Donald Levine

Don Levine (April 1, 1928 – May 22, 2014) was a business executive at toy manufacturers Hasbro credited as the "father" of G.I. Joe action figures.

Donald Levine was born in Elmhurst, New York to the late Ralph and Mildred Levine. He graduated Syracuse University. He was an avid tennis player competing in the Jr. Davis Cup and representing the US Army in tournaments in Asia during his military career.

As Hasbro's head of research and development, Levine guided G.I. Joe through its design and development after receiving the conceptual idea from a man named Stanley Weston (Weston received $100,000 for his contribution) and the name from a 1945 film called The Life of G.I. Joe, also called The Story of G.I. Joe. Levine served with the United States Army in the Korean War and Hasbro's employees also included many military veterans, so it was decided the toy should be outfitted in the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force and their respective accessories.

In 2014 Levine died from cancer at a Providence, Rhode Island hospice. He was survived by Nan, his wife of nearly 60 years. He had three children and four grandchildren.