She was Germany’s most desired call girl

Then quickly rose to stardom on her first visit to the US

Lilli was quite a character.

Some called her a “gold digging buxom broad.”

And she certainly didn’t hesitate to talk back to male authority figures, which in her day and age was verboten.

Lilli was quick-witted too. Like the time she was warned by a policeman for illegally wearing a bikini on the sidewalk.

She responded, “Oh, and in your opinion, what part should I take off?”

Lilli was extremely good looking too. Men loved her. In fact at one time in her career she was Germany’s most beloved call girl.

She was perfect in every way.

Except for one small detail: Lilli wasn’t a real person.

A Cartoon to the Rescue

In 1952, Mr. Reinhard Beuthein was hired by the company, Axel Springer SE to create a cartoon for the German tabloid Bild Zietung.

The newspaper was first published in 1912 and consisted mostly of pictures (hence the German word Bild). It actually was a best-selling tabloid not just in Germany, but all through Europe.

Over time, it added stories, mostly political with strong conservative overtones. And its readership was mostly men.

And as what happens from time to time in the newspaper publishing industry, Bild Zietung’s readership was trending downward. So the editors figured if they added a cartoon … one that men would find amusing then readership might jump back up.

But they weren’t exactly sure what the cartoon should look like or its storyline. They left that up to Reinhard Beuthein to figure out.

Reinhard’s first attempt of the cartoon was an unruly baby girl.

He showed it to the editors, which they quickly rejected. It’s understandable why they did that. Remember, their readers are men so a cartoon about a baby, no matter how unruly, isn’t going to pique their interest.

So Reinhard went back to his drawing table and drafted a second sketch. But this time, he drew a woman with blond hair. And she had large, perfect breast and curvy hips.

Reinhard named his character Bild Lilli. He showed the drawing to the editors, and this time they loved it.

On June 24, 1952, Bild Lilli made her appearance in the newspaper.

She was an immediate success.

In fact it wasn’t long before the entire country would know her by name.

Living A Plastic Doll Kind of Life

Mr. Beuthein made sure Lilli’s character was comfortable in her femininity. And he always sketched her wearing fashionable and somewhat risqué clothes in skimpy and tight-fitting cuts.

Lilli didn’t purposely flaunt her good looks, unless of course she was actively trying to catch the attention of a wealthy man. And since Lilli never dated the same man twice, she more of a call girl than girlfriend.

Bild Lilli cartoon

Of course many religious groups were put off by Lilli’s appearance and attitude, but that didn’t stop her from gaining a following. Surprisingly even women were buying issues of Bild Zeitung just to read Lilli’s newest adventure.

The truth is Lilli's popularity grew so fast that Bild Zeitung decided to merchandise their new star. The company contacted toy designer Max Weissbrodt at the O&M Haußer toy company.

They sat down with Max and discussed what Lilli should like as a doll. Max wasted no time putting her together.

Max made Lilli 12-inches tall, with moving parts. For instance, her legs were attached at the hip, so when she sat down, they stayed together.

Lilli’s doll-sized wig was glued onto her scalp, which was then attached to the head with a screw that was positioned on the inside.

She had painted nails, a full face of over-done makeup, styled hair, and molded-on black stiletto heels.

When Max showed the newly designed doll to the publishers of Bild Zeitung they gave approval right away. Manufacturing of Bild Lilli commenced.

The Bild Lilli doll

By 1953 Bild Lilli dolls were being sold at tobacco stands and newspaper kiosks as a type of gag gift for men. She even came with a copy of the Bild Lilli cartoon.

Everyone Wants a Lilli

One thing the company didn’t expect to happen … is that women were buying a Bild Lilli for themselves.

Lilli was wildly successful, selling out quickly.

She was the world’s first mass marketed doll. And she became so popular, the company started making her in different sizes. You could buy the regular 12-inch Lilli or the new 7-inch version.

Not only that, but she also came in different outfits. The often fashionable and sometimes daring outfits were so well designed, the company started packaging and selling them separately. Now you could change Lilli’s outfit whenever you wanted.

Soon Lilli was being sold in Italy, Scandinavia, and England.

Lilli even made it onto the big screen. Well, not literally the doll.

But a live-action film was made starring Danish actress Ann Smyrner. The movie featured Lilli in a race against time to help the police stop a pastor-turned-gangster-and-murderer who is smuggling counterfeit bills.

When you create something that is such a rapid-fire success, other companies get jealous. And the next thing you know, everyone is making their own version of Lilli.

Once You Go Plastic, You Never Go Back

If you were traveling to Germany, or anywhere in Europe there’s no way you wouldn’t know that a Bild Lilli doll existed.

