Doll-A-Day 215: Talkin' 'Bout Boys Week: Ricky

  Today we're looking at Mattel's idea of the All American Boy from the 1960s. It's Skipper's friend Ricky.

Ricky was introduced in 1965 as a 'tan skinned' doll. (Those are the ones with the grayish complexions.) The next year he was available with the new pink skin tone, but, alas, not the bendable legs that Skipper and Skooter now found themselves with.

Ricky has pretty detailed molded red hair, and cute freckles.

I have been wanting to put a pink skinned Ricky head on a Living Skipper body, so he can ride a bike and look like he's really playing.

1966 was Ricky's last year. The tan skinned Ricky's can be had for a decent price, but the high colour pink skinned dolls are more expensive.

My beautiful little pink skinned guy was more affordable because he has a nick on his nose.

Most collectors think, or at least want to think, that Ricky is Allan's little brother and Skooter is Midge's little sister. But if the books written about Barbie and family are to be taken into consideration, Ricky and Skooter are brother and sister, and no relation to Allan and Midge.

Unlike Skooter, Ricky was given his own wardrobe.

I'm sorry Top Right and Bottom Left pictures, but Ricky's legs CAN NOT move like that.

 I suppose that was necessary. Skooter could share all of Skipper's clothes, but Ricky was more limited in that respect. He does look good in Skipper's green and blue plaid shirt from Fun Time,and aside from the Ricky tag, there isn't much difference between Ricky's white short sleeved shirt from Sunday Suit, and Skipper's similar shirt from School Days.(Ricky's shirt has a shaped tail and his collar buttons.)

 

Four fashions were sold for Ricky in 1965,and two in 1966. The limited number of fashions makes it possible to complete a whole collection of Ricky items. His clothes are a little harder to find than most of Skipper's though, and can be a little pricey.

This guy is wearing Little Leaguer, from 1965.

Little Leaguer consists of the red baseball hat with an 'M' for Mattel, red shirt with blue stripe,denim jeans, red socks with a blue stripe at the top,(They match his shirt.),white tennis shoes, baseball glove and ball. I have the ball, but the bat from Ken's 1963 outfit, 'Play Ball' was easier to get him to hold.

 

Actually, Ricky is wearing the Barbie jeans to Picnic set, because I think they fit him better!

Unlike some of the other members of the Barbie line that have been discontinued, Ricky has never come back. I think that's a shame. He was a cute little guy, and there just aren't enough boys in the Barbie world. I suppose that's because little girls don't want to play with boy dolls as much as they want to dress and style the hair of girl dolls they can live vicariously through. And now days, little girls are raised to believe they can do anything boys can do. So whatever adventures little girls of the past might have lived out through Ricky, they can now live out through a girl doll,or even live it themselves.
  Tomorrow we'll see another boy.