoops, wriggling them around their waists and shimmying their hips like Elvis Presley. 'Everywhere I would go, everybody was giggling and carrying on and when I asked what was going on they said, 'Oh, everyone's doing the hoop',' she said. The joy was contagious and upon her return to the US where she was living, she told her husband, Wayne, about it. He wanted to see one of these hoops, so Anderson's mother posted one over and during a dinner party demonstration of the hoop, after a guest compared Anderson's moves to those of a hula dancer, the name hula hoop was born. 'There are so many stories about where the name came from, and they are all fictitious' Anderson said in the film. 'This is the true story about it.' Realising its potential as a toy product, the Andersons contacted an associate of Wayne's named Arthur 'Spud' Melin, the founder of the Wham-O toy company, whose instincts they trusted. They met in the company's parking lot. 'There were no witnesses; just Spud, my husband and myself,' Anderson recalled. 'We told him we've called it the hula hoop, and he thought that was a great name for it.' Melin was intrigued and, as he and Wayne shook hands, he assured the Andersons that if the hula hoop made money for him, it would make money for them too. By 1958, as the popularity of the hoops – now patented, plastic and produced by Wham-O – escalated and, with sales exceeding US$30m in two months, the Andersons' phone calls remained unanswered, messages not returned. The only credit given to Joan Anderson was as the 'friend from Australia' who had inspired Melin. 'I think that bugged me more than anything,' Anderson said. 'I was not a 'friend'.' Joan Constance Manning was born in Sydney on 28 December 1923 to Claude and Ethel Manning. After leaving school at 14, she began modelling, with ambitions to become a film star. She was a diminutive figure, just over five feet tall, and was nicknamed the Pocket Venus. In December 1941, Joan was the cover girl of Pix magazine and was declared to be 'a typical Australian holiday girl' whose war work included knitting socks and writing letters. She received a picture of herself from troops at Tobruk who wrote, 'you make us forget Libya'. While swimming at Bondi beach in 1945, Joan was approached by US Army Air corps P-38 pilot Wayne Anderson, who did not make an impression until she saw him that night at a dance in his uniform. Four months later, they were married and, in early 1946, she joined hundreds of other war brides on their journey to America. In 1961, the Andersons filed a lawsuit against the Wham-O toy company and eventually settled with a small amount of compensation. 'Why be angry with something you can't change? The world isn't fair but life goes on. I had a great life,' Joan Anderson said. 'My husband lived to be 87 and we had 63 wonderful years together. Happiness is the best revenge.' She and Wayne had four children: Warren, Gary, Carl and Loralyn, three of whom survive her. Wayne died in 2007. Despite the hula hoop disappointment, the Anderson children all had hoops as they grew up. 'It was never a big deal in our family. [My parents] went on with their lives. They knew they messed up with the business deal,' Loralyn Willis said. Somalian Australian circus artist Marawa, an inductee of the Guinness World Record Hall of Fame for her hooping prowess, met Anderson in 2018 and was struck by her grace over her lost business opportunity. 'If I can be like Joan when I am 100 then I'll be happy,' she said. 'Meeting her made me realise I've made the right career choice for a long life.' Willis said her mother was 'fun-loving, adventurous and willing to try anything'. She was ziplining, parasailing and boogie boarding with her grandchildren until her mid-90s. 'Mom was pretty happy that she got the recognition in the end and that she was able to bring so much joy to people around the world,' she said. 'How can you hula hoop without being happy?'
