The success of Ken encouraged the production of many ‘clones’, ie. cheap, superficially similar boy dolls, mostly made in Hong Kong. Some are obviously made to resemble Ken, while others are more original, though none came anywhere close to being serious competitors.
FLOCKED HAIR CLONES
BILL by Fab-Lu Ltd, like most early clones, looks like a zombie Ken. With his ghastly skin and spooky ‘flashing’ eyes, it’s a wonder they managed to sell any of these dolls. He was at least given a decent wardrobe, packaged similarly to Ken’s own. Like 1961 Ken, Bill was available in blonde, brunette, and mid-brown. Despite his scary looks, Bill is one of the few really collectable Ken clones: most clones and clothing, even originally packaged, can be bought for a few dollars, but Bills can sell for hundreds.
I’ve seen different versions of several Bill outfits, and they almost all came with variation fabrics. There are obvious similarities to the vintage Ken packaging, but note the differences on the reverse: Bill appears to be holding a cigarette. Click on the photo below left to see many more Bill outfits.
Check out this website for more, wonderfully vitriolic, information about Bill and his girlfriend Babs: http://www.fondationtanagra.com/en/article/bild-lilli-and-the-queens-of-outer-space/page/enters-babs
MR. TEENAGER U.S.A. is another zombie-Ken. I have found three different box designs for this doll, and two different companies seem to have made him and his clothing range: Evergreen and Mego Corp. (including its subsidiary Princess Grace Doll Inc.). Whoever was responsible, they did a terrible job. Apart from the deathly doll, the clothing is extremely shoddy. I’ve seen much better homemade stuff from this period. I suppose they just hoped the patriotism angle would win over common sense. Even if it was all produced in Hong Kong.
One other flocked hair Ken clone which is possible to name is TED, who came packaged similarly to Bill, but who seems to have come dressed in various complete outfits. I’ve also seen a Doctor version of this doll.
This DOCTOR & NURSE SET is not dated, so I have no idea if it precedes the other doctor (and nurse) sets shown further below or indeed Ken’s own Doctor outfit from 1963.
PAINTED HAIR CLONES
FRED by Plasty (in Germany), the BEACH DOLL by Arkin A-OK Products, BOY DOLL and others, all resemble painted hair Ken. They are probably the same basic doll produced in Hong Kong, and dressed, packaged and/or painted slightly differently for the various countries and companies. In terms of longevity, Fred was the most successful Ken clone, certainly from Europe. Plasty was a German toy company who quite blatantly copied US companies like Mattel, Hasbro and Mego for many years. Like Ken, Fred was periodically remodelled, and he survived into the 1990s. More information about Fred can be found in the other clone sections.
The name Mr. Mod suggests that this clone was sold in the late 1960s.
The earliest Plasty catalogue to feature Fred seems to be from 1966, a year after the release of Petra. The Fred dolls illustrated in the catalogues from 1966-1967 show a generic doll, more resembling one of those Dan or Don type clones, though I have never found this doll for sale (even out-of-box) in German auctions. The painted hair Ken clone was probably the version actually sold, as he often appears for sale in Germany. He is introduced in the Plasty brochure for 1967-68 and is the doll exclusively shown by 1969. In the catalogue from 1969, Fred is referred to as Petra’s “big brother”.
Of course there were some more original-looking boys too, like the dolls produced by established toy companies, such as Tammy’s brother TED (and her VHTF boyfriend BUD) by Ideal, or Sindy’s boyfriend PAUL by Pedigree in the UK. They had a great range of original and well-made clothing, but they are unfortunate looking, with odd ‘humanoid’ bodies. They look fantastic in the illustrations, but sadly the real dolls bear no resemblance. Despite their innovations (a version of Paul was released with rooted hair, and Pos’n Ted had bendable arms and legs) they were short-lived and, unlike Ken, did not get reinvented for the Mod generation. For more Paul info visit: the Sindy Museum.
