‘He-Man’ Creator Roger Sweet
Dead at 91
Published
Roger Sweet — the toy designer who created the He-Man character in the “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” 1980s animated kids’ show — has died at age 91 after battling dementia.
His wife, Marlene, tells TMZ Roger passed away peacefully at his care facility on Tuesday morning … just months after she revealed his devastating health decline and launched a GoFundMe to help cover his staggering memory care costs.
As we previously reported … Marlene said Roger suffered a frightening fall while out walking alone and couldn’t remember what happened. Doctors later discovered two brain bleeds … and he was hospitalized in the ICU before being moved into a memory care facility that cost more than $10,000 a month.
The heartbreaking fundraiser sparked an outpouring of support from fans who grew up on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe … with donations soaring past its original $50K goal and eventually reaching nearly $94K. The Mattel Foundation kicked in $5,000 to help the man whose creations helped define an entire generation of toys.
Roger worked for Mattel in the ’70s and ’80s and is widely credited with developing He-Man after pitching multiple muscular action figure concepts that eventually evolved into the sword-wielding hero.
His death comes as a new live-action “Masters of the Universe” movie from Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel is set to hit theaters this summer … proving his creation still has the power of Grayskull decades later.
Roger leaves behind a legacy that’ll live on every time someone says … “I have the power.”