Lorraine Williams - Brought Into TSR By Gary Gygax

Brought Into TSR By Gary Gygax

Gary Gygax, co-inventor of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and partner in the company TSR, had been sent to Hollywood in 1982 to work on licensing the Dungeons & Dragons brand, leaving the day-to-day operations of TSR to his fellow board members, Kevin and Brian Blume. While in Hollywood, he was involved in the making of the Dungeons & Dragons animated television show and exploring the possibility of a film adaptation of the game. In the course of his work, Gygax met Flint Dille, with whom he collaborated on a series of choose-your-own-adventure-type novels and a script for an unmade Dungeons & Dragons film. In 1984, Gygax was alerted to the fact that TSR was $1.5 million in debt and the Blumes were looking for a buyer. In an attempt to bring new investment money into the company, Gygax asked Flint Dille to arrange a meeting with his sister, Lorraine Williams.

Although she turned down Gygax's invitation to invest in TSR, Gygax did hire her, on the basis of her management experience, to manage TSR. Gygax subsequently engineered the removal of Kevin Blume as CEO and the removal of three of Blume's friends from the board as well but, in an act many saw as retaliation, the Blumes soon sold their stock to Williams, making her the majority shareholder. Gygax tried to fire Williams and replace her with his future wife, Gail Carpenter, but was advised not to. Gygax tried to have the sale of stock declared illegal; after that failed, Gygax sold his remaining stock to Williams and left TSR at the end of 1985.