The story of Ruth Handler, creator of the Barbie doll and breast prosthesis
Barbie doll is, without exaggeration, the most famous toy in the world. She is admired by millions of children and adults, she is copied, films are made about her. At the same time, very few people know the history of its appearance and can name Ruth Handler, who gave us a cult toy of several generations. But the "mother" of the Barbie doll has other serious merits.
Ruth Marianne Handler was born in 1916 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She became the last, tenth child in the family of Jews Jacob and Ida Moskovich, who emigrated to America from Poland. When Ruth was six months old, her mother became seriously ill and the older sister of the girl Sarah and her husband Louis Greenwald took care of the baby.
In the family, the sisters treated the girl as if they were their children, and Ruth did not have a lack of affection and attention. The Greenwalds ran a small pharmacy where Ruth started working at the age of 10. She realized early on how hard it is to earn money, and as a child she began to appreciate her own and other people's work.
On June 26, 1938, Moskovich married businessman Elliot Handler. In 1945, Ruth founded Mattel with her husband and his friend Harold Matson. The company produced plastic frames for photographs, which were in price in the post-war years. Over time, the business grew and Mattel's product range included dollhouse furniture and musical toys.
But the main product of the company, which glorified it throughout the world, was yet to come. Ruth and Elliot had a daughter, Barbara, who, like all girls, loved to play with dolls. She had baby dolls and paper dolls that could be dressed up. The girl dreamed of a voluminous toy depicting an adult woman who could create outfits.
At that time there was only one such doll and it was produced for men. This is a German Build Lilly doll, designed by cartoonist Reinhardt Beuthin. The blonde curvy beauty was produced in two sizes: 19 and 29.5 cm. It was a souvenir that personified the beauty standards of the 50s. Popular in Europe, the doll Ruth Handler and her daughter were seen in 1956 when they were vacationing in Switzerland.
Ruth was surprised because a few years earlier she had proposed to her husband the concept of a similar doll, but for girls. Lilly was very similar to a toy, the sketches of which were developed by an entrepreneur. In her 1994 book Dream Doll, Handler wrote:
By the way, Elliot did not like the idea of a wife. He believed that parents would not want to buy girls a doll in the form of an adult woman. But after meeting Bild, Lilly Ruth was determined. She returned to Los Angeles with the German toy and immediately locked herself in an office with Jack Ryan, Mattel's vice president.
Ryan was commissioned by the owner of the company to adapt Lilly for games that American girls liked. Preparations for the release of the first toy took three years. Mattel presented the first doll at the New York National Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. Ruth named her Barbie, after her beloved daughter.
The first ever Barbie doll was dressed in a black and white striped swimsuit, black high heels, sunglasses and hoop earrings. In the basic configuration, the toy cost only $ 3. It was possible to buy outfits, shoes and accessories for it. The novelty immediately became very popular. By the end of 1959, the company had sold over 350,000 dolls in the US and Canada.
For American girls, Barbie was not just an interesting toy. Mattel doll researcher M. Lord, in his book Barbie Forever: An Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, wrote:
Handler wanted to play with Barbie, future women understand that in their hands the realization of their wildest dreams. In 1961, Barbie got a boyfriend. Ken owes his birth to customers who bombarded the Mattel office with requests to create a male doll. The toy was named after the Handler's son Kenneth.
Just a year later, in 1961, Barbie and Ken got a spacious house, and in 1965, Barbie the astronaut began to be sold in stores. In 1968, Barbie got a girlfriend, Christie. It was one of the first black dolls in the United States. Also, toy copies of celebrities began to come out. The first such honor was given to Twiggy's model. Later, dolls came out in the form of Kate Middleton and Prince William, Zendaya, Natalia Vodianova, Ashley Graham and even Elizabeth II.
Ruth Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970. Her mammary gland was removed, and for a long time the woman could not find a comfortable prosthesis. I had to create it myself. In 1975, Nearly Me breast prostheses went on sale. The company with that name still produces its products.
In 1973, Ruth Handler left the post of head of Mattel, and in 1975 she and her husband left the company. The reason was the rumors that the couple are engaged in financial fraud. In 1978, a trial took place. The couple was accused of fraud and filing false information with the tax office.
Ruth was threatened with a term of 41 years, but the woman got off with a hefty fine and 2,500 hours of community service. Handler later said that this happened because she did not understand anything in financial matters and she had to pay for it.
Ruth Handler died on April 27, 2002 in Los Angeles. The cause of death was a complication after bowel surgery.