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The toy idea that he conceived in 1962
represented freedom and democracy, and it was the first of its kind.
It was nearly 12 inches tall and had 21 moving parts. The toy was
based in part on a TV show called "The Lieutenant."
This best-selling toy had a manufacturing defect, but that didn't
matter. It spawned a whole new industry, as competitors tried to
cash in once they saw that young boys would want this new type of
toy.
The inspiration for this toy for boys was… none other than Barbie
herself! Weston saw how popular Barbie had become with girls since
it was introduced by Mattel in 1959, and he thought that boys
deserved something similar to play with.
He approached Don Levine, who was an executive of a toy company
in Providence, R.I. The Hassenfeld Brothers Co. was started by Henry
and Helal Hassenfeld. They founded their company in 1923 by selling
textile remnants, pencil boxes and school supplies. You might not
recognize the company's name, but you probably own several of the
products they make.
Before they could introduce Weston's toy, they needed to figure
out how to package it properly in order to be successful. This
included giving it the right name. Since it was a doll, and little
boys don't play with dolls, it had to be given a different name.
So they called it an "action figure," and its name came from a
movie.
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In 1964, Stanley and Hassenfeld introduced the toy at the toy
industry's annual trade show, the Toy Fair, in New York City.
Today, more than 40 years later, there is a whole industry of
action figures. The action figure that Stanley Weston created and
licensed to the Hassenfeld Brothers Co. in 1964 was G.I. Joe, and
G.I. Joe's name was taken from the 1945 movie "The Story of G.I.
Joe."
A couple of little-known pieces of trivia: The manufacturing
defect that I mentioned earlier occurred when the company put the
thumbnail on the wrong side of the thumb. The defect was later used
to protect G.I. Joe from copyright infringement. And the G.I. in G.I.
Joe, as every soldier knows, stands for "government issue."
Earlier I said that you might not recognize the Hassenfeld name,
but you probably own several of the products the company makes.
In 1968, the Hassenfeld Brothers Co. changed its name to Hasbro.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at niemann7@aol.com. You can learn
more about Invention Mysteries by visiting the official
Invention Mysteries website.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2006
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