by Robin Gerber
BillyBoy. Barbie: Her Life and Times. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1992.
Byrne, Chris. Toys: Celebrating 100 Years of the Power of Play. New York: Toy Industry Association, 2003.
Crawford, Roy J., and James L. Throne. Rotational Molding Technology. Norwich, NY: William Andrew Publishing, 2002.
Dichter, Ernest. Getting Motivated by Ernest Dichter: The Secret Behind Individual Motivations by the Man Who Was Not Afraid to Ask “Why?” New York: Pergamon, 1979.
———. The Strategy of Desire. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960.
Drachman, Virginia G. Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
Gallagher, Carol. Going to the Top: A Road Map for Success from America’s Leading Women Executives. With Susan K. Golant. New York: Penguin, 2001.
Handler, Ruth. Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story. With Jacqueline Shannon. Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press, 1994.
Handler, Stacey. The Body Burden: Living in the Shadow of Barbie. Cape Canaveral, FL: Blue Note Publications, 2000.
Kalinske, Thomas, Ryan Gunnigle, and Neil Friedman. The Business of Toys and Games: Top Executives on Launching New Products, Developing a Recognizable Brand, and Competing for Shelf Space. Boston: Aspatore Books, 2006.
Kreuzer, Franz, Gerd Prechtl, and Christoph Steiner. A Tiger in the Tank: Ernest Dichter, an Austrian Advertising Guru. Riverside, CA: Ariadne Press, 2007.
Lord, M. G. Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll. New York: Walker & Co., 2004.
Melody, William H. Children’s Television: The Economics of Exploitation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973.
Miller, G. Wayne. Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies that Make Them. New York: Times Books, 1998.
Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. New York: David McKay, 1957.
Pecora, Norma Odom. The Business of Children’s Entertainment. New York: Guilford Press, 1998.
Place, Irene, and Sylvia Plummer. Women in Management. Skokie, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 1980.
Pope, Daniel. The Making of Modern Advertising. New York: Basic Books, 1983.
Rand, Erica. Barbie’s Queer Accessories. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1995.
Sarasohn-Kahn, Jane. Contemporary Barbie Dolls: 1980 and Beyond. Dubuque, IA: Antique Trader Books, 1997.
Schneider, Cy. Children’s Television: The Art, the Business, and How It Works. Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1987.
Shiach, Morag. Feminism and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Stern, Sydney Ladensohn, and Ted Schoenhaus. Toyland: The High-Stakes Game of the Toy Industry. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1990.
Sutton-Smith, Brian. Toys as Culture. New York: Gardner Press, 1986.
Uchill, Ida Libert. Pioneers, Peddlers, and Tsadikim: The Story of Jews in Colorado. 3rd ed. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000.
Woolery, George W. Children’s Television: The First Thirty-five Years, 1946–1981. 2 vols. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1983–1985.
Movies
Shlain, Tiffany. The Tribe. DVD. www.tiffanyshlain.com/The_Tribe.html. 2005.
Stern, Susan. Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour. DVD. San Francisco: El Rio Productions, 2004.
Newspaper and Magazine Articles
Auerbach, George. “American, Foreign Toy Makers Display Wares Here This Week.” New York Times, March 8, 1959.
Burton, Susan. “About a Doll.” New York Times Magazine, December 29, 2002.
Bush, Thomas W. “Mattel Again Toying with Profit Uptrend.” New York Times, May 5, 1965.
Carberry, James. “How Mattel, Inc. Went from Thriving Concern to Not-So-Thriving One.” Wall Street Journal, June 20, 1973.
———. “Mattel Holder Suit Says Top Officers Used Inside Data in Trading; Firm Sues Insurers.” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 1973.
Cook, Anthony. “Life After White-Collar Crime.” Savvy, May 1980.
Davidson, Joanne. “Handler Overcame ‘Nightmares.’” Denver Post, February 5, 1996.
Delugach, Al. “Ruth Handler Changes Plea; Won’t Be Jailed.” Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1978.
Dorfman, Dan. “Heard on the Street.” Wall Street Journal, March 4, 1968.
Groves, David. “A Doll’s Life: Barbie’s Inventor Has Seen Her Grow from Hunch to Hit Ageless—and Controversial—Symbol of Womanhood.” Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1994.
Hammer, Alexander R. “Mattel Plans Sale of Ringling Bros.” New York Times, December 19, 1973.
Harris, Roy J., Jr. “Judge Upholds Use of Special Counsel Data in Mattel Case.” Wall Street Journal, August 4, 1978.