Ideal even produced a competitor to Mattel’s Ricky (see section Ricky) in 1965 in the form of POS’N SALTY, who, unlike Ricky, came with sports accessories. Ideal also packaged this doll in a plain card box, wearing ‘patched’ T-shirt and jeans, and sold him as POS’N PETE.
Note that the bendable version of Ted predates Mattel’s bendable leg Ken and Allan dolls by a year.
As well as their regular line, Pedigree produced a cheaper clothing range under the name Mam’selle. The catalogue above right shows the five Mam’selle outfits for Paul, all of which are now extremely hard to find. King of the Road is so rare there isn’t even a photo of it to be found anywhere online. Many thanks to our sindy museum for the use of the Group Gear photo below right.
In France there was JACKY (boyfriend of Mily), produced by French toy company GéGé. He came boxed with a basic underwear set. So far I’ve only managed to date him through catalogues from 1965-66, but I’ve seen several different box designs and many outfits, so he must have been sold for quite a few years. Jacky’s outfits are beautifully made, but rarely appear as elegantly fitted as Ken’s, maybe because the fabrics used were a little too heavy for one-sixth scale.
Back in the US, Plastic Molded Arts (P.M.A.) produced two boys called RONNIE and TOMMY. Tommy features in the 1964 Sears Christmas catalogue. In Canada, L. Davis Textiles Co. Ltd (Davtex) produced two similar dolls called DON and RICK. Don (boyfriend of Suzette) features in the Canadian Simpsons Sears catalogues for 1964 and 1965, with a large clothing range. All these dolls look similar, with their side glancing eyes and short blonde hair.
Don came in at least two versions. The one shown below right not only has a different head, but is also wearing a clone version of Ken’s later beach outfit with shorts instead of trunks.
The 1963 Simpsons Sears Christmas catalogue features a nameless boy doll, who comes with a large boxed set of clothing. Although the picture is quite small, much of the clothing resembles outfits produced by Ardee/Supreme Fashions (seen further below). The 1964-65 clothing range for Don included copies of Campus Hero, Tuxedo, The Yachtsman, Fun on Ice, Dr. Ken and Ski Champion.
Despite being copyrighted in 1964, Rick came in clone copies of the 1961 and the 1962 version of Ken’s original beach outfit.
This shoe set box for Davtex (below left) bears remarkable similarities to the packaging by Totsy shown right and further below.
Though mostly known for their clone clothing, Totsy also produced a similar Don doll (boyfriend of Donna).
The 1964, 1966 and 1967 Aldens Christmas catalogues feature an identical clone called BOB (boyfriend of Babs or Betty), who came with his own wardrobe.
Another DON was sold through the Jewel Tea catalogue as the boyfriend of Debbie Dunbar, and through the Spiegel catalogue as the boyfriend of Polly. From 1963 they seem to have come with the Dr. Kildare-type doll head. He was originally made like a regular Ken with straight stiff arms and legs, but from 1963 he was also available with a jointed body.
Doctors Kildare and Ben Casey had been popular TV characters in the US since 1961, so it was inevitable that doll versions of them would be released. They came in several different versions, either alone or with a nurse. The boxes have a 1962 copyright date, but they first appear in the catalogues in 1963. I have also seen a version of the Dr. Kildare doll packaged completely differently (more like a ‘baggie’) by ‘Linda’, dated 1963.
ANDY or DAN by Eegee came in two versions. One has simple molded crew-cut hair, but the second version is slightly more unique, with his quiffed hair. Dan came in red Ken-like shorts, but as Andy he would originally have had a black and white knit swimsuit, rather oddly combined with sports socks and shoes. Some quiff and crew cut versions have Andy wearing a cardigan too, as shown in the 1963 catalogue below. There were at least four extra outfits available for Andy.
The dolls below are all very similar to each other, possibly even produced by the same factory and packaged by various companies as desired in the US. The Bobby and Janie dolls were sold by a company called Larami c.1969. Their catalogue has some amazing period illustrations.
Ken was not the first teen-age boy doll, but, like Barbie before him, he literally changed the mold of ‘teen’ dolls. An obvious example of this is Uneeda’s BOB doll, sold exclusively at the US chain store Grants (W.T. Grant Co.). The earlier Bob (below left) was a standard boy doll with babyish body and huge glassy eyes. In 1962 he miraculously transformed into a tall slender youth, with a body almost identical to Ken’s (below right). The slender version is another extremely collectable clone, and even unboxed can sell for a couple hundred dollars. The earlier ‘babyish’ version, on the other hand, has sold on Ebay for as little as 99 cents.
The doll below was produced by Grant Plastics Inc. but there is no real evidence to suggest that this has any connection to W.T. Grant Co. and the doll, although similar, has distinct differences to body and hair.
There are also clone versions of Allan and Ricky. The Allan clones are interesting, as they vary so much. Some are painted exactly like Mattel’s Allan, some have forward-looking blue eyes like the painted hair Kens, and others have eyes with white dots, more like the flocked hair Kens (many thanks to Roland for the photos of the two dark-haired Allans). Note that some have black hair. The clone Ricky clipping was sent to me by clone collector Emmanuel Perez. According to Emmanuel, the company who produced the clone in the Danish ad was called Camey.
CLONE CLOTHING
SHILLMAN
M & S Shillman, Premier Doll Accessories Inc., Toy Doll & Novelty Company, Progressive Doll Accessories, and Dolly Fashions Inc. etc. all sold clothing and accessories from similar, mostly Brooklyn-based, New York addresses, so were probably the same company working under different names. (Eegee who produced Andy, also based in Brooklyn, was highly likely part of the same company too). Some clothing is identical to Ken’s genuine wardrobe, and some more original. They were presumably all produced during the mid to late 1960s. Click on the photo below to see many more originally packaged outfits.
This Mr. Teen Tailored Fashions outfit is called Campus Caper. It is one of at least three versions (Like Fab-lu, Shillman produced many slight variations i.e. different colour socks, slacks, sweaters, shirts etc.). The packaged version shown below has grey trousers, and I’ve seen another with a red jersey and grey slacks. Shillman did produce a doll called Mr. Teen, but I’m yet to find one MIB.
ARDEE / SUPREME FASHIONS
Another company who produced under different names was Ardee/Supreme Fashions. They produced Mr. Kent and Dapper Dan fashions with several great accessories. Click on the photo below left to see many more originally packaged outfits by Ardee/Supreme Fashions.
TOTSY
Totsy Manufacturing Co. Inc., based in Holyoke Massachusetts, produced a large range of boy doll outfits and accessories, under various titles. Note the sets containing clones of Business Appointment hat, coat & gloves. Some accessories by Totsy appear almost identical to those sold by Shillman. Click on the photo below left to see many more sets by Totsy.
PEGGY-ANN
Peggy-Ann Doll Clothes Inc. from Springfield Massachusetts produced several outfit sets, and at least one male doll (see the charmingly named “Happening Hank” in the mod clone section). Click on the image below to see many more Peggy-Ann outfits.
OTHER COMPANIES
The items below are all from various online auctions, showing just how similar many clone items are. Apart from the Totsy clone version of In Training none of them were packaged, so it is impossible to say who produced them.
The 1964 Western Auto Christmas catalogue is interesting, as it shows a genuine Ken sold in direct connection with clone clothing, the earliest I have so far discovered. The mention of “luggage-style cases” and an outfit called Campus Caper, suggests that these outfits are Mr. Teen Tailored Fashions by Shillman, as shown further above.
There is so little information available online about Ken clones and clone clothing. The clothing appears for sale online constantly, but usually out-of-box, making it impossible to know which items belong together, or fit to which doll. The information above is just a tiny glimpse into the clone ‘underworld’, and I readily admit that I’m no expert. If anyone can provide extra information and/or photos, feel free to contact me: contact@somethingabouttheboy.com.