She was everywhere. In fact about 130,000 Lilli dolls had been sold across Germany and Europe.

In 1956, Ruth Handler, along with her husband Elliott and their children, Barbara and Kenneth took a trip to Europe, where they first set eyes on Bild Lilli.

Admiring the outfits Lilli wore, Ruth bought a few dolls … one for herself and the other for her daughter, Barbara.

Back home in the U.S., Barbara loved playing with paper dolls, constantly changing their outfits. As for dolls you could dress up, there weren’t many other options for girls back then. It was paper dolls only.

But Ruth knew that Barbara would be instantly drawn to Lilli. And she was right.

Barbara loved her little Lilli so much; it would be gosh-darn hard to go back to playing with paper dolls. It would never feel the same way again.

As she watched her daughter interact with Lilli, Ruth started thinking of how she might make her own version of the doll.

Now you should know Dear Reader, that Ruth and Elliott Handler are no strangers to toys. In fact they were the founders of the toy company, Mattel, Inc.

And Ruth had a “tingly toy sense” that if Lilli was a hit in Europe, certainly she’d be one in the U.S. too.

Hello America, It’s Me

When the Handler family returned home to the U.S., Ruth started working on different prototype re-designs of the Lilli doll.

Ruth wanted her version to mimic the glamour of 1950’s movie stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. But she couldn’t completely modify Lilli, or she’d risk losing the look that made the doll so popular.

In other words, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” So instead of making major changes, Ruth made smaller ones.

For instance, she didn’t glue the doll’s hair onto its head, she rooted it in using little holes. And she applied tiny eyelashes to the eyes.

She also made the doll’s head swivel. And she modified Lilli’s ponytail, adding curled bangs. Then she toned down the make-up, making Lilli’s look more natural.

However, the biggest change of all, was making the doll out of vinyl instead of plastic.

With her new prototype ready, the only other thing left to do was give Lilli a new name. This was a no brainer for Ruth. She already knew that she’d name this new version of Lilli after her daughter, Barbara.

And just like that, Lilli was now Barbie.

Ruth introduced Barbie to the American public during the New York City toy fair on March 9, 1959. And what a showing she made.

In that same year, 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold.

With record first year sales, the Handler’s wasted no time getting the name Barbie copyrighted and trademarked.

Let’s Make a Steal

Now here’s where our “happy go lucky” doll story turns dark … or more like into a brawl. Not a physical one but in the courtroom.

Since Barbie was selling so well, the Handler’s figured what better way to capitalize on their success by taking their company public.

That move usually draws a lot of attention but not always from investors. In this instance, their desire to go public caught the attention of the executives at the O&M Haußer toy manufacturer, the doll’s designer, Max, her cartoonist Reinhard Beuthein, as well as publisher Bild Zietung.

In 1961 they sued Mattel for infringing on their rights. The key part of the lawsuit involved the patent used in Bild Lilli’s hip joint. That’s something Ruth did not significantly change.

And when you look at the original Lilli next to the original Barbie, they look almost like twins.

Side by side view of Lilli and Barbie

The lawsuit was a full on battle. The Handlers were in hostile take-over mode. They didn’t want any other dolls competing for that share of the toy market, not even the original Bild Lilli.

The battle raged for three years. It wasn’t until 1964 that it was settled out of court. Mattel wound up buying the full rights to Bild Lilli for an undisclosed amount.

But that meant, Lilli could no longer appear in the Bild Lilli comic strip. It also meant that Lilli dolls had to be removed from tobacco stands and kiosks. Really, anywhere she was sold.

In the blink of a doll’s eye, Bild Lilli was gone for good.

Last Doll Standing

Reinhard Beuthien tried again to repeat the success he had with Bild Lilli.

He came up with two new comic strips, Schwabinchen in Bavaria, and Gigi in Germany. However they weren’t that funny and people immediately saw them as knockoffs of Bild Lilli.

Mr. Beauthein quietly faded into obscurity. So did Max, Lilli’s doll designer.

O&M Haußer would close its doors for good in the early part of the 1980s.

Only Bild Zietung survived. In fact it still exists today with a circulation size of 3.5 million readers.

As for Barbie, she’s now sold in 150 countries. More than 100 dolls are sold every minute, with a total of 58 million sold annually. Last year, Barbie’s sales topped out at $903.5 million.

Barbie is Mattel’s largest and most profitable toy line. And as you might suspect, Barbie is one of the most popular gifts given for Christmas.

And it all started with Mr. Beauthein’s one good idea for a comic strip about a sassy girl who made men laugh.

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Awesome Quotes by Awesome People

“When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate others.”— Eric Hoffer