Alvin Davis

Alvin Davis Naples, FL Linville, NC

Alvin 'Al' Davis passed away on Friday after suffering injuries from a fall while conducting a home repair at his summer home in Linville, NC. Although a per manent resident of Naples FL for the past decade, Al Davis was born and raised in Philadelphia, spending his childhood in South Philadelphia and later Wynnefield. Mr. Davis came from a close family, his father emigrated as a 12 year old from Russia to escape the oppression of Jewish communities during eastern European pogroms of the late teens and early 1920's. Upon graduating from Overbrook High School in 1954, Davis immediately enlisted in the US Army. Stationed in Germany and assigned to the Signal Corp, Mr. Davis trained as a surveyor. Upon completing his military service he returned to Philadelphia in 1956 and married his childhood sweetheart Fern Kravitz. The couple eventually moved to Wynnewood in Lower Merion where they raised their two children Richard and Missy.

Mr. Davis began his career as an employee of a Pet shop with the dream of one day running his own business. In 1960, through a family friend, Al was offered a job in the shipping department at Ring Bros., a small Philadelphia based toy manufacturing company. After leaving the company for a short period of time, he was lured back by the owner Dave Ring to become the designated salesperson for the company. Eventually, Larami Corporation was established and for the next decade he traveled throughout the eastern seaboard selling toys to various retail and wholesale customers. After several successful years, Larami was able to hire a salesforce with Davis as the sales manager. Eager to realize his dream of owning his own business, Al convinced Dave Ring to arrange for the purchase of a percentage of the company through his bonus earnings. In 1970 Davis and his partners, sold Larami to Tastykake. he left the company in 1978 to become part owner of Royal Factories and Star Creations.

In 1981 Tastykake contacted Mr. Davis and his partners and offered to sell them back the company. Since his departure, Larami's sales plummeted as Tastykake Baking was not suited for the toy business. In what would become the first in a series of smart business decisions, Al and his partners bought back Larami from Tastykake and with renewed vigor, transformed the company from top to bottom. Instead of selling another manufacturer's rack toys, Larami began to manufacture its own products and by the mid 1980's Larami was the leading manufacturer of battery operated toy water guns. In 1987 Mr. Davis and his partner Myung Song became the sole owners of Larami Corporation.

In 1989, capitalizing on his experience in the toy business, Davis met a young toy inventor peddling a new idea for a pump action toy water gun. Immediately, he realized the potential of this new product and entered into an agreement with the inventor to manufacture this new water gun. In the spring of 1990 the SuperSoaker hit the market and with Davis' marketing ingenuity the SuperSoaker skyrocketed into one of the most popular toys of its time. For the next few years the SuperSoaker phenomenon catapulted this small Philadelphia based toy manufacturer into one of the most successful toy companies in the industry. More than just a toy, the SuperSoaker became part of the popular culture of the 1990's. Along with commercial success came industry recognition as Larami, garnered awards from national retailers like Toys R Us and Target. Davis, co-owner, in charge of sales and marketing, received one of the most coveted awards in advertising, a Gold EFFIE for Advertising Effectiveness in 1992.

Acting upon his lifelong belief that with success comes responsibility, that same year he organized a fund raising effort to assist the Philadelphia Recreation Department in opening the City's public pools. In a letter addressed to Al Davis from then Mayor Ed Rendell, Rendell lauded the effort led by Davis to open the City's pools writing ,' it is gratifying to know that good people such as yourself are aware of the need for support for programs for youth.'

Applying his keen business acumen, Al and his partner made another smart move and sold the company to Hasbro. Inc. at the height of the SuperSoaker craze. As a part of the agreement with Hasbro, Davis and his partner continued to operate Larami as a subsidiary of Hasbro and did so for the next seven years. In keeping with his generous nature, Mr. Davis demanded that as a part of the agreement with Hasbro, all of the profits during that time period be divided among his long time employees.

After forty years in business, Al retired in 2001 to devote his time to his passions, his family, his charities and his hobby, collecting automobiles. Mr. Davis loved the art of the deal and believed that business is a two way street and that in every successful deal each side should walk away happy with the result. Following his retirement Al and Fern set up a foundation to provide for charitable contributions to many notable charities, including the American Heart Association, the United States Holocaust Museum, The Jewish Federation for Collier County Florida, St. Jude's Hospital for Children, Cystic Fibrosis Association, the Wounded Warrior project among dozens of others. In 2006 Mr. Davis authored a short book titled the SuperSoaker which chronicled the creation and marketing of the water gun. The proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Wounded Warrior project.

Mourning her husband of almost sixty yea Fern Davis said, ' Al was the finest man I have ever known and I had the privilege of being his wife for almost sixty years. Al was generous and giving, the love of my life. There will never be another like him.'

In addition to his wife of almost sixty years; Mr. Davis is survived by his two children, Dr. Richard Davis, Missy Davis Hetznecker, and their spouses, Valerie and Paul; and five grandchildren, Aubrey, Zak, Bryne, Mara and Kieran.

A private funeral service was held on Friday in Boone, NC, with memorial service to be announced in the future.

If you wish to honor the memory of Al Davis, please make a donation to the Wounded Warriors Project.