Ruth Handler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruth Handler
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Handler in 1961
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| Born |
Ruth Marianna Mosko
November 4, 1916 Denver, Colorado, U.S.
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| Died | April 27, 2002 (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | President of Mattel (1945–1975) |
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Notable work
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Barbie |
| Successor | Robert A. Eckert |
| Spouse(s) |
Elliot Handler
(m. 1938) |
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Ruth Marianna Handler (née Mosko; November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an American businesswoman and inventor. She is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959, and being co-founder of toy manufacturer Mattel with her husband Elliot, as well as serving as the company's first president from 1945 to 1975.
The Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel in 1975 after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company for falsifying financial documents.
Early life
Ruth Marianna Mosko was born on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado, to Polish-Jewish immigrants Jacob Moskowicz, a blacksmith, and Ida Moskowicz, née Rubenstein. She was the youngest of ten children. When she was six months old, her parents sent her to live with her older sister Sarah. She stayed with Sarah until she was 19 and developed an enthusiasm for business by working at Sarah’s drugstore/soda fountain.
In 1932, Ruth fell in love with Izzy Handler, an art student. The summer of her sophomore year at University of Denver, she went to Los Angeles and landed a job at Paramount Studio. Ruth and Izzy married in 1938 in Denver. Returning to California, Ruth encouraged her husband to become known by his middle name, Elliot. Ruth returned to work at Paramount and Elliot was employed as a lighting fixture designer.
Formation of Mattel
Elliot tried his hand at a hobby of furniture making. He decided to make their furniture out of two new types of plastics, Lucite and Plexiglas. Ruth Handler suggested that he start doing this commercially and they began a furniture business. Ruth Handler worked as the sales force for the new business, landing contracts with Douglas Aircraft Company and others.
Origin
Ruth saw the potential for an entrepreneurial endeavor. They went into partnership with Harold "Matt" Matson. They combined Matson's last name with Elliot's first name creating Mattel. According to Elliot, the founders could not fit Ruth's name into the name of the company. During World War II, furniture sales fell so Mattel began to manufacture toy furniture. The success of this business caused Ruth and Elliott to move Mattel fully into toy manufacturing.
Barbie
Ruth watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, she suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.
During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Ruth had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a satirical comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Bild. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.
Upon her return to the United States, Ruth redesigned the doll (with help from local inventor-designer Jack Ryan), and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler's daughter Barbara. Premiering at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959, Barbie was an instant success, with Mattel selling 351,000 dolls within a year.
Later, the Handlers and Mattel added a boyfriend for Barbie named Ken, after the Handlers' son, and many other characters in the brand’s lineup.
Later years
Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970. To combat this, she had a modified radical mastectomy, which was often used at the time to combat the disease. 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., Handler manufactured a more realistic version of a woman's breast, called "Nearly Me". This invention became quite popular, and then-first lady Betty Ford was personally fitted for one.
Following several investigations of producing fraudulent financial reports, Handler resigned from Mattel in 1975. Investigations continued after her resignation, and, in 1978, Handler was charged with fraud and false reporting to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She pleaded no contest, and was fined $57,000 (equivalent to $260,000 in 2022 ) and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service. She blamed her illness for making her "unfocused" on her business.
Handler died in California from complications of surgery for colon cancer on April 27, 2002, aged 85. Her husband Elliot died nine years later at the age of 95.
See also
In Spanish: Ruth Handler para niños
