Let’s Call Her Barbie
Take Your Toys and Go Home
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Take Your Toys and Go Home
Barbie is more popular today than ever, and Mattel boasts that three Barbies are sold every second.
Ruth Handler was found guilty of financial fraud and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service and a $57,000 fine. In 1976, she formed the Ruthton Corporation, which produced Nearly Me, a line of prosthetic breasts for cancer survivors. This new venture became another multimillion-dollar company and is still going strong today. Ruth died in 2002 at the age of eighty-five due to complications from colon cancer.
Jack Ryan divorced Zsa Zsa after just one year and would remarry three more times. His lawsuit with Mattel was eventually settled out of court for $10 million. In 1991, two years after suffering a stroke, Jack took his own life. He was sixty-four.
Elliot Handler resigned from Mattel in 1975, just six months after Ruth left the company. He spent much of his retirement painting and visiting with his children and grandchildren. Elliot passed away in 2012 at the age of ninety-five.
Charlotte Johnson retired from Mattel in 1980 after being diagnosed with dementia. She passed away in 1997 at the age of eighty.
Seymour Rosenberg was convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud and falsifying financial documents to the SEC. Like Ruth, he was ordered to pay a $57,000 fine and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service.
Ken Handler died in 1994 at the age of fifty. His family attributed the cause of death to a brain tumor, but others claim it was due to complications from AIDS.
Barbara Handler Segal went on to form her own linen business and is now retired. She’s eighty-four years old, and no, she was not the older woman featured on the bench in the Barbie movie.
Bob Mackie is a longtime Barbie designer. What began in 1980 and continues till this day has resulted in the creation of nearly fifty collectible Barbies.
Stevie Klein , my fictional character, went on to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a fashion designer. She married the fictional Simon Richards and the two lived happily ever after.