Ruth Marianna Mosko was born on November 4, 1916 in Denver, Colorado, to Polish-Jewish immigrants Jacob and Ida Moskowicz. Jacob worked as a blacksmith. Ruth was the youngest of ten children, and at six months old she was sent to live with her older sister Sarah. Ruth stayed with Sarah until the age of 19, by which time she had developed an enthusiasm for business by working at Sarah’s drugstore/soda fountain.
In 1932, at the age of 16, Ruth fell in love with Izzy Handler, who was an art student. The couple was later married in 1938 in Denver. During the summer of her sophomore year at the University of Denver, Ruth went to Los Angeles and landed a job at Paramount Studios. The couple moved to California once they were married, and Ruth encouraged Izzy to use his middle name, Elliot. Ruth continued working at Paramount and Elliot worked as a lighting fixture designer.
Elliot began making furniture from two plastics: Lucite and Plexiglas. At Ruth’s suggestion, they started a furniture business, with Ruth in charge of sales, and she landed contracts with businesses such as Douglas Aircraft Company. Business executive Harold “Matt” Matson joined the Handlers’ company, which they renamed Mattel by combining “Matson” with “Elliot.” Elliot would later explain that they couldn’t figure out how to include Ruth’s name in the combination. Sales fell during World War II, and Mattel found new success making toy furniture.
After Ruth noticed the market void of adult-like dolls, she traveled to Europe in 1956 with her daughter Barbara and her son Kenneth. Ruth came across Bild Lilli, a German doll based on a popular character in a satirical comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Bild. The Lilli doll was first sold in German in 1955, and though initially sold to adults, the doll became popular with children who enjoyed dressing the doll in outfits that were available separately. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Ruth had in mind; she purchased three, gave one to Barbara, and took the others to Mattel. Handler redesigned the doll with help from local inventor/designer Jack Ryan. She named the doll “Barbie” after her daughter, and gave Barbie the hometown of Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie premiered on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. The Handlers and Mattel later added a boyfriend for Barbie, named Ken after Ruth and Elliot’s son.
Starting with U.S. Patent No. 3,009,284, Barbie and her related merchandise are the subject of at least 330 patents. Among the patents and applications are some interesting subject matter, including:
· Ken’s hair style (U.S. D689,965);
· Eyelash-simulating rooted fibre (U.S. Patent No. 3,411,235);
· Changeable-shape hair piece and method of styling (U.S. Patent No. 3,955,587);
· Winking apparatus (U.S. Patent No. 4,424,644);
· Doll simulating yoyo play (WO 200108774);
· Doll having spinning light supporting belt (WO 200268080);
· Hair-styling doll head having colour-change hair crimper (WO 2004108240);
· Doll responding to human breath such as caused by whispering, speaking, singing, or blowing (WO 200424276); and
· A stand that generates electrostatic charge to make the doll’s hair move (U.S. Patent No. 9,205,342).
In 1970, Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she had a modified radical mastectomy, often done at the time to combat the disease. She spent less time at Mattel to focus on her health, but her loss of self-esteem affected her leadership and she lost control of her business. In 1980, she said, “When I conceived Barbie, I believed it was important to a little girl’s self-esteem to play with a doll that [had] breasts. Now I find it even more important to return that self-esteem to women who have lost theirs.”
Handler decided to make a breast prosthesis due to her difficulty finding one that she found adequate. Under a new company, Ruthton Corp., Handler manufactured a more realistic version of a woman’s breast called Nearly Me, aiming to boost women’s confidence. The invention became popular, and Betty Ford was fitted for Nearly Me after a mastectomy.
In addition to being named Woman of the Year in Business by the Los Angeles Times, Handler was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame by the Toy Manufacturers of America, received the Volunteer Achievement Award from the American Cancer Society, and was the inaugural Woman of Distinction of the United Jewish Appeal.
Following several investigations into fraudulent financial reports, Handler resigned from Mattel in 1975. She was charged with fraud and false reporting by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Handler pleaded no contest and was fined $57,000 and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service.
Handler died on April 27, 2002 in California from complications during surgery for colon cancer at the age of 85.
