Beech Tree News Network

At the beginning of the year, I signed up for daily emails from www.history.com .  This week, I’ll share one of those stories.  

Isadore Elliot Handler (April 9, 1916-July 21, 2011) was an American inventor, business magnet and co-founder of Mattel.  With his wife, Ruth Handler, he developed some of the biggest-selling toys in American history, including Barbie, Chatty Cathy, Creepy Crawlers and Hot Wheels.

Isadore “Izzy” Elliot Handler was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 1916.  Handler’s parents were Ukrainian Jews who largely spoke Yiddish within their household.  The family moved out of Chicago and Handler grew up on the west side of Denver, Colorado.  He studied industrial design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.  In 1929, he met his future wife Ruth Mosko at a B’nai B’rith dance for teenagers.  They dated on and off for years and were married in June 1938.  Shortly after their marriage, his new wife Ruth requested he change his name: partially due to her preferring his middle name “Elliot” over “Izzy” and partially from her fears of American antisemitism toward a name frequently associated with being Jewish like Isadore.  He complied.  The couple had two children: Barbara, who was the namesake of Barbie dolls, and Kenneth, the namesake of Ken dolls.  While a struggling art student and designer of light fixtures, Handler partnered with Harold Matson to design a realistic-looking miniature piano that received roughly 300,000 orders.  However, they mispriced the product and lost a dime on each one produced.

Mattel received its name from business partners Harold “Matt” Matson and Eliot Handler in 1945.  Elliot’s wife Ruth took Matson’s role when the Handler’s bought his share in the late 1940’s.  Handler holds credit for developing the first talking doll, Chatty Cathy, using a pull string talking mechanism, revolutionizing the toy industry.  Mattel continued to develop several talking toys, including Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Baby and Charmin’ Chatty.  Toys were made for cartoon favorites such as Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, and for television characters such as Herman Munster and Mister Ed.

When Handler’s daughter Barbara married Allan Segal, they created Allan, Ken’s friend.  The 1965 talking doll Baby Cheryl was named after the Handler’s first grandchild, and the Todd doll in the Barbie line was named after their grandson.  Handler was primarily responsible for two additional Mattel product lines.  In 1966, Mattel introduced smaller dolls called Liddle Kiddles.  Handler claimed he wanted them to resemble little children in neighborhoods across America.  They were sculpted by doll artist Martha Armstrong-Hand.  Kiddles were a great success and continued to be produced in different versions until the early 1970’s.  Another product line was called Hot Wheels, introduced in 1968, which gave rise to 10,000 different models.

First called Mattel Creations, the company has become the largest toy maker in the world in terms of revenue.  In April 2006, Mattel honored Handler with a 90th birthday party at its headquarters in El Segundo, California.  Guests included his daughter Barbara Segal, namesake of the Barbie doll.  Handler died of heart failure at home in Century City, a district of Los Angeles, California, at age 95 on July 21, 2011.Ruth died in 2002.  Their son Ken died in 1994.

How did the Barbie Doll come about? Observing their daughter Barbara and friends having fun with paper dolls and role-play adult scenarios, Ruth noticed a market void.  Dolls available at that time were mainly babies and toddlers; no dolls were available that resembled adults.

During a trip to Europe in 1956 with Barbara and her son Kenneth, Ruth came across Bild Lili, a German doll.  In an interview with Mary G. Lord, author of Forever Barbie, Handler said that she saw the doll in Lucerne, Switzerland.  However, the book points out that on other occasions Handler said she saw it in Zurich or Vienna.  The adult-figured doll was exactly what Ruth had in mind.  She purchased three, gave one to her daughter, and took the others to Mattel.  The Lili doll was based on a popular character in a satirical comic strip by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Bild.  The Lilli doll was first sold in 1955 in Germany, and although initially sold to adults, it became popular with children, who enjoyed dressing it in outfits that were available separately.

Upon return to the United States, Handler redesigned the doll with help from local inventor-designer Jack Ryan.  The Barbie doll, named after her daughter Barbara, debuted March 9, 1959 at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.  The first Barbie Doll cost $3 and was an instant hit.  In its first year, 300,000 were sold.

The Handlers and Mattel later added a boyfriend for Barbie and named him Ken after the Handler’s son.  Eventually, a huge range of Barbie dolls was released, portrayed with more than 125 careers, and Barbie became known for versatility and fashion.  The Handler’s added cars, sports gear, clothes, and doll furniture to their Barbie products.

Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970.  She had a modified radical mastectomy, which was often done at the time to combat the disease.  She spent less time at Mattel to focus on improving her health.  Her loss of self-esteem affected her leadership, and she lost control of her business.  In a 1980 interview, she said “when I conceived Barbie, I believed it was important to a little girl’s self esteem to play with a doll that had breasts.  Now I find it even more important to return that self-esteem to women who have lost theirs.

Due to difficulties in finding a good breast prosthesis, Handler decided to make her own.  With the help of new business partner Peyton Massey and under her new company, Ruthton Corp, she manufactured a more realistic version of a woman’s breast called Nearly Me, aiming to boost women’s confidence regarding their health.  The invention became quite popular.  First Lady Betty Ford was fitted for one after a mastectomy.  

Handler received various awards for her philanthropy and business activities.  She was chosen Woman of the Year in Business by the Los Angeles Times, inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame by the Toy Manufacturers of America, received the Volunteer Achievement Award from the American Cancer Society and was the inaugural Woman of Distinction of the United Jewish Appeal.  

Following several investigations into fraudulent financial reports, Handler resigned from Mattel in 1975.  Investigations continued and she was charged with fraud and false reporting by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  She pleaded no contest and was fined $57,000(equivalent of $270,000 in 2024) and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service.  She blamed her illness for making her unfocused on her business.  Handler died on April 27, 2002 in California from complications during surgery for colon cancer.

Handler is portrayed in the 2023 film Barbie by actress Rhea Pearlman.  In the film, the ghost of an elderly Handler resides in an office on the 17th floor of Mattel’s El Segundo headquarters.  There. She meets the movie’s stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie).  Later, while advising Barbie, Handler tells her about her creation and how it is related to her daughter, Barbara.  Barbie then takes the name “Barbara Handler” as her own.  The film started a wave of media coverage for Handler.  

The following is the link to my vlog this week: https://youtu.be/VOFhYjZx0co?si=ggB0PVa-UgihKg6L