Reuben Klamer, designer of Trek’s “phaser rifle” and Milton-Bradley’s “The Game Of Life” dead at 99

Although more modern-looking rifles appeared as props in ST:The Next Generation and later iterations, the iconic phaser rifle only appeared in the second pilot, the first to feature William Shatner and the character James Kirk.

Reuben Klamer, the inventor of Milton Bradley’s The Game of Life board game and the designer of a Starfleet phaser rifle for the original Star Trek TV series, died at his home in La Jolla, California on Tuesday at the age of 99, according to the Toy Association.

Klamer was commissioned to create The Game of Life by the Milton Bradley toy company, now owned by Hasboro, in the late 1950s and the board game was first unveiled at the 1960 International Toy Fair. The Game of Life is estimated to have sold over 70 million copies worldwide, according to People of Play.

Klamer created hundreds of games and toys during his career, including Magic Moon Rocks (released in 1959), the Art Linkletter Hula Hoop, and Fisher-Price Preschool Trainer Skates, among a host of others. But Klamer also designed props for television, including a gun for the hit 1960s series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the original 1966 version of Star Trek. —Gizmodo