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Australian woman who introduced the hula hoop to the world – but missed out on the profits
What began with a large bamboo ring wrapped in brown paper and posted across the Pacific to an Australian war bride in the US launched what became one of the world's greatest fads of the late 1950s – the hula hoop. But Joan Anderson, the parcel's recipient and the woman who delivered the concept of the hoop to America, was left out of the loop – ignored by the toy company that sold more than 100m hula hoops before the fad was replaced. It was not until 2018 that Anderson, who died on 14 July aged 101, was credited for her role in introducing the hula hoop after her story was shared in the short documentary film Hula Girl. The film provided Anderson the opportunity to tell her side of a story that involved the thrill of innovation quickly followed by the ache of betrayal and the worth of a 'gentleman's handshake'. In 1956, while on a return visit to her home town of Sydney, Anderson noticed how many people were having fun with large bamboo hoops, wriggling them around their waists and shimmying their hips like Elvis Presley. 'Everywhere I would go, everybody was giggling and carrying on and when I asked what was going on they said, 'Oh, everyone's doing the hoop',' she said. The joy was contagious and upon her return to the US where she was living, she told her husband, Wayne, about it. He wanted to see one of these hoops, so Anderson's mother posted one over and during a dinner party demonstration of the hoop, after a guest compared Anderson's moves to those of a hula dancer, the name hula hoop was born. 'There are so many stories about where the name came from, and they are all fictitious' Anderson said in the film. 'This is the true story about it.' Realising its potential as a toy product, the Andersons contacted an associate of Wayne's named Arthur 'Spud' Melin, the founder of the Wham-O toy company, whose instincts they trusted. They met in the company's parking lot. 'There were no witnesses; just Spud, my husband and myself,' Anderson recalled. 'We told him we've called it the hula hoop, and he thought that was a great name for it.' Melin was intrigued and, as he and Wayne shook hands, he assured the Andersons that if the hula hoop made money for him, it would make money for them too. By 1958, as the popularity of the hoops – now patented, plastic and produced by Wham-O – escalated and, with sales exceeding US$30m in two months, the Andersons' phone calls remained unanswered, messages not returned. The only credit given to Joan Anderson was as the 'friend from Australia' who had inspired Melin. 'I think that bugged me more than anything,' Anderson said. 'I was not a 'friend'.' Joan Constance Manning was born in Sydney on 28 December 1923 to Claude and Ethel Manning. After leaving school at 14, she began modelling, with ambitions to become a film star. She was a diminutive figure, just over five feet tall, and was nicknamed the Pocket Venus. In December 1941, Joan was the cover girl of Pix magazine and was declared to be 'a typical Australian holiday girl' whose war work included knitting socks and writing letters. She received a picture of herself from troops at Tobruk who wrote, 'you make us forget Libya'. While swimming at Bondi beach in 1945, Joan was approached by US Army Air corps P-38 pilot Wayne Anderson, who did not make an impression until she saw him that night at a dance in his uniform. Four months later, they were married and, in early 1946, she joined hundreds of other war brides on their journey to America. In 1961, the Andersons filed a lawsuit against the Wham-O toy company and eventually settled with a small amount of compensation. 'Why be angry with something you can't change? The world isn't fair but life goes on. I had a great life,' Joan Anderson said. 'My husband lived to be 87 and we had 63 wonderful years together. Happiness is the best revenge.' She and Wayne had four children: Warren, Gary, Carl and Loralyn, three of whom survive her. Wayne died in 2007. Despite the hula hoop disappointment, the Anderson children all had hoops as they grew up. 'It was never a big deal in our family. [My parents] went on with their lives. They knew they messed up with the business deal,' Loralyn Willis said. Somalian Australian circus artist Marawa, an inductee of the Guinness World Record Hall of Fame for her hooping prowess, met Anderson in 2018 and was struck by her grace over her lost business opportunity. 'If I can be like Joan when I am 100 then I'll be happy,' she said. 'Meeting her made me realise I've made the right career choice for a long life.' Willis said her mother was 'fun-loving, adventurous and willing to try anything'. She was ziplining, parasailing and boogie boarding with her grandchildren until her mid-90s. 'Mom was pretty happy that she got the recognition in the end and that she was able to bring so much joy to people around the world,' she said. 'How can you hula hoop without being happy?'
ABC News
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Joan Anderson, who brought the hula hoop from Australia to the world, dies age 101
The Australian woman uncredited for her role in making the hula hoop an international sensation has died aged 101. Joan Anderson was born in Sydney in December 1923, where she lived until 1946 before moving to Hollywood in the United States. On a trip back to Australia 11 years later to visit family she noticed a fad that caught her eye. "Everywhere I would go, everybody was giggling and carrying on and I asked what was going on?" she recounted. She told her husband, Wayne Anderson, about it and her mother in Australia sent one to the US. Showing the bamboo ring off to a friend, they observed it looked like she was "doing the hula" — and the name was cemented. Anderson was the subject of short documentary Hula Girl in 2018, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and screened at Sydney Film Festival. She said her husband had met toy businessman Arthur 'Spud' Melin at work and thought he would be interested in the hula hoop. "We never even went to his office, we were outside of his building," Anderson said. "There were no witnesses, just Spud, my husband and myself. "We told him we've called it the hula hoop and he thought that was a great name for it." Anderson said Melin told them he thought the toy had merit and was sealed with a "gentleman's handshake". But the couple's claim to fame was never reached. Melin went on to patent the hula hoop in 1958 through his company Wham-O, also known for Frisbees and the Slip 'N Slide. He was credited for inventing and manufacturing the instantly popular hoop, which became a craze around the country with millions sold in the first two months alone. "They just ignored us and totally cut us off," Anderson said, then aged 93. "When you don't know a lot about business, you kind of trust somebody that you're turning it over to. She said the company initially did not acknowledge who gave them the hula hoop. Earlier news reports cited an "Australian friend" who "casually mentioned" the bamboo ring to Melin, who then saw its true potential. "I think that bugged me more than anything," she said. In 1961, Anderson and her husband settled their lawsuit with the Wham-O Corporation, but after paying attorney's fees, were only left with under $US6,000. "The world isn't fair but life goes on. You win some, you lose some." After moving to America, Anderson joined the Blue Book Agency at the Ambassador Hotel as a model, according to her biography. "This is where I met Marilyn Monroe, who then was Norma Dougherty," she wrote. "She was married to a policeman and had dark hair. We went on a few modelling jobs together." She met her husband, an American P38 pilot, on Bondi Beach in 1946 before sailing out of Brisbane to Los Angeles that same year. "My first trip away from home — and it was a big one," she said. They had four children, and moved to Carlsbad in California for their retirement. "My husband passed away in 2007 after 62 years of marriage," Anderson said. "He was the love of my life and my soul mate ... I think he would be very proud of me." In a statement announcing Anderson's death, her family said: "She had a wonderful life and died peacefully on July 14, 2025 with her family around her. "She will be greatly missed."
New York Times
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Joan Anderson, Unsung Heroine of Hula Hoop History, Dies at 101
In 1956, Joan Anderson, a Los Angeles housewife and onetime model, flew to Australia, her home country, to visit her parents. When she arrived, she realized that a curious fitness craze had taken hold. 'Everywhere I would go, everybody was giggling,' Ms. Anderson said in 'Hula Girl,' a 2018 documentary. 'I asked what was going on and they said, 'Oh, everyone's doing the hoop.'' The 'hoop,' she discovered, was an exercise ring, made of wood, that was swiveled around the waist and hips. 'Everyone was having such fun,' she added, 'I thought, 'I'd like to do that, too.'' Back in Los Angeles, Ms. Anderson asked her mother to mail her one of the rings from Australia, and it soon brought joy to the Anderson household. Her children played with it. Ms. Anderson swerved it around her hips for friends at dinner parties. When someone told her that it looked as if she was 'doing the hula,' the traditional Hawaiian dance, Ms. Anderson was struck with inspiration. She named the object the hula hoop. What transpired next would place Ms. Anderson at the center of what she described as an American tale of shattered dreams and promises, a business deal made on a handshake, and, eventually, a lawsuit. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
