‘Star Wars’ toy designer Mark Boudreaux dies
'Award-winning toy designer Mark Boudreaux, revered by “Star Wars” fans for designing the Millennium Falcon playset for Kenner Products, died May 14 at the age of 68 following a lengthy illness related to COVID-19.
Boudreaux spent 43 years designing toys, first for Kenner in Cincinnati, then for Hasbro in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, after Hasbro acquired Kenner and closed the Cincinnati offices in 2000.
He was honored as Toy Innovator of the Year in 2015 and inducted into the Toy Collector Hall of Fame. Boudreaux retired as Hasbro’s senior principal designer in 2020 and settled in Sharonville.
He was born in 1955 and grew up in Reading. After graduating from Moeller High School, he studied industrial design at the University of Cincinnati and secured a paid internship at Kenner in January 1977. A month later, Kenner made a deal with George Lucas to design toys based on his upcoming film, “Star Wars.”’
^ Mark Boudreaux designed the Star Wars Millennium Falcon vehicle playset for Kenner Products.