Roger Sweet, Creator of He-Man, Dies at 91

Home TV News Apr 28, 2026 6:59pm PT Roger Sweet, Creator of He-Man, Dies at 91 By Jack Dunn Plus Icon Jack Dunn Latest Lisa Kudrow Says the ‘Friends’ Writers Were ‘Mostly Men’ Who Stayed ‘Up Late Discussing Their Sexual Fantasies’ About Her Female Co-Stars 21 hours ago Jimmy Kimmel Defends ‘Expectant Widow’ Joke After Donald and Melania Trump Demand ABC Fire Him: ‘It Was Not by Any Stretch of the Definition a Call to Assassination. And They Know That’ 22 hours ago UFC Boss Dana White Says the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Was ‘F—ing Awesome’: ‘I Literally Took Every Minute of it In’ 2 days ago See All Marlene Sweet Roger Sweet, the creator of the He-Man action figure, which spawned the popular ‘80s cartoon series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” died on Tuesday after a battle with dementia, TMZ reports. He was 91. Sweet was the lead designer for Mattel’s Preliminary Design Department in the ‘70s and ‘80s. In 1976, Mattel turned down a deal to produce toys for “Star Wars,” an offer that proved extremely lucrative for Cincinnati-based toy maker Kenner Products after “A New Hope” was released in 1977. After the fact, Mattel struggled to launch a popular action figure based on original IP. Enter Sweet, who, in pursuit of a fresh idea, experimented by gluing a Big Jim action figure into a fighting stance and adding clay to its body for bulk. This became the prototype for He-Man, which he successfully pitched to then CEO Ray Wagner. He-Man officially hit markets in 1982. Related Stories YouTube Inks Deal Making SiriusXM Exclusive Audio Advertising Rep in U.S.