Herman "Kay" Kamen was an American merchandising executive, noted primarily for his work with the Walt Disney Company. He promoted Mickey Mouse – the most popular cartoon character of the early 1930s.
Early life
Kamen was born January 27, 1892 in Baltimore, Maryland to Russian-Jewish parents, and spent his early life working as a merchant and an advertising man. Kamen was the youngest of four children. In his teens he attended penitentiary instead of high school. His first work was selling mink hats in Nebraska in his twenties. He appeared to be a good salesman.
Career
In his thirties Kamen founded a marketing company based in Kansas City, Missouri. The company's specialization was developing products based on movies and negotiation of merchandising agreements for a number of prominent animated figures. In 1932, Kamen contacted Walt and Roy O. Disney with a proposal to handle licensing of their characters. They were receptive and invited him to come to the studio and make a presentation. Sensing a major opportunity, Kamen immediately withdrew his life savings from the bank and sewed the money into his coat for the two-day train trip to Los Angeles the same day and stayed awake for the entire trip for fear of having his coat stolen. Upon arriving at the Disney Brothers' office, Kamen spread the money on their desk and promised them that amount plus 50% of the revenue he would generate with the merchandising license. As a result, Kamen secured the licensing agreement for all Disney merchandising, a contract his firm would hold for the next two decades. Kamen's firm quickly monetized Mickey Mouse's image, providing a much-needed line of cash to the struggling Disney firm through its Walt Disney Enterprisesdivision. The following year, Kamen's firm developed the Mickey Mouse watch, which was produced by Ingersoll-Waterbury and soon became the bestselling watch in the United States. By 1948, revenue of licensed Disney products totaled more than $100 million. Kamen and WDE developed product lines for many of Disney's films and franchises, particularly Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Kamen died in the 1949 Air France Lockheed Constellation crash on São Miguel Island, in the Azores.
