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Elliot HandlerFounder of Mattel, creator of the Barbie doll
Date of Birth: 09.04.1916
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Elliot Handler
Elliot Handler, the founder of Mattel and creator of the Barbie doll, was born in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Denver, Colorado and received his education at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he studied industrial design.
Early Ventures
Elliot married Ruth Moskowicz and they had a son named Ken and a daughter named Barbara, who would later become the inspiration for the iconic Barbie doll. Before their marriage, Elliot had a talent for making beautiful wooden, metal, and plastic trinkets and souvenirs. Initially, the couple produced wooden picture frames, with Elliot handling production and Ruth taking care of advertising and sales. They later realized that they could use the leftover wood to create miniature furniture, inspired by their daughter Barbara's playtime with dolls and her imaginative use of matchboxes. This led them to discover a niche in the toy market.
The Birth of Mattel
Elliot enthusiastically began designing miniature houses, toys, and musical instruments. One of his creations, a miniature piano, caused a sensation in New York. Despite receiving orders for over 300,000 pianos, the venture did not yield the expected profits due to miscalculations. In 1945, Elliot became one of the creators of a small toy manufacturing company named Mattel, derived from the names of his friend Harold Matson and himself. The production of miniature music boxes with instruments inside proved to be highly profitable for the partners.
The Barbie Phenomenon
In the late 1940s, Elliot and Ruth bought out Matson's share in the company, and Ruth took on a more prominent role. It was Ruth who proposed the idea of creating a doll that resembled a glamorous adult woman with a slim waist, tall bust, long legs, and blonde hair. Initially, Elliot and Harold were not convinced by the idea, but after Barbie triumphantly made her debut in 1959, the rest became history. Barbie quickly became one of the best-selling toys in the world and remains so to this day.
Legacy
Throughout the years, Mattel introduced many other famous dolls and toys, with Barbie remaining the most iconic. Barbie's popularity also extended to her boyfriend Ken. Elliot and Ruth's son, Ken Handler, unfortunately passed away in 1994 from brain cancer. Mattel continued to release popular toy lines, such as the characters from animated films and the Kiddles dolls, until the early 1970s. Today, Mattel is one of the leading toy companies in the world, with its headquarters located in El Segundo, California.
Elliot Handler passed away at the age of 95 on July 21, 2011, due to acute heart failure. His wife Ruth passed away in 2002. Elliot's legacy lives on through the enduring success of the Barbie doll, which has captivated millions of girls worldwide for over half a century.
