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About Mr. Potato Head
Mr. Potato Head, one of the world's most adored "personalities," was "born" in 1952, at the Pawtucket, RI-based toy company, Hasbro, Inc., and began making history at an early age as the very first toy to be advertised on television.
The original Mr. Potato Head contained only parts, such as eyes, ears, noses and mouths, and parents had to supply children with real potatoes for face-changing fun! Eight years later, a hard plastic potato "body" was included with Mr. Potato Head to replace the need for a real potato. Over the next three decades, a variety of Mr. Potato Head products were sold. He was so loved by children, that he was expanded into additional toy categories including puzzles, creative play sets, and electronic hand-held, board and video games. The vast popularity of Mr. Potato Head also attracted non-toy companies who licensed his image and name to make apparel, accessories and novelty items.
Mr. Potato Head's appeal to people young and old made him the ideal ambassador for many causes and good-will efforts. In 1987, Mr. Potato Head surrendered his signature pipe to the U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, and became the "spokespud" for the American Cancer Society's annual "Great American Smokeout" campaign -- a role he carried out for several years. On his 40th birthday, it was decided that he would no longer be a "couch potato" and he received a special award from the President's Council for Physical Fitness, right on the lawn of the White House! Always one to pass on a wholesome message to the public, he and Mrs. Potato Head joined up with the League of Women's Voters in 1996 to help out with their "Get Out the Vote" campaign and spread the word about the importance of voting to Americans.
Mr. Potato Head's celebrity status carried him to Hollywood in 1995, where he played a supporting role in Disney's "Toy Story." And, in 1997, Burger King hired him to be the spokespud for the introduction of their new french fry and "Try the Fry" campaign. In the fall of 1998, he will star in his own Saturday morning children's television program, "The Mr. Potato Head Show," which will debut on the Fox Children's Network.
Mr. Potato Head ... a world-class personality whose recognition grew from a simple children's toy to everyone's best friend, a speaker of causes, entertainment star and a cultural icon.
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