Ruth Handler Club children's television show, Mattel invested heavily in television advertising. The TV commercials for the Barbie doll paid off and Barbie rocketed Mattel and the Handlers to fame and fortune. Subsequently, they would add a boyfriend for Barbie named Ken, after the Handlers' son, and many other "friends and family" to Barbie's world. Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970. She had a modified radical mastectomy, which was often used at the time to combat the disease, and because of difficulties in finding a good breast prosthesis, she decided to make her own. Handler went on to found a
Applause (toy company) KFC, Kellogg's, General Mills, and Pillsbury. In 1998 the company produced fast food toys for "A Bug's Life", "Mulan", "Pokémon" (KFC) and "Godzilla". In 2004 CEO Bob Solomon shot himself after it was apparent that the company was not going to survive. The company filed for bankruptcy shortly after his death. The Applause name was acquired by Russ Berrie in a bankruptcy auction. Applause (toy company) Applause Inc. was a company that produced stuffed toys and collectible figurines. The company produced licensed toys from Warner Bros., Disney, and Jim Henson's Muppets. Its principal subsidiaries included Dakin Inc. and International Tropic-Cal