Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was born on the 27th of July 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. His father Ernst worked as a violinist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra while his mother Almina Emelie Burdick named him after the actor Gary Cooper. The family lived on Kenmore Avenue near Wrigley Field where young Gary could hear the roar of crowds watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball. At age seven he joined a group of friends calling themselves the Kenmore Pirates who played make-believe games with one child acting as referee. In 1946 his father moved the family to Lake Geneva Wisconsin after a fight between gangs. There he met Don Kaye and Mary Jo Powell who would become lifelong collaborators and partners. By 1953 at age fifteen he began playing miniature war games with Kaye using toy soldiers and firecrackers called ladyfingers to simulate explosions. He dropped out of high school in 1956 shortly after his father died but later joined the Marines before receiving a medical discharge due to walking pneumonia. He returned home to work as a shipping clerk at Kemper Insurance Company while developing an obsession with Avalon Hill's Gettysburg wargame.
In October 1970 Gygax lost his job at Fireman's Fund Insurance Company after nearly nine years of employment. With five children to support he attempted to design board games for commercial sale but only grossed $882 that year. He began cobbling shoes in his basement which provided steady income and time for game development. That same year he published Chainmail a miniatures wargame originally written with Jeff Perren. The fantasy supplement within Chainmail included rules for warriors wizards and monsters drawn from J.R.R. Tolkien's works. In January 1974 TSR released the first commercial version of Dungeons & Dragons as a boxed set containing one thousand copies hand-assembled in Gygax's home. These sold out in less than a year despite initial skepticism from publishers like Avalon Hill who did not understand role-playing concepts. By 1974 his Greyhawk group had grown to over twenty people including Rob Kuntz operating as co-dungeon-master so each could referee smaller groups of about twelve players. Sales reached $8.5 million by 1980 proving the concept viable despite early financial struggles.
Don Kaye unexpectedly died of a heart attack in January 1975 leaving his entire estate to his wife Donna who refused to manage the company. Gygax relocated TSR from the Kaye dining room to his own basement before reorganizing into TSR Hobbies in July 1975. Brian Blume invested $2,000 becoming an equal partner while Kaye's shares were converted to 200 shares reducing Gygax from majority shareholder to minority status. The Blume brothers gained controlling interest through purchasing Melvin Blume's shares and Kevin Blume's acquisition of additional stock. In 1983 Gygax divorced Mary Jo Powell after years of friction regarding his smoking drinking and extramarital affairs. He moved to Hollywood as president of TSR Entertainment Inc. where he developed TV and film opportunities including a licensed D&D cartoon series for CBS that led its time slot for two years. By 1985 industry leader TSR grossed $30 million yet remained $1.5 million in debt due to mismanagement. Lorraine Williams bought the Blumes' shares replacing Gygax as president and CEO in October 1985 stating he would make no further creative contributions. Gygax resigned from all positions with TSR in October 1986 settling disputes by giving up rights except to Gord the Rogue characters.
Immediately after leaving TSR Gygax formed New Infinities Productions Inc. with Forrest Baker promising one to two million dollars in investment. Before any product released Baker left when funding failed forcing Gygax back into management. He poached Frank Mentzer and Kim Mohan from TSR to help create Cyborg Commando published in 1987 which became one of the biggest flops in the industry. Sales dried up quickly leading NIPI to bankruptcy in 1989. In March 1992 TSR filed an injunction against Dangerous Dimensions claiming similarity to Dungeons & Dragons prompting Gygax to rename it Dangerous Journeys. The marketing strategy involved Game Designers Workshop publishing the RPG while NEC and JVC prepared computer games but both withdrew killing the project. By 1994 legal costs drained all resources so Gygax settled allowing TSR to pay him for complete rights to Dangerous Journeys and Mythus. In 1999 Hekaforge Productions published Lejendary Adventures as a three-volume set including The Lejendary Rules for All Players and Beasts of Lejend. Despite initial enthusiasm sales remained below expectations leading to further financial difficulties by 2003.
