{"id":77040,"date":"2023-01-03T15:39:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T15:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2023\/01\/03\/tom-karen-designer-behind-1970s-cult-classics-dies\/"},"modified":"2023-01-03T15:39:03","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T15:39:03","slug":"tom-karen-designer-behind-1970s-cult-classics-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2023\/01\/03\/tom-karen-designer-behind-1970s-cult-classics-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Karen: Designer behind 1970s’ cult classics dies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A prolific designer who helped design a variety of 1970s creations including the Raleigh Chopper, Bond Bug car and marble run toy has died.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tom Karen, who lived in Cambridge, died on New Year’s Eve aged 96 surrounded by his family, a statement said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The industrial designer was born in Vienna, Austria and came to England in 1942 during the Second World War.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A museum in Letchworth, Hertfordshire – which currently has its own exhibition – called him a “true great”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the statement confirming Mr Karen’s death, the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, which runs the town’s museum at One Garden City, said he oversaw some of Britain’s most famous designs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For years, Mr Karen’s role in the design of the Nottingham-made Raleigh chopper bike sparked controversy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was originally said that Raleigh’s design director Alan Oakley was on a fact-finding trip to the US and was solely responsible, but Karen said the company later credited his contribution to the creation of the children’s classic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His sketches of the 1968 bike – which sold 1.5 million units – have been preserved in the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Karen, who was made an OBE in 2019, was Managing Director of Letchworth’s Ogle Design from 1962 to 1999.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During this time he helped design the Reliant Scimitar car, the Reliant Bond Bug – a two-seat, three-wheeled sports car launched in 1970 at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire – and Leyland truck cabs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Bond Bug’s unusual chassis formed the basis of Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder in Star Wars, while Ogle Design’s collaboration with Leyland resulted in Mr Karen designing one of the Popemobiles after the truck company was hired to manufacture it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ogle director Philip Martin said the company was “deeply saddened” to learn of Mr Karen’s death. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He was an extraordinarily talented designer and a very special man,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe was such an integral part of the Ogle success story. He did so much of the work we still do today, overseeing our progress from automotive design to the thrill of Star Wars to aerospace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The company owes him a great debt of gratitude.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, Mr Karen said one of his greatest achievements was the development of the plastic marble run after watching his children play with a wooden ball.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Josh Tidy, Heritage Manager at Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, described it as “a simple idea executed to perfection and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of children for decades”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Museum at One Garden City has hosted a retrospective of the inventor’s career titled Tom Karen Creations, which will run through March 10. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe happy click of marbles falling on the latest creation was the wonderful soundtrack to this exhibition and filled Tom with such joy,\u201d said Mr Tidy, who curated the exhibition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“His designs, works of art and his pure joie de vivre will remain in our fond memories for many years to come.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A condolence book is to be created in the museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Find BBC News: East of England <\/i>Facebook, <\/i>Instagram and <\/i>Twitter<\/a>. If you have an email with a story suggestion <\/i>eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n