The play ’s the thing
For Arnold Irwin, a scion of the premier toy-business family in Canada, giving back to the community was as important as creating fun
March 4, 1926 — August 12, 2021
Anyone who has ever Hula Hooped, guided a Slinky down the stairs, tossed a Frisbee, made a snack in an Easy-Bake Oven or challenged an opponent on an Atari video game system has been touched by Toronto’s Irwin family.
In 1926, Samuel Irwin founded a small toy and souvenir business out of his home. But by 1948, Irwin Specialities was struggling and two of Irwin’s sons, Arnold and MacDonald, joined their dad. Under the brothers’ leadership, Irwin Toy Ltd. became Canada’s largest developer, manufacturer, marketer and distributor of toys.
“The Irwin brothers were industry trailblazers, breaking ground that would change the business forever,” says John Boynton, Arnold’s nephew and vice-chair of NordStar, which owns the Toronto Star.
Born in Toronto in 1926 to Samuel and Beatrice Irwin, Arnold Beatty Irwin was the older brother of MacDonald (Mac), Bryan and Marilyn. He attended the University of Toronto, where he studied actuarial sciences and played hockey. His daughter, Marylynn Boyle, says he was known for his “sharp elbows.”
He left university after his first year to join the army, where he served in Canada during the last year of the Second World War. After the war, when his father enlisted Arnold and Mac to run the family business, the brothers travelled the world to source products to market in Canada.
“It was shortly after this that an associate kept mentioning to Arnold that he should meet this beautiful woman that he knew,” says Boyle. “He would mention this several times until Arnold said, ‘Well, quit talking about it and let’s meet her.’ ” Arnold ended up marrying the woman, Lynn Lonergan, in 1950. They had four children — Scott (1951), Craig (1953), Grant (1955) and Marylynn (1959) — whom they took on trips to Hong Kong, Australia, Italy, France and Africa, among other places.
Under Arnold and Mac’s leadership, Irwin Toy Ltd. began adding more toys to its line of souvenirs during the 1950s. By the ’60s — bolstered by the postwar baby boom — their toy sales surpassed that of the souvenirs. Looking to expand, the company went public in 1969. By the time Samuel passed away in the early ’70s, leaving Arnold — as president and, later, chair of the board — and Mac at the helm, Irwin Toy Ltd. dominated the Canadian toy industry. Later, the company distributed sports gear brands Rawlings and Cooper and developed Pound Puppies and Jenga, both of which became mega-hits in the ’80s.
“He was a master of dealmaking,” his brother Bryan recalls. “He could make an agreement with the shake of a hand or on a paper napkin.” Arnold challenged his employees but was always kind and fair. “He would walk through the factory almost every day to talk to workers on the factory line,” Bryan adds, “stopping to hear about any issues they might have.”
As much as he was a clever businessman, Arnold was a loving family man. Many fun summers were spent at Arnold’s cottage on Big Whitefish Lake near Parry Sound.
Arnold never did anything halfway, especially when it came to helping others. As a founding member of the Craigleith Ski Club and the longest-serving member of the Toronto Kiwanis Club, he was always giving back. “They helped individual people who needed help,” Boyle says of her parents, “but focused much of their efforts on high-impact medical research that could impact patients with serious illnesses.”
After a grandchild was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis 30 years ago, Arnold and Lynn funded projects primarily through SickKids Hospital and the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, support that continues to this day. They also established the Lynn & Arnold Irwin Advanced Perioperative Imaging Lab at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and the Arnold B. Irwin Fund at the University Health Network Foundation, helping to make advances in dementia, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiology, heart failure, anesthesiology and urology.
“He will be remembered by many people for many good things,” Boyle says, “but mostly, he will be remembered for his charity.”
‘‘ He was a master of dealmaking. He could make an agreement with the shake of a hand or on a paper napkin.
BROTHER BRYAN IRWIN