As the previous article on Legos mentioned, it's special indeed when a toy that we Boomers enjoyed as children survives the economic upheavals and the buying/selling/absorptions of the companies that originally produced them. Such is the case with the subject of today's I Remember JFK memory: Mr. Potato Head.
Mr. Potato Head first appeared in 1949. An inventor named George Lerner enjoyed playing with fruits and vegetables as a child. He would attach other fruits and vegetables to, say, a potato so that he would end up with a creation that had a carrot nose and grape eyes, which he would then present to his younger sisters. They would delight in playing with the "dolls" until they would literally deteriorate. As an adult, he recalled with fondness how much fun it was, and decided to create something a bit more durable.
In 1949, he designed arms, legs, and facial features to be stuck into fruits and vegetables. The idea was a bit distasteful to Americans who still had wartime rationing fresh in their minds, as well as earlier memories of nearly starving in the Great Depression.
Lerner tried unsuccessfully to market his toy for a couple of years. Finally, in 1952, he showed it to a pair of brothers who had been specializing in the textile industry, but who had developed a small business on the side that was selling toys and school supplies. It was unlike anything they, or the world, had ever seen, They bought the rights for $5,000. That would turn out to be one world-changing investment.
On May 1 of that year, Mr. Potato Head appeared in stores for the first time. For 98 cents, you got a box full of accessories to turn a spud into a lovable little guy. The toy was a huge hit, but perhaps it had to do more with what happened the day before.
On April 30, 1952, Mr. Potato Head became the first toy ever advertised on the young medium known as television. That first year, over a million kits were sold. Many thousands of a package of 50 additional stick-on accessories were obtained via mail from an included order form. The toy was such a hit that the Hassenfeld brothers decided to concentrate their time and efforts into the manufacturing and marketing of toys. Thus, Hasbro went from a textile company to the more familiar one we grew up with, and which continues to thrive today.
Mrs. Potato Head was added in 1953, Brother Spud and Sister Yam shortly afterwards.
It wasn't until 1964 that a plastic potato was added to the kit. That put an end to raiding the potato sack for a toy at playtime. Well, it discouraged it, anyway. I remember many fun rainy afternoons over at my best friend's house in the mid 60's turning genuine tubers into strange little guys with three eyes, an ear coming out of the forehead, etc.
During the 60's, other critters were added to the menagerie. These included Frankie Frank, Oscar the Orange, Pete the Pepper, and Mr. Mustard Head. Successful for a while, they eventually disappeared. But Mr. Potato Head and his family have soldiered on, more popular today with kids than ever.
Of course, the times have forced changes in Mr. Potato Head. But the changes have been reasonable, logical, as opposed to politically correct.
The parts became swallow-proof (aka bigger) in 1975, and the toy effectively became aimed at a younger audience. I have great memories of playing with Mr. Potato Head at the age of eight or nine, but now the toy was being marketed to the kindergarten age. In 1986, the venerable gentleman surrendered his pipe to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop as part of the Great American Smoke-Out. I suppose that was a worthy cause, but that pipe was my favorite accessory.
Nowadays, Mr. Potato Head is one of the most recognizable toys ever made. He's been in the movies (Toy Story), the comics (several Far Sides featured him), and in the world of advertising. That's right, Mr. Potato Head, who was the first toy advertised on the boob tube, NOW advertises for others!
He also put Hasbro on the map, and Hasbro is one of the few surviving toy companies from our childhoods. Just think, if not for a chance encounter between the Hassenfeld brothers and one George Lerner, we might have missed out on GI Joe, Play-Doh, Easy Bake ovens, and who knows what else. So here's a tip of the stick-on plastic derby to Mr. Potato Head: a real shaper of history.
Comments (7)
As kids in the 60s, we had a Mr. Potato Head and an Oscar the Orange. My younger brother once decided to use a real orange for Oscar. When he was finished playing with it, he put it away in the box with the plastic orange. Where it stayed. On a shelf. In the basement... until one day the smell alerted our mother, forcing her to dig through all the toys in search of whatever was rotten. She was not in a very good mood by the time we got home from school that day!
