WAYS TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT BEING SILLY | 1 2

Don't be afraid of controversy. Dr. Seuss sued me for $10 million over figurines I made from drawings he did in '32. For two weeks, the prosecution called expert witnesses like Chuck Jones, the Road Runner's creator, to testify in New York. Yet I had purchased the rights and ultimately won everything. (Theodor) Geisel vs. Poynter turned into a landmark case on copyrights, one that was still being used in textbooks a few years ago.

Stick with your first inclination. Once you decide to do something and start spending lots of money, nothing seems humorous anymore. You start having doubts. But stick with your first inclination.

Disregard naysayers. When I started, novelties cost only a dollar. People would say, "You can't sell anything for $5," but I said, "Watch me." Then I charged $9.98. Then $14.95. Eventually, I sold a giant radio-controlled Marilyn Monroe doll pushing a tea cart for $150. Johnny Carson put the doll on "The Tonight Show."

Once an 11-year-old maker of remote-control toy tanks and working cannons, Poynter incorporated Poynter Creations while a UC student to sell "Play Logs" -- similar to Lincoln Logs, but large enough for children to play inside. He later changed the company's name to Poynter International and spent nearly half his time in Asia manufacturing novelties. Retiring in the late '90s, Poynter has held patents on 100 or so novelty items, admittedly a nebulous number because "I never really bothered looking it up," he says. He also built and currently owns Triple Crown Country Club in Union, Ky., and the new Widow's Watch Golf Course in Lexington, Ky.

Links:
See one of Don Poynter's baton-twirling escapades.
Remembering Uncle Fester's Mystery Lightbulb.

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