Heinzel, Ron S. “Mattel Spreads Happiness in Form of Toys, Record Profits.” New York Times, May 29, 1969.
Hill, Gladwin. “Toy Missile No Flight of Fancy.” New York Times, February 7, 1959.
Holles, Everett R. “American-Made—in Mexico; Satellites of U.S. Plants Employ Low-Cost Labor.” New York Times, January 31, 1971.
Holsendolph, Ernest. “Ex-Executives as Consultants; Many Get Fees from Their Old Companies.” New York Times, March 31, 1974.
Jennings, C. Robert. “In the Toy Business the Christmas Rush Is On.” New York Times, May 19, 1968.
Johnston, David Cay. “Arthur Spear, Who Led Mattel Through Fiscal Crises, Dies at 75.” New York Times, January 4, 1996.
Lindsey, Robert. “Mattel Settles 5 Class Lawsuits.” New York Times, November 4, 1975.
———. “A Million-Dollar Business from a Mastectomy.” New York Times, June 19, 1977.
Loercher, Diana. “From Rag Dolls to…” Christian Science Monitor, March 21, 1972.
Loper, Mary Lou. “Man-Wife Team Partners in Firm.” Los Angeles Times, September 29, 1959.
Los Angeles Times, Display Ad 129, November 26, 1959.
Los Angeles Times, Display Ad 77, October 29, 1959.
Los Angeles Times, Marriage Announcement 18, May 17, 1959.
Lukas, Paul. “How a Stylish Doll Became a Head-Turning Classic and Put a Pair of Fledgling Entrepreneurs in Play.” CNNMoney.com, April 1, 2003. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/04/01/341015/index.htm.
Martin, Judith. “Interview with a Superstar.” Washington Post, April 7, 1974.
Meyer, Wendy Haskell. “Traveling Abroad ‘Imperial V.I.P. Class.’” New York Times, July 18, 1971.
Milton, Brock. “Case of the Teen-Age Doll.” New York Times, April 21, 1963.
Morris, Kathleen. “The Rise of Jill Barad.” Business Week, May 25, 1998.
New York Times, “Business Is Brisk as Toy Fair Opens,” March 10, 1959.
New York Times, “For Christmas, Dolls That Grow and Dolls That Don’t,” November 22, 1975.
New York Times, “4 Ex-Officers of Mattel Among 5 Indicted on Conspiracy Charges,” February 17, 1978.
New York Times, “New President Named by Toy Manufacturer,” June 10, 1967.
New York Times, “16 Named by Nixon to Panel on Women,” June 7, 1973.
New York Times, “Toy Factory Started in a Garage Parlayed into $4,000,000 Business,” July 22, 1951.
Nuccio, Sal R. “Toy Makers Plan Off-Season Drive.” New York Times, October 15, 1961.
O’Connell, Patricia. “To Ruth Handler, a 21-Barbie Salute; So What That Her Creation Was Anatomically Impossible?” Business Week, May 1, 2002.
Penn, Stanley. “Securities Analyst Rues Rosy Reports He Wrote for Investors in Mattel Stock.” Wall Street Journal, November 5, 1975.
Quinn, William G. “Ruth Handler: Intrepid Entrepreneur.” Dynamic Years, March 1985.
Ramsey, Sonya. “Women Inventors; Women’s Inventions Improve Our Lives.” USA Today, March 22, 1989.
Rosenblatt, Robert A. “Leaders Heckled; Game Gets Rough for Mattel as Stockholders Yell Foul.” Los Angeles Times, May 30, 1974.
———. “The Mattel Debacle: How It Took Shape.” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1975.
Salt Lake Tribune, “A Talk with the Woman Who Created Barbie,” December 6, 1994.
Sansweet, Stephen J. “Mattel Ex-Aides Tried Cover-Up, Report Asserts.” Wall Street Journal, November 4, 1975.
———. “Study of Mattel’s Past Financial Affairs Begun by U.S.; Lengthy Report Involved.” Wall Street Journal, November 11, 1975.
Sederberg, Arelo. “Ruth Handler Happily Toys with Big Business.” Washington Post, January 3, 1968.
Simross, Lynn. “10 Honored as Times Women of the Year.” Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1975.
Sloane, Leonard. “Toy Industry Sees Sales Surge in ’64.” New York Times, March 11, 1964.
Smith, David C. “Feel for Kids’ Tastes, Massive TV Use Help Mattel Lead Toy Field.” Wall Street Journal, November 24, 1964.
Talbot, Margaret. “Little Hotties.” New Yorker, December 4, 2006.
Taylor, Frank J. “Million-Dollar Music Box.” Saturday Evening Post, December 6, 1952.
