Mattel Matson sold his share to Handler due to poor health, and Handler's wife Ruth took Matson's role. In 1947, the company had its first hit toy, a ukulele called "Uke-A-Doodle". The company incorporated the next year in California. Mattel became the first year-round sponsor of the "Mickey Mouse Club" TV series in 1955. The Barbie doll debuted in 1959, becoming the company's best-selling toy in history. In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy, a talking doll revolutionizing the toy industry, which led to pull-string talking dolls and toys flooding the market throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The company went public in
Daniel Handler Student Poet Prize, which he claims was earned by ripping off Elizabeth Bishop. He is an alumnus of the San Francisco Boys Chorus. He is married to Lisa Brown, a graphic artist whom he met in college. They have a son, Otto Handler, born in 2003. They live in an old Edwardian house in San Francisco. Handler is politically active and helped form LitPAC. In the June 10, 2007 edition of "The New York Times Magazine", Handler revealed ambivalence toward his wealth and the expectations that it creates. He stated that he is often asked for money for charitable causes