Charles Lazarus
Charles Lazarus, the man behind the Toys R Us Empire –which began with its first store in 1957, has died aged 94.
Lazarus began selling toys in his early 20’s, the Washington native pretty much transformed the toy business from Christmas-focused to year-round. Sadly with the twilight of his life, the iconic stores also began to close.
In contrast, Lazarus had a full and busy life, he married a total of three times and fathered two children. Check them out below.
RELATED LINK: CHARLES LAZARUS’ WIFE JOAN LAZARUS
Wives
Charles Lazarus was first married to Udyss Lazarus. The marriage produced two children, however their wedded bliss lasted until their divorce in 1979. According to NY Magazine, Udyss Lazarus battled breast cancer for almost 20-years before her death in 1984.
Helen Singer Kaplan Lazarus became Charles’ second wife. She was previously married to Canadian psychiatrist Harold Kaplan, from her first marriage, she welcomed three children, Phillip, Jennifer, and Peter.
She and Lazarus were married for 16-years prior to her passing in 1995. Singer Kaplan –a pioneer in sex therapy and book author –died of cancer aged 66. She was born in Austria and moved to the U.S. in 1940 and became a citizen in 1947. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Syracuse University in 1951 and earned a master’s degree in psychology at Columbia University in 1952. She got a Ph.D in psychology in 1955 at Columbia.
She was considered a leader among scientific-oriented sex therapists. She was noted for her efforts to combine some of the insights and techniques of psychoanalysis with behavioral methods –according to her obituary on the NY Times.
Lazarus was involved in a lawsuit on Kaplan’s deathbed divorce claim. He battled Kaplan’s children over a post-nuptial agreement until 2000, reports Bloomberg. At the end, he didn’t have to pay her children.
Joan Lazarus said “I Do” to Charles Lazarus in 1995, becoming his third and last wife. She was born Joan Regenbogen. Joan worked as a graphic designer.
Children
Charles Lazarus fathered two daughters with first wife Udyss. The couple welcomed daughters Ruth and Diane, prior to their divorce in 1979.
Ruth Lazarus told NY Magazine her ‘father’s sense of honor had been violated by Kaplan’s attempt to force him into paying her state $20 million’
