Paddington bear creator Michael Bond dies at 91
LONDON — It was a last-minute Christmas gift for his wife that inspired Michael Bond to create Paddington bear, the marmalade-loving teddy in a duffel coat and floppy hat.
Bond would go on to see his creation enchant children for more than half a century and become an icon immortalized in print, on screens and as countless stuffed toys before his death at age 91.
His publisher, HarperCollins, said Wednesday that the author died at his home a day earlier after a short illness.
Ann-Janine Murtagh, executive publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, said Bond “will be forever remembered for his creation of the iconic Paddington, with his duffel coat and wellington boots, which touched my own heart as a child and will live on in the hearts of future generations.”