Posted by Karen in WI | January 3, 2010 10:36 AM
Posted on January 3, 2010 10:36
I remember Mr. Potato Head. Thanks for the trivia about the Mr. Potato Head being the first toy advertised on TV. The profitable result certainly set the stage for Saturday morning TV programing! Fun to learn. I can surely stump some friends with that!
I really hated the addition of a plastic potato to the kit. I think the necessity of those pre-placed holes for the attachments curbed kids creativity. How dare they dumb-down a toy!
May we assume that little Dan Quayle had the Exclusive Special Edition Mr. POTATOE Head?
Posted by NCeddie | January 3, 2010 5:24 PM
Posted on January 3, 2010 17:24
What I like about toys like Mr. Potato Head is that it was a very common toy we all experienced and it was everywhere. In schools, sometimes doctors offices for kids, and other places where kids might need a little bit of entertainment for 10 or 15 minutes. It would have been interesting to see the concept of various face features or even skull features made into human heads as well or maybe dolls.
Its just funny how it was so common and popular at one time. But it looks like toys have gotten more sophisticated and maybe that is not such a bad thing. I recall one detective game my aunts had and we came into one at a 2nd and store at about age 12 for me. It had lots of cards, each with a character of generally exaggerated facial features. The plastic box machine had various cards that would pick a certain one to be the criminal and there was a true false indicator you stuck into holes to get a true or false response to questions describing certain features. It was a lot of fun.
Potato Head reminds me of playdough, since that was a very popular toy but of course, it never lasted long, because it would dry up. Here today and gone tomorrow was the fate for many toys. I assume that this made toys that survived all the more remarkable and collectible. Who would ever imagine at the time?
Toys and options were much less in the 60s, as was TV programming, which is why our generation had so much more in common. Prior to mass manufacturing, toys were simple and unique. Bt with mass production, everyone around the country had the same thing and so our experience was common, no matter where we lived in this vast country. But it seems to me that while there were a few things like the Rubix Cube, or Simon Says, or the Atari 2600 with its video games, there were fewer of these common toys due to so many more choices that it became much less common that a single toy would reach nearly everyone.
I think music sort of reflects this. From the 60s to the 80s, those who grew up in those times remember the music and liked it in common. But as the more recent generations began to favor what is often rap crap or the like, a splinter broke off and the market fragmented. There are still a few songs that hit nerves of a broad span of generations but its not likely that an album like Saturday Night Fever or Thriller will ever sell like those did.
So here is to a special time when we were all on the same page and the world was rather nice for some a broad collection of people.
Posted by Scott Irv | January 3, 2010 8:35 PM
Posted on January 3, 2010 20:35
I loved the weird, waxy fake potato head that you stuck the facial features into.
Posted by Rhea | January 4, 2010 10:35 AM
Posted on January 4, 2010 10:35
Mr. Potato was one of my earliest toys I remember having as a child! I always like this! I only had the plastic version with the plastic potato itself and not a real potato. I remember the many times our Beagle would chew up the little parts! Between Mr. Potato and Cootie, what's not to like! I am a little disappointed with all the old remakes of classic games and toys. I am glad they are still holding up in popularity, but they seem to be made cheaper looking and with less care? Boxes are smaller. Mr. Potato is no exception. I know it's cheaper to manufacture these games with no materials and sometimes foreign made, but it is just not the same as way back when? Long live Mr. Potato Head
Posted by Rivers End | January 31, 2010 6:52 PM
Posted on January 31, 2010 18:52
lol lol. i remember my first mr potato head. and my mother also bought me mrs potato head. lol oh the toys we played with.
Posted by vera | February 6, 2010 11:59 AM
Posted on February 6, 2010 11:59
Dear Mr.potato head co. I was wondering if you could make a Mr.potato dirt bike rider.
thanks,
nick, age 9
Posted by Nick | May 10, 2010 7:23 PM
Posted on May 10, 2010 19:23