Hey Gang!
Before there was
Happy Family Grandpa in 2003, before
there was the
Mad Men Rodger Sterling doll, there was
Heart Family Grandpa.
He was the first 12" male doll in the
Barbie/Mattel line with gray hair. He was not the first doll
with gray hair. The first
Happy Family Grandparents(1976)
had gray hair, but they were 9 1/2 " African American
dolls. Strangely enough, when Mattel did a new line of
family dolls, they reused the name Happy Family for this
new 12 " dolls. I use the phrase Barbie/Mattel
because the Heart Family was not said to be Barbies but
"friends" of Barbie. These dolls did use the Barbie bodies,
some of the accessories, and clothes.
The Heart Family dolls were produced from 1985 till 1990.
They featured a father, mother, and two children. The
parents and children were produced in both Caucasian and
African American versions. There was a full line of items
produced for these dolls, including many kinds
of fashions, a house, car, playground, bike, school, and they
even went to Disneyland! It was an extensive line.
In 1987, the
Heart Family Grandparents were added.
These dolls are the predecessors to the Happy Family dolls
of 2003. A grandpa face mold was produced for these dolls
with wrinkles molded in, not painted in. The head mold of
the grandfather was later used for the 1993 Davy Crockett doll with
the hair changed to brown. Above, he is in his original outfit
of a purple and white shirt with a purple tie and gray pants. He
also has a white sweater. (I can't find it.) FYI, out of all of
the Heart family dolls, the grandmother is the hardest to find.
Unlike the Happy family dolls of 2003, the Heart Family
grandparent dolls were only produced in Caucasian versions.
I have dressed my doll, and he is now living in Dolly World as
Joseph Russo, manager/owner of the local Home Depot.
His is married and has a son....
and a daughter who is in college.
OK, Thanks For Look!
