Jeff Knurek is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary an ...

, industrial designer, and

toymaker A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

. He is the current cartoonist for the syndicated

Jumble Jumble is a word puzzle with a clue, a drawing illustrating the clue, and a set of words, each of which is “jumbled” by scrambling its letters. A solver reconstructs the words, and then arranges letters at marked positions in the words to sp ...

puzzle, working with David L. Hoyt.

Personal life

Knurek was born in 1966

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and it is part of the col ...

. In 2007, Knurek became an organ donor when he donated a kidney to a family member. Knurek and his cousin underwent the transplantation surgery at the University of Michigan Health System’s Transplant Center on July 11, 2007. His cousin suffered from

Polycystic kidney disease Polycystic kidney disease (PKD or PCKD, also known as polycystic kidney syndrome) is a genetic disorder in which the renal tubules become structurally abnormal, resulting in the development and growth of multiple cysts within the kidney. These ...

. He currently lives in

Fishers, Indiana Fishers is a city in Fall Creek Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Fall Creek and Delaware Township, Hamilton County, Indiana, Delaware townships, Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 United States Cens ...

, with his wife Kathy and his children Sydney and Cameron.

Professional life

Knurek graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a degree in industrial design. In 1989, while working for the I.D.E.A. toy invention studio, his creation Spikeball was marketed by

Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...

. In 2002, Knurek partnered with David L. Hoyt,

Tribune Content Agency Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...

, and

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

to develop the Boggle BrainBuster syndicated daily puzzle.Tribune Content Agency Biography - David L. Hoy

Retrieved 9 October 2018 Knurek is also the inventor of "What's in Ned's Head?" a popular game that has received several parenting awards. Since its creation in 2003, many schools are using this game as a secondary bonus to their classrooms and as an adjunct to speech therapy. In 2006, he developed Fundex Games's award winning "Monster Under My Bed!" He worked with

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

magician Mac King to create and market Mac King's "Magic in a Minute" line of children's promotions, toys, magic tricks, videos, books, and events. Knurek took over as cartoonist for the Jumble in 2008, becoming the third cartoonist the syndicated feature's history. In 2014, he and Hoyt produced the Just Jumble app. He has been a member of the National Cartoonists Society since 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knurek, Jeff American cartoonists American industrial designers Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design alumni