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
Evan Handler scene and struck Handler on the backside. Handler responded later, stating, "I removed myself from the production because from the first day of rehearsals I have endured the show's producers condoning Nicol Williamson's persistent abusiveness to other cast members." Handler's understudy continued the performance, for which Gregory Peck and Elaine Stritch were in attendance. Handler is also an author. His first book, "Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors", tells the story of his unlikely recovery from acute myeloid leukemia in his mid-20s. His second, "It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive", tells the story