Time, “All’s Swell at Mattel,” October 26, 1962.
Wall Street Journal, “Changes in Stockholdings,” September 19, 1968.
Wall Street Journal, “Commerce and Industry,” June 6, 1967.
Wall Street Journal, “Ex-Official of Mattel Pleads Guilty to Filing False Reports to SEC,” February 28, 1978.
Wall Street Journal, “Ex-Officials of Mattel Placed on Probation for Five Years, Fined,” December 11, 1978.
Wall Street Journal, “Federal Judge Accepts Plea of No Contest of Ex-Mattel Officer,” August 28, 1978.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel and Remco, Big Toy Makers, Indicate Pre-Christmas Sales Trailed Expectations,” December 28, 1964.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel Appoints Panel to Review Operations,” July 28, 1972.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel Expects Fiscal ’66 Net Above Prior Year,” August 27, 1965.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel Founder Pleads No Contest to Charges of Falsifying Reports,” September 6, 1978.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel, Inc. Says Net and Sales Increased in Year Ended Jan. 31,” March 9, 1967.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel Names Spear President and Omits Its Quarterly Dividend,” March 21, 1973.
Wall Street Journal, “Mattel Posts Profit for Fourth Quarter, Fiscal 1974 Net Loss,” April 3, 1974.
Wall Street Journal, “Stockholder Meeting Briefs,” May 20, 1970.
Wall Street Journal, “Three Former Mattel Aides Seek to Block Use of Data Collected on Alleged Fraud,” January 10, 1977.
Washington Post, “Five Mattel Executives Indicted in Stock Fraud,” February 18, 1978.
Washington Post, “Mattel Sued for Ringling Acquisition,” March 3, 1974.
Weinstein, Mark. “Creator of Barbie Thriving, Surviving.” York (PA) Daily Record, September 27, 1996.
Woo, Elaine. “Ruth Handler Was Creator of Barbie Doll.” Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2002.
Yockel, Michael. “Living Doll,” City Paper Online, December 25, 2002. www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=3367.
Interviews
The following people were interviewed for this book:
FORMER MATTEL EMPLOYEES
Marvin Barab
Jill Barad
Boyd Browne
Sandy Danon
Josh Denham
Derek Gable
Fred Held
Cedric Iwasaki
Tom Kalinske
Bernie Kivowitz
Lou Miraula
Rita Rao
Pat Schauer
Frank Sesto
Lou Silberman
Joe Whittaker
HANDLER FAMILY MEMBERS
Elliot Handler
Ron Loeb
Aaron Mosko
Barbara Handler Segal
OTHER INTERVIEWEES
Richard Blum
Jacqueline Brandwynne
Fern Field
Gordon Fitzgerald, toy industry professional
Alix Getty, interviewer
Pamela Harris
Seth Hufstedler
Isaac Larian, CEO, MGA Entertainment
Catherine Leicester
Andrea Ordin
Ed Sanders
Larraine D. Segil, acquaintance of Ruth
Jacqueline Shannon
Barbara Smith, secretary
John Vandevelde
Zachary Zemby
Acknowledgments
The proposal for this book languished in a drawer until Larry Shames, novelist, friend, adviser, suggested I send it to Stephanie Tade, who became my wise, wonderful agent. She immediately understood why this book had to be written. Genoveva Llosa, at Collins, bought the manuscript and helped set my course along with my second editor, Toni Sciarra. But it fell to Ben Loehnen to read, edit, reread, reedit, and guide this book to publication. He did so with all the diligence, attention to detail, and wise counsel that authors lament not finding in editors today, and I am a better writer for it. Thanks also to Matt Inman, Hollis Heimbouch, Teresa Brady, Angie Lee, Janina Mak, Richard Ljoenes, all at Collins. Tom Green, at DesignWorks Group, designed the perfect cover.
The staff at the Schlesinger Library was unfailingly patient and good-humored as I labored through Ruth’s papers. The collection, and those who assemble and protect it, renders an invaluable service to women’s history. Particular thanks to Jane Knowles for her archival work and Sarah Hutcheon for helping with many questions.
Thanks to my sister, Dee Francken, for her first read; my brother-in-law, John Francken, for genealogical advice; my sister-in-law, Marguerite Records, and Sheila King for reading and research help; Birgit Muller for assistance in Germany; the Washington Biography Group and James McGrath Morris; Peggy Engel for her early and enthusiastic input; Mary Boland for her perceptive read; and friends Lisa Dobbs, Fern Field, Sandy Foote, Ilana Bar-Din Giannini, Robin Gradison, Cindy Hallberlin, Marylu Jordan, Kitty Kelley, Susan Land, Anne Maher, Peggy McCormick, Judy Rosener, and Pamela Toutant for their support.
