| May 10, 2001 - The man behind the wildly popular Pokemon, Donkey
Kong, and the Cabbage Patch dolls will be honored by his alma mater
with a Distinguished Alumni award at C.W. Post's 43rd annual commencement
ceremonies on May 13, 2001. Alfred R. Kahn, chairman and CEO of 4Kids
Entertainment, Inc., licensed these and other successful characters
and has built a successful business that rivals the likes of Disney
and Universal Studios.
Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented to C.W. Post graduates
who have achieved professional success and who serve as role models
to students. Kahn will be honored along with another distinguished
alumnus: Anne Putterman Summers, a managing director at Morgan Stanley
and 1977 graduate.
Kahn learned early on the value of hard work. He was just 16 when
his father died, forcing Kahn to find work to help support the family.
He worked as a bartender and a bouncer during his four years at
C.W. Post, where he majored in business. He graduated from C.W.
post in 1964, and his first "real" job as a buyer-trainee
at Allied Stores, he was asked to help unload trucks in the toy
department. He was hooked. While working for Coleco Industries in
the 1980s as executive vice president for marketing, he discovered
and licensed the Cabbage Patch dolls. He followed up that success
by licensing the popular Donkey Kong character.
Kahn has been picking winners ever since. He recently spearheaded
two new divisions of his global children's entertainment and merchandise-licensing
company - Website 4Kids and Technology 4Kids - and licensed three
animated programs for debuts on television this Fall: "Cubix!
Robots for Everyone," "Tama and Friends" and "Yu-Gi-Ho."
A native of Massapequa, he lives in Manhattan with his wife, Patsy.
As the name of his corporation suggests, they have four children.
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