It is without a doubt and remains to this day, one of the most iconic images ever photographed — and possibly the most famous poster of all time.
It certainly was the best-selling poster of all time.
Of course I’m talking about Farrah Fawcett in her red swimsuit, photographed in 1976 by Bruce McBroom in her backyard.
That poster sold over 12 million copies at $3 a pop, hauling in $36 million in sales. So you could say it was also a record breaker.
Prior to Farrah’s poster, the most remembered one was Betty Grable’s World War II-era 1943 Pin-Up Poster. Betty posed in a white one-piece swimsuit, looking over her shoulder with a playful smile.
The poster, which sold roughly 5 million copies was released by 20th Century Fox and became a cultural icon for American soldiers.
The next highest ranking poster was Bo Derek’s “10” Poster released in 1979. The poster, tied to the film 10, features Bo Derek in a gold swimsuit with cornrows, running on a beach.
Produced by Orion Pictures, the poster capitalized on Derek’s emergence as a sex symbol after the film’s release. While it’s difficult to find precise sales figures some sources suggest 5–8 million copies were sold in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Even though Farrah’s poster outsold all others, she made just $400,000.
Why so little money?
Well at the time the deal was made, Farrah was just gaining fame with the television show, Charlie’s Angels.
She reportedly accepted a flat fee instead of negotiating royalties or a percentage of sales.
That means most of the profits went to the poster company (Pro Arts Inc.) and her then-husband, Lee Major’s agent, who helped broker the deal.
And that man is the centerpiece for today’s issue of Just One Good Idea.
While he is known for managing Farrah’s poster deal and other licensing agreements including Farrah Fawcett Shampoo by Fabergé, what few people realize is that he invented a toy that not only became a cultural icon but also the world’s first “action figure.”
So Dear Reader Let me introduce you to Stanley Alan Weinstein (later changed to Weston), born in Brooklyn New York on April 1, 1933.
When War Interrupts Your Career
Stanley’s father worked in the famous New York garment industry, and his mother was a homemaker and a jazz pianist.
As a young boy, he loved comics and also seemed to display an early talent for business. In an interview about his early childhood, Stanley recalled,
"When I was a kid, I used to sell my comics out of a milk crate. The other kