Friday, August 29, 2014

Doll-A-Day 218: Talkin' 'Bout Boys Week: That Kid

  Today's doll is a very special one to me. He's That Kid by Hasbro.
 

 And before we go any further, let me say that this doll is NOT CHUCKY, (from the Child's Play and Chucky horror movies.). Nor is he the doll Chucky was based on. Chucky was inspired by the Cabbage Patch doll craze, and his look seems to be pure My Buddy.(My daughter Emma did have a friend that was totally creeped out by That Kid when they were younger. She thought he looked like Chucky.)
See?  He's not scary. He's cute!


That Kid was produced for only one year, 1967.

The same one year that Little Miss No Name,which I wanted and did get,was made.
I was five that year. I spotted him in the catalog and fell in love.

This is the picture I saw in the catalog. i cut it out and saved it, and I still have it somewhere.
  I wanted him so badly!




Hasbro 1967 on the back of his head.
I asked for him every Christmas and birthday for years. I didn't know that he wasn't available any more.

I'm not lucky---or rich---enough to own one in a box.

He was advertised as 'your very own little brother', and he was actually sort of the first interactive doll.He ran on 1 'D' sized battery....

The battery compartment on his chest.

... and he said several different phrases depending on what you touched or moved. When you raised his right arm he said, "Hey! That's my pitching arm!" When you pulled his ear and tilted his head left or right he said, "Let go of my ear!". When you sat him down he said, "Can't I come too?", When you took the slingshot out of his back pocket, (and thus, out of a slot in his bottom.) he said, "You'd better put that back or the monster will get you." If you picked him up and hugged him he said, "Put me down. You're funny looking."


A switch on his back, and the slot for his slingshot in his...uh...cheek. (There's a corresponding hole in his pants cheek,inside his pocket.) The actual bottom switch is down inside.

The inside of the flap of his box, illustrating his phrases.
I  saved the picture from the catalog but I didn't know what he was called though. I assumed he was by Mattel, and I thought he'd be about the size of Chatty Cathy. At 21" tall he's actually only an inch taller  than Chatty Cathy, but his head is huge in comparison and his body is much beefier.



For years I just called him 'my boy'. I finally managed to find out what he was called through the internet when that sort of thing was still new.

Had to use a flash here. When the light hits those green eyes in a certain way they do tend to look a bit stare-y.

See?
But without the flash he's just a cute little guy.

Ken bought me one off Ebay years ago, but he has no insides, so he'll never talk again.






Later I got another one. He has his insides, but he'll probably never talk again either. Repairing a That Kid is harder than a simple pull string repair. There are so many switches inside this guy. I talked to a man once who used to repair That Kid, but he had stopped doing it. It was just so hard to do.

Original hat on right on empty Kid, reproduction replacement hat on the left on Kid with insides.To keep them straight I refer to Kid number one as 'Boy', (as in "My boy".), and the second one as 'Kid'.

Kid and Boy taking in the wonders of my yard. It needs mowing.


Original jeans on right side Kid, replacements on left side Kid.
Obviously somebody thought about repairing this guy because his body has been opened up. It's still not sealed, and his legs fall off when he's moved around. They are also loose when he's not moved around, so he has trouble standing up straight.



The original denim pants have a zipper and a snap.
That Kid is 21" tall. He came wearing his red and white striped shirt, (Which is impossible to remove intact because his head is so big.), denim pants,blue baseball cap, red socks, and denim tennis shoes. He also had a slingshot.
Made in Hong Kong tag on his shirt.

The hat and slingshot are the hardest things to find. His shoes are usually in a delicate state because the rubber is rotten after so many years.


Because his shoes are so delicate I put them away to protect them. These shoes are similar looking real baby shoes, but these are his original orange shoe laces. The original shoes are denim, with a white rubber toe cap and brown rubber soles. They actually look and have the quality of real baby shoes. I was going to show them, but after digging around in my closet for a while, on this hot day, I gave up. I know they're in there somewhere. If I ever dig them out I'll update the pictures on here.
UPDATE: The shoes!




He has green sleep eyes with black lashes, lots of freckles, and an open mouth with two molded and painted teeth. 
I don't know why this will only load sideways.

I love the teeth. I think that was what drew me to him in the first place. What can I say? I have a tooth thing.
If I had had a That Kid when I was a kid, I would definitely have brushed those teeth. I used to brush the teeth on our giant Bugs Bunny when I was little. It's a wonder there's any paint left on them.


His mouth is actually molded as a hollow space, which makes his teeth stick out more.



He has a big head of fairly realistically coloured red hair. Years ago, when my son Fuzzy, who has red hair, was little, the doll was standing on the couch. Fuzzy's sister Emma came in and saw the top of That Kid's  head showing above the back of the couch, and she thought it was her brother. I guess it didn't help that I also used to dress Fuzz in a red and white striped shirt fairly often. He had blue shorts, or what he referred to as his 'hook up pants', (bibbed overalls) to wear it with. I called it his Dennis the Menace outfit.

The hair is choppy, but it came that way.
 His profile is a little strange. Very concave.




 Some That Kid dolls have very red spots on their cheeks. Those are caused by the doll's face rubbing the inside of the box lid.
  These guys have subtle blush.


He's not very poseable. His arms and legs move. When he sits his legs just kind of stick out. His head can be turned and tilted a little because it has a bulbous neck on a swivel joint. That probably has something to do with making him talk when you tilt his head. It can look really awkward though.



  Someday I would love to get my That Kid repaired, or find one that does talk. I've never heard him, so I'm curious. But even in their non-talking state I'm glad to have them. Ken has tried to get me all the dolls I wanted as a child and never got. This guy was top of the list. He's a hard one to get too, so I feel lucky to have my 'twins'.
  Tomorrow is Skipper Saturday. I'll have to work on that when I get back from The Big City. My sister and I are going to see the Sherlock Holmes exhibit at COSI, (The Center of Science and Industry.).

25 comments:

  1. That was one great week to follow your posts, I really enjoyed all the boy posts :-). It's great that you have the doll you wanted so much as a child, that's very special! I hope you can get him talking again some day. Again I had never heard of him, but I just love talking dolls! I once considered starting a collection of talking dolls but most of them are so hard to find! I have one talking pull-string Mattel doll (still talks!) and a Tiffany Taylor (who plays guitar but is mute) but that's it. Thanks for sharing your boys dolls!!!

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    1. Thanks Night Owl. Another problem with a talking doll collection: they tend to be big! At least, the old ones do. These days they can make anything talk. I just saw a talking doll last week at the doll show I had never seen. She was about the same era as Chatty Cathy or maybe a little earlier, and about the same size. The lady selling her thought she was an English doll, but she didn't have an accent. I can't remember what the lady said she was called.

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    2. I now have one complete That Kid Doll, I had to buy 2 in order to put together one that is all original including the box. My husband got this doll for Christmas in 1967. Both of my That Kid Dolls have complete insides but will not talk, Im going to use the one doll to play around with trying to make him talk again.

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    4. Had to delete this the first time around. I need to check my spelling before I publish!
      Good luck! I hope you get him talking again. As I said, I was told by an expert that he gave up fixing That Kid because it was too difficult, but maybe you'll be lucky. I'd love to hear him. Your husband doesn't have his Kid any more? Was he interested in replacing him, or is it just your project? Lucky him, getting a That Kid! Was That Kid a favourite that he had asked for, or did they just pick it out for him?

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    5. I had this doll as a kid. This is the first I have seen one on line. I tememner when you moved his arm hebeould say. " hey, thats my pitching arm. I also temomber when you pulled his sling shot out of his back pocket he would day. " put that back or the monster will get you". He did and said a lot more. I loved that doll. I don't know what ever happened to mine. I hope you get the one you have working. Such an a rare find. Please post if you get him working.

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    6. Wow, you were one of the lucky ones! Had you asked for him, or was he a random gift? I wish I could get one of mine working. unfortunately the one has no innards to fix, (Maybe a previous owner was trying and took them out.In any case, they are gone.) and the other has his insides, but as I say, it's hard to find anyone who works on these dolls because it is so complicated.I imagine If I found someone who fixes them they would charge a fortune.

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    7. I just remember I had that doll and I would like it again it was my favorite I believe it got lost once the family move. I can still see it just like back in the days I was only six.🤗

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    8. They are out there,and the price seems to be dropping. Good luck.

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  2. Ironically, this doll is being sold on eBay for $300 with all original items including the sling shot. He too, does not talk...the auction ends on Dec.13,2014...just letting you know because I happen to have read this blog....

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  3. Thanks so much for letting me know. That's far out of my price range, or it really could be the perfect 'kid Christmas' (No pun intended.) for me!

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  4. I just bought one that talks really well. He has a heavy boston accent.

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  5. A Boston accent? I'd LOVE to gear him! Maybe one day I'll get lucky and find one that works that I can afford. He's so rare, maybe you should do a YouTube video of him talking.

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  6. Wow - I have never heard of or seen this guy before now. But, I was about 4 when he came out, so maybe I just was not into man dolls then either. The dolls I c really remember were; a Barbie (the older ones with molded hair looked like a witch to me, so I played with her, but I didn't like her much), then Tubsy, Baby Chrissy and finally Teen Chrissy. And thanks to Ebay, I have 'recovered' all of these dolls once again (Plus WAY too many more!!)^_^. Wonder if anyone else has a commercial of your Kid/Boy you could hear his voice for yourself? Well, like you said, at least you have your own and get to play with them now ^_^

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    1. I keep hoping somebody who owns a talking That Kid will post a video of him talking on Youtube. I'd love to hear whta he sounds like.

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  7. I had one when I was young. He didn't sound Boston at all. Sounded like a brat! Lol! I wanted one mainly because he was a boy and I had no brothers. I wish I knew what happened to him. I have other dolls from my childhood like Crissy with the growing hair and Mrs. Beasly from Family Affair. She doesn't talk anymore either. But I do wish I still had my That kid doll. I had forgotten he had a sling shot until I read your post. That was a really neat doll. Thanks for the memories!

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    1. You were one of the lucky ones! I wanted a Mrs. Beasley too. I did finally get one...ok a few!...of those too. Both were on my list for years!

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  8. Hi, I got this doll for Christmas when I was little. I still have him and love him. He doesn’t talk anymore but i would like to have him repaired. He sounded like a sassy little boy, especially when you pulled his slingshot out or pulled up on hie right arm.

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    1. I hope you find someone to repair him someday. Most people who repair talking dolls won't touch him because it's too much of a pain n the neck. I finally got a talking one,but he has a couple of phrases not working. He sounded a lot sweeter that I imagined he would. I put a video on the more recent post of my new doll,but I don't think it's working. You can check it out at http://planetofthedolls.blogspot.com/search/label/That%20Kid%20doll Hopefully I'll have it fixed soon.

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  9. I really enjoyed all the facts in your article. I have my "That Kid" doll since I was a child. I named him Georgie as in Georgie Poorgie. My Georgie never talked though as he came defective. Poor Georgie. Georgie has been a part of my family and has had his special seat in every single home we have lived in since we got him. Thank you for all the information you have gathered about my little brother Georgie.

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    1. Have you ever thought of getting him repaired? Since he is untouched you know he at least has all his parts. It is hard to find someone who repairs them though. I tried to do a video of my working That Kid talking, but it didn't quite work out. Hopefully I'll get it up and working on YouTube some day, as I see no one has done a video of him taking yet. You can check out the post though, at: http://planetofthedolls.blogspot.com/2018/06/world-doll-day-and-christmas-in-june51.html

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  10. I don't know if my post went through or not. If you can please send an email to verify that you received it. As I would love to hear if you've gathered more info. My wife has a lot of her childhood dolls as well. Some of my favorite boys dolls where the big jim action figures.

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  11. I have one in package. Used for maybe a week or two in 1967 then put away. (Literally unseen for over 50 years. Returned out of the mist. An interesting story there I'll tell you if you want to hear it).

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    1. I'd love to her it, and even see a picture of your guy, if we can figure out how to get it through!

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  12. I have a mint one for sale. works perfect like new. asking 1200.00 email me at kkudra@yahoo.com thanks Kim

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Thanks in advance for your comments.