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Roger Sweet, the creative mind behind the iconic character He-Man, has passed away at 91, succumbing to dementia. His passing comes just ahead of the release of a live-action film based on his legendary creation. Roger’s wife, Marlene, shared the news with TMZ, noting that he passed peacefully in his sleep. Sweet first introduced He-Man to the world in the 1980s while working at Mattel, a tenure that spanned over 15 years. Fans can look forward to seeing He-Man in the upcoming “Masters of the Universe” movie, featuring a soundtrack contribution from Queen’s Brian May.
In his last months, Sweet faced significant health challenges as his condition deteriorated. Marlene had previously disclosed that he endured a frightening fall while out walking, which left him unable to recall the incident. This led to a medical discovery of two brain bleeds, necessitating an emergency transfer to the ICU before he was placed in a facility costing over $10,000 monthly.
To manage the steep expenses of his care, Marlene initiated a GoFundMe campaign. The funds were needed for his stay in a memory care facility, which was essential to ensure his safety and proper monitoring during his final days. The couple could not shoulder this financial burden on their own, as Sweet did not receive royalties from his creation.
“Witnessing this unfold is heartbreaking. Sadly, Medicare does not cover these facilities, and the monthly cost for someone like Roger is $10,200, far beyond our income,” Marlene wrote at the time. “Doctors deem him a high fall risk and insist on using a walker due to his dementia and brain bleeds, but he insists otherwise and continues to roam around in confusion,” she elaborated.
She concluded her plea by reaching out to He-Man fans for assistance with the mounting bills, expressing gratitude for any contribution that could help alleviate the financial strain.
The fundraiser blew up and easily smaashed its $50,000 goal, ultimately raising nearly $94,000 from supporters who grew up on the iconic franchise. The Mattel Foundation also donated $5,000.
Tribures flooded in for the star as news of his death broke with many lamenting the fact he hadn’t seen the fuits of his labour in the film. Writing on Facebook one fan said: “I hope he got an early screening of the movie. Sad if he was so close to seeing it. This guy was responsible for so much of my childhood happiness and imagination!”
Another added: “Roger, thank you for gifting us with MOTU. You shaped my childhood and a lot of who I am as an adult. You gave a lot of us The Power. I hope you got to see the new MOTU movie before you went home.”
A third chimed in: “I’m going to go see the new movie when it comes out. I may not know much about it, but I will start researching it and get myself ready. So for all of the fans who love this franchise let’s do it for Roger Sweet, because we all have the power!”
A fourth shared: “Just weeks away from the movie release . This is unfortunate. He would have loved to see his creations take on live action again , this time done proper.” A fifth opined: “I hope they at least let him view the new movie before it came out to the public! But how cool is this to be a creator of something that now is a cult classic!!! So cool! #RIPRogerSweet.” Menawhile a sixth simply penned: “R.I.P Roger Sweet, Thanks for a great childhood. God bless you.”