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17 Facts About Henry Orenstein

1.

Henry Orenstein made his fortune as a toy designer and manufacturer, and was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

2.

Henryk Orenstein was born in October 1923, in Hrubieszow, Poland, to a Jewish family.

3.

Henry Orenstein's mother was a homemaker and his father was a grain exporter.

4.

Henry Orenstein explained during interviews that his family had built secret hiding spots between double walls, where they evaded authorities.

5.

Henry Orenstein's parents were loaded onto trucks with other Jews and taken to a cemetery to be shot to death and buried.

6.

Henry Orenstein emigrated to the United States aboard the SS Marine Flasher, a Type C4-class ship used to transport refugees.

7.

Henry Orenstein joined their uncle on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

8.

Henry Orenstein decided that he could make one that was more affordable and he became a toy manufacturer.

9.

Henry Orenstein is credited by former Hasbro CEO Alan Hassenfeld as "the catalyst" for the existence of Transformers: the man who convinced Hasbro to buy the Diaclone and Micro Change toys and repackage them as Transformers.

10.

Henry Orenstein was the creator and an executive producer of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament on FSN.

11.

Henry Orenstein produced the popular TV Show High Stakes Poker, which ran from 2006 to 2007 and 2009 to 2011; old episodes can be seen in the United States on GSN.

12.

Henry Orenstein was a 2008 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame.

13.

Henry Orenstein was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

14.

Henry Orenstein won the $5,000 Seven-card stud tournament at the 1996 World Series of Poker, earning $130,000 by defeating fourth-place T J Cloutier, third-place Cyndy Violette and runner-up Humberto Brenes.

15.

Henry Orenstein twice had finished in the money in the $10,000 WSOP no limit Texas hold 'em Main Event: 12th in 1993 and eighth in 1995.

16.

Henry Orenstein came in seventh in the $2,500 Seven Card Stud event at the 2005 United States Poker Championship.

17.

Henry Orenstein died from COVID-19 at a hospital in Livingston, New Jersey, on December 14,2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey.