1972 Walk Lively Ken, & (Talking) Busy Ken

WALK LIVELY KEN #1184

Walk Lively Ken’s arms and head turn if you move his legs. In Germany he was also known as Geh-mit-Ken, in the Netherlands as Loop-met-Ken, and in France as Ken qui Marche. He came with his own unique ‘walking’ stand. The original TV commercial for Walk Lively Ken can be seen on Youtube.

From this year the boxes were given age recommendations. The initial “Recommended for children 5 and over” was later altered to “Not recommended for children under 3”. Barbie and friends had originally been conceived as more grown-up toys for the 8-16 age range. Now it seems they were to be marketed at any child physically able to hold one without potentially killing itself.

The Australian version was packaged in a clear plastic tube, with the walking stand as base. The slogan on the tube says “PUSH ME FAST OR SLOW IN MY WALK ‘N’ TURN STAND. I TURN FROM HEAD TO TOE!”

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There were two Busy Kens, a talking and a regular version, both with gripping hands. Both came with the same accessories: TV, suitcase, telephone, record player with record, a tray with two glasses, and stickers, plus a white or clear plastic stand. The belts came in either dark- or mid-brown.

TALKING BUSY KEN #1196

Talking Busy Ken says:
I’ll bring my guitar to the party.
Help me pack for my vacation.
Heard Barbie’s new record?
Come on, let’s dance.
Hi, this is Ken.
Barbie’s a great cook.

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BUSY KEN #3314

In Germany Busy Ken was known as Spiel-mit-Ken, in the Netherlands as Speel-mee-Ken, in Sweden as Ken med griphänder or Ken Holding Hands, and in Italy as Ken mani vere.

Markings: © 1968 Mattel, Inc. U.S. & For. Pat’d. Other Pats. Pending Hong Kong.

The Canadian packaging states that Ken comes with a ‘Twist n Turn waist’, presumably copied from the Barbie packaging. Later versions have a sticker covering this error.

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The accessories below, which are likely to have come from a European version of a (Talking) Busy Ken, are made of black plastic, rather than the usual brown.

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BOOKLETS & CATALOGUES

Notice that a picture of Talking Brad is used to advertise the non-talking #1142 version (below right).

During the 1970s, there were occasionally separate Sears and/or Simpsons catalogues – either instead of, or bizarrely as well as, the regular Simpsons-Sears catalogues.

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ARTICULATION

As well as their unique gripping hands and jointed wrists, the Busy Kens were the first to have arms that bend at the elbow. This feature wasn’t seen again until Sport & Shave Ken in 1980.