Gygax married Mary Jo Powell on the 14th of September 1958 having five children together before divorcing her in 1983. They had been active Jehovah's Witnesses until friction over his smoking drinking and connection to D&D caused disassociation from the religion. He married Gail Carpenter former assistant at TSR on the 15th of August 1987 after she gave birth to their son Alex in November 1986. During this period he smoked marijuana starting in 1970 then used cocaine and maintained extramarital affairs. His personal life unraveled further when he rented an immense mansion in Hollywood increasing drug use while spending time with young starlets. He described himself as a biological determinist believing gaming was inherently male pursuit stating in 2004 that females do not derive same inner satisfaction playing games as males. This view sparked controversy despite his influence shaping modern tabletop role-playing culture. He collected guns owning various rifles shotguns and handguns including a .357 caliber pistol kept handy during death threats received due to D&D.
In April 2004 Gygax suffered two strokes within weeks forcing him to reduce output from fourteen-hour work days to one or two hours daily. He returned to keyboard after seven-month convalescence but continued writing Castle Zagyg Part I: Yggsburgh published in 2005. Later that year Troll Lord Games released Castle Zagyg: Dark Chateau adventure module written by Rob Kuntz. Jeff Talanian assisted creating dungeon ultimately published in limited edition CZ9: The East Marks Gazetteer in 2007. That same year doctors diagnosed him with abdominal aortic aneurysm requiring surgery with success estimates ranging fifty percent to ninety percent. Gygax refused considering likely death on operating table switching cigarettes to cigars as concession. In 2008 he finished second volume entitled Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works describing castle above ground before dying the 4th of March 2008 at age sixty-nine. Next two volumes detailing dungeons beneath never completed leaving widow Gail to form Gygax Games withdrawing licenses from partners three months later.
Immediately following his funeral mourners adjourned to Lake Geneva's American Legion Hall playing games in deceased's honor forming event now called Gary Con Zero. Luke Gygax created locally hosted game event around father's death date growing so well attended dozen hotels needed to serve demand. As father of role-playing games Gygax received many awards including induction into Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Origins Award Hall of Fame in 1980. Sync magazine named him number one among fifty biggest nerds while SFX listed him thirty-seventh greatest science fiction pioneer. Pyramid magazine honored him millennium's most influential person realm adventure gaming tying J.R.R. Tolkien eighteenth most influential people gaming according GameSpy. A bacteria strain named Arthronema gygaxiana sp nov UTCC393 commemorated him alongside Pop Culture Hall of Fame Class 2019 induction. On the 27th of July 2023 Lake Geneva mayor Charlene Klein proclaimed Gary Gygax Day dedicating lakeside park bench honoring him reminding residents TSR employed over four hundred people representing six percent population then. Epic Quest Publishing started Kickstarter campaign 2014 raising initial funding museum dedicated to Gary featuring gaming center hall fame authors artists designers.
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Common questions
When was Gary Gygax born and where did he grow up?
Ernest Gary Gygax was born on the 27th of July 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up near Wrigley Field before his family moved to Lake Geneva Wisconsin in 1946.
What year did Gary Gygax release Dungeons & Dragons and how many copies were initially produced?
TSR released the first commercial version of Dungeons & Dragons as a boxed set containing one thousand copies hand-assembled in Gygax's home in January 1974. These copies sold out in less than a year despite initial skepticism from publishers like Avalon Hill.
Who took over control of TSR after Gary Gygax left the company in 1985?
Lorraine Williams bought the Blumes' shares replacing Gygax as president and CEO in October 1985 stating he would make no further creative contributions. Gygax resigned from all positions with TSR in October 1986 settling disputes by giving up rights except to Gord the Rogue characters.
How did Gary Gygax die and what work remained unfinished at the time of his death?
Gary Gygax died the 4th of March 2008 at age sixty-nine following surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The next two volumes detailing dungeons beneath Castle Zagyg never completed leaving widow Gail to form Gygax Games withdrawing licenses from partners three months later.
What is Gary Con Zero and when was it established relative to Gary Gygax's death date?
Mourners adjourned to Lake Geneva's American Legion Hall playing games in deceased's honor forming event now called Gary Con Zero immediately following his funeral. Luke Gygax created locally hosted game event around father's death date growing so well attended dozen hotels needed to serve demand.