Ruth Handler, Mattel co-founder who created Barbie, dies at 85
Ruth Handler, who created the world famous doll named Barbie, has died Saturday evening at the age of 85. Handler, co-founded the Mattel toy company, died at Century City Hospital of complications from colon surgery she underwent about three months ago according to her husband, Elliott.
Handler created the doll named for her daughter Barbara, was introduced in 1959 it has become an American icon and has sold over 1 billion dolls in over 150 countries around the world.
The original blue-eyed, blonde fashion model has morphed over the decades into a variety of looks and has had many careers, from astronaut to veterinarian.
Barbie's birth came at a time when the usual doll was a baby. Handler decided to create a more mature toy after noticing that her daughter liked to play with paper cutout dolls of teen-agers and career women. The male ad executives at Mattel were unimpressed with the idea, but several years later Handler got the doll into production with her own funds.Barbie went on to make a fortune for Mattel, which sold not only versions of the doll but an expanding number of outfits and accessories, not to mention Barbie's boyfriend Ken, named for Handler's son; her little sister, Skipper, and pals Midge and Christie, who were named for Handler's grandchildren.
Handler was born Ruth Mosko, the youngest of 10 children of Polish immigrants who settled in Denver. She moved to Southern California at 19, later marrying her high school boyfriend and studying industrial design. Eventually the Handlers began making and selling plastic bowls, mirrors and other housewares. The garage business boomed and was followed in the 1940s by a picture frame company. Mattel grew out of a sideline business making dollhouse furniture from the frame scraps. Things went downhill in the 1970s, however. Mattel began to diversify away from toys and the Handlers were forced out of the company. In 1978, Handler was indicted for mail fraud and false reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission. She pleaded no contest, was fined dlrs 57,000 and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service.
Handler, who struggled with breast cancer and had a mastectomy in 1970, later blamed her illness, saying it made her unfocused about business concerns. She began to campaign for cancer awareness. The disease also prompted her second career. Unable to find a decent prosthetic breast, Handler created her own, called Nearly Me, and formed a company to market it. She fitted Betty Ford for one after the former first lady had a mastectomy. The company got more than dlrs 1 million in sales and was sold in 1991.
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