Polly Pocket creator Chris Wiggs dead at 74 after secret cancer battle

Chris Wiggs, the proprietor of the successful children's toy Polly Pocket, died due to cancer at his France home as loved ones watched him slowly let go, the New York Post reported.

Wiggs, to no knowledge of the public until now, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of neurological cancer. The idea for the toy, that centered around a very portable doll house , came to him while he was in New York on business in 1983. He didn't work out the logistics of the plan until he returned home.

The idea stewed in his head for the remainder of his time in New York. Once home, he raced for the basement and spent hours in his workshop bringing his concept to life. His daughter Kate would be the first to experience such a doll, which was first made from a repurposed makeup compact.

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“I’m trying to remember the first moment he handed over the compact and I think it would have just been very ordinary. ‘Oh, I made this. Here you go,'” said Kate. “Because he was always making stuff, it was the most natural thing in the world.”

Kate kept the prototype in her toy chest for about six years until Wiggs decided to test his creation in the children's toy market. He was certain it could be something more than an idea he randomly got a few years prior. The toy would go on to become one of Mattel's, a toy company, most successful properties.

Polly Pocket wasn't able to top the ultra-successful dominance of Barbie dolls, but it did rake in $180 million sales worldwide by 1994. The demand for the coveted mini doll drove Wiggs creativity into overdrive as the individual compact designs rose from 17 in 1989 to 26 by 1994.

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Prior to a relaunch in 2018, Mattel said more than 10 million mini dollhouses had been sold throughout the years. Wiggs always sought to keep a low profile to keep himself and his children away from cameras.

“The first time I saw a fully packaged, ready-to-go Polly Pocket … it was an odd experience,” said Kate. “It was kind of knowing what the package contained, the potential of what it contained for all these imaginary worlds for the kids, but also I just felt really proud of my dad.”

Kate said, “Although [Polly Pocket] went on to be this kind of interstellar hit, the work of a toy designer, as he always explained it, was not to have one precious thing but to keep it rolling.”