Chatty Cathy A Talking doll

Chatty Cathy

1st edition issued March 1960.

A Mattel company talking doll.



Chatty Cathy was introduced in March of 1960 at the New York Toy Fair. She had blonde, red or brunette hair styled in a pageboy with bangs. She said 11 phrases when the pull string on the back of her neck was pulled.  The speaker holes are in her chest.  The pattern of the speaker helps to identify year issued.  Most of the Chatty family of dolls had two large front teeth and freckles.  Today unless the doll has been restored, the freckles can hardly be seen.  They can easily be restored with a dark brown permanent marker.  Place the doll under a bright light and replace them using the faint originals as a guide.

The original dolls in the Chatty Family of dolls had a wide variety of looks. The dolls were put together with parts made in many different countries. Some Chatty's had soft heads and some hard heads. They had different eye colors and different skin tones. Some had eyes that looked straight ahead and some looked to the side.  Today the there is at least one arm or leg that has a slightly different skin tone.

Even the hairstyles differed in that some had short hair with bangs to long hair in ponytails depending on year of issue. 

Some years had several of the styles.

Collectors can have a large collection of these dolls with no two
just alike. Finding the different combinations is quite a challenge and thrill to find for the collector.

The Chatty Family includes: Chatty Cathy, Chatty Baby, Tiny Chatty Baby, and Tiny Chatty Brother, Charmin Chatty, and the last doll released was Singing Chatty. 1965 was the last year the original Chatty Family of dolls was made.

In 1970, The dolls were again introduced in new sizes and different looks. They were not well received and were not in production for very long.
Chatty Cathy was a popular favorite of children of that time.

 Today many collectors wanting to replace their childhood dolls Chatty Cathy is their first choice. Due to the dolls having been played with and well loved by their owners, most do not still talk. There are places they can be sent for repair and it is very expensive as the doll must be totally taken apart. Most all can be repaired but parts are difficult to come by as the dolls parts were made in many countries and a part has to be found to fit that particular mechanism. Also some dolls took baths with their young owners and as a result the mechanism is rusted. Others had holes poked in the speakers or the

pull string is broken.

Did you know?
* The first Chatty Cathy came out in 1960.

* Original voice for Chatty Cathy was Maurine McCormick of       the Brady Bunch fame, a popular TV show.
* Hair colors are: Blonde, Brunette and redhead.
* Eye colors are: blue and brown, with blue most common.      * The hardest to find are African American ones.

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