Elliot Handler holds credit for creating the Barbie doll, which debuted in 1959. Ruth named her creation after their daughter Barbara. It remains one of the top-selling dolls on the market. Mattel introduced the talking Chatty Cathy doll in 1960. The Handlers had made a tradition of naming their toys after family members, and when Barbara Handler married Allan Segal, they came out with Allan, Ken's friend. The 1965 talking doll Baby Cheryl was named after the Handlers' first grandchild, and the Todd doll in the Barbie line was named for their grandson. Elliot Handler holds credit for developing the first talking
Performo Toy Company cartoon characters in the history of animation industry. The similarities between both mice have led to speculation that Walt Disney stole his most successful idea from the Performo Toy Company. The wooden mouse was very popular in New York City (where Performo's distributor was located) in 1928. Coincidentally, at about the same time, Disney thought of the idea for his animation studio's new character and began drafting cartoons, which then aired as shorts, padding the time between one film and the next, and were extremely popular. Other shorts included newsreels, which showed film of events from around the world, much