As always, the love and faith of Tony, Ariel, and Sam makes everything else possible.
Searchable Terms
Note: Entries in this index, carried over verbatim from the print edition of this title, are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of any given e-book reader. However, entries in this index, and other terms, may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.
ABC television, 91–93, 95, 97, 100–101
action figures, 119–21, 146, 189
Adler, Seymour, 12–13, 117, 137
advertising, 91–101, 164; for Barbie, 104, 107–10, 113, 143, 250; FCC regulation of, 159; FTC “misleading” charge, 174; Mattel annual budget for, 108–9, 129, 145; Mattel logo and tag line, 98; motivational research and, 103–7, 113; for Nearly Me, 236
African-American dolls, 150, 160
AIDS, 233–35, 242, 243
anti-Semitism, 21, 43–44, 46, 86
Art Center College of Design (Los Angeles), 44–45, 46
Arthur Andersen, 176, 192, 201–2, 215
Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts (radio and TV program), 72, 92
Ash, Roy, 156
Austin Photography, 58, 61, 77
baby boom, 73, 96
Baby First Step, 140
Barab, Marvin, 107, 127, 136–37, 138, 143
Barad, Jill, 247–50
Barbie, viii, 1–19, 104–13, 129, 143, 148, 225, 237; accessories of, 150, 189, 250; anniversary celebrations of, 245, 249–50; award for, 239; bendable parts of, 132, 136, 138, 145, 153; breasts of, 8, 13, 18, 104, 107, 109, 210; competitor of, 119; critics of, 18–19, 104, 111, 113, 138, 140, 247, 250; debut of, 1–5, 17–19, 108–9; demand for, 110, 111–12; “friends and relatives” line and, 132, 142–43, 150; girls’ fantasies and, 107–8, 112, 113, 132–33; inspiration for, 5–15, 137; milestones for, 132–33; motivational research and, 104, 106–7, 113; namesake of, 14, 235, 251; newer model swap program, 145; new image of, 247, 250; outfits of, 9, 14–15, 17, 107, 110, 120, 132, 141; overseas line of
, 249; patent suit and, 138; physical appearance of, 5, 13, 18, 133; popularity decline of, 151; quality and detail of, 16, 141; Ruth’s belief in, 19, 107, 109–11, 117–18, 150–51, 210; as Ruth’s legacy, 245–46, 247, 253; sales of, 110–11, 143, 150, 174, 247, 249; wedding dress of, 5, 17, 250
Bayh, Marvella, 211
Beech, Olive Ann, 188
Berlin Wall fall (1989), 249
Betsy McCall paper doll, 6
Beuthien, Reinhard, 10
Beverlycraft, 64
Big Jim (action figure), 189
“Bild-Lilli.” See Lilli doll
Bingham, Dick, 186
Birdy Bank, 73
Blair, Paul, 86–87
Blinko the Clown, 89
Blum, Richard, 163, 174
boy dolls, 142–43. See also Ken
Boys Republic program, 230
Brandy (singer), 249–50
Brandwynne, Jacqueline, 191
breast cancer, viii–ix, 165–69, 170, 172, 178, 208, 243. See also Nearly Me
Browne, Boyd, 125, 128–29, 148
Burp Gun, 94, 95, 97–99, 101, 102, 108, 110, 145
business schools, 114, 124
business women, 71–72, 80–81, 117, 191, 205–9, 237; highest paid, 188; Jewish tradition of, 46; Mattel and, 7, 123, 205, 206, 247–50
Butler Brothers, 73, 74
Camp Roberts (Calif.), 64–65
Cannizzaro, Joe, 16
Carson, Cary, 98
Carson, Ralph, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101
Carson/Roberts, 95, 98–99, 100, 107–8, 113, 147, 159
Carter, Jimmy, 222, 229
Caryl brothers, 72, 73–74
charity programs, 89, 116–17, 130, 160, 213, 224, 226–32
Charren, Peggy, 163
Chatty Cathy, 140–41
children’s television, 91–97, 100–102, 113, 159, 162, 163; sales power of, 100
Christie (doll), 150
Christmas market, 93, 96, 97, 99, 100, 172, 177
Circus World theme park, 182
Clark, Dick, 249
Cohen, Jenny, 35–36
comic books/strips, 6, 7, 10
copyright, 4, 14, 138
costume jewelry, 51, 53–54, 63
