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
Ideal Toy Company top three toy companies. By 1970, Ideal had outgrown its manufacturing complex in Hollis, Queens. The company wanted to build a new plant in College Point, Queens (later the site of Shea Stadium), but was unable to strike a deal with the Lindsay administration. Consequently, the company opened a new facility in Newark, New Jersey, in the early 1970s, while continuing to operate its factory in Hollis. Ideal had earnings of $3.7 million in fiscal year 1979-1980, but lost $15.5 million in fiscal year 1980-1981. (Sales both years averaged c. $150 million.) Trying to maximize profits on the Rubik's Cube