Harold von Braunhut
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Harold Nathan Braunhut aka Harold von Braunhut (31 March 1926 - 28 November 2003) was an American mail-order marketer most famous as the creator and seller of Amazing Sea-Monkeys. He was also an inventor, and promoted extreme right-wing beliefs.
Harold von Braunhut was born in Memphis, Tennessee on 31 March 1926. Von Braunhut grew up in New York City and resided there until the 1980s when he moved to Maryland.
Von Braunhut used comic book advertisements to sell an assortment of quirky products. Braunhut held 195 patents for various products, many of which became cultural icons. Some of his products included:
- X-Ray Specs - whose advertisements claim that the wearer could see through clothing and flesh and has appealed to 50 years of curious adolescent boys.
- Amazing Sea-Monkeys - which were tiny brine shrimp that came to life when water was added. Sales took an upswing when comic book illustrator Joe Orlando drew comic book ads showing the humanized Sea-Monkeys enjoying life in their underwater fantasy world. Billions of the tiny creatures have been sold over the years and have generated fan websites, a television series, and a video game. Astronaut John Glenn took 400 million "Amazing Sea-Monkeys" into space with him in 1998.
- Crazy Crabs - which were simply hermit crabs
- Amazing Hair-Raising Monsters - which was a card with a printed monster that would grow "hair" (mineral crystals, actually) when water was added.
- Invisible Goldfish - non-existent fish that were guaranteed to remain invisible permanently.
Von Braunhut was a manager of a man whose act consisted of diving 40 feet into a children's wading pool with only 12 inches of water. Von Braunhut raced motorcycles as The Green Hornet.
Von Braunhut ascribed to extreme right-wing beliefs. According to a report the Anti-Defamation League published in 1996, he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations. The Washington Post printed a story on von Braunhut's political beliefs in 1998, which included his support of Richard Butler, but von Braunhut refused to comment. Relatives told the newspaper that Von Braunhut was Jewish. Von Braunhut repeatedly declined to answer later questions about his racial beliefs or his religious background from journalists
Von Braunhut also set up a wildlife conservation area after he moved to Maryland. He was first married to Charlotte Braunhut of New York. His second marriage was to actress Yolanda Signorelli, who took an active role in the marketing of Sea Monkeys. In addition to his brother Gene, von Braunhut had a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Jeanette LaMothe.
Harold von Braunhut died on 28 November 2003 at his home in Indian Head, Maryland following an accidental fall.
Adapted from the article Harold von Braunhut (http://www.wikinfo.org/wiki.phtml?title=Harold_von_Braunhut) from Wikinfo, December 22, 2003, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.