Marvelous Marvin Yagoda
Was it he or his museum that was “marvelous?” Both, actually, because this wonderful, colorful man and his magnificent collection of games on display at his Farmington Hills, Mich., “supercade” were unique . . . and, more than anything, fun.
Marvin Yagoda, known throughout the industry for his passionate love of yesterday’s amusement machines, died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, at the age of 78. He is survived by his famous Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, which he opened in that southeast Michigan town back in 1990 after working for decades as a pharmacist. He is also survived by son Jeremy who has been running the place the past year or so as his father’s health dwindled.
“My brother-in-law and I will continue operating the museum,” said Jeremy in a Detroit News obituary. “We’re not going anywhere. I hope I can do as well as my dad did,” he added. Gratefully, the family has inherited the late Yagoda’s passion for a business that was as much a hobby as a profit center. If anyone ever actually worked as if he didn’t need the money, it was the marvelous one himself. May he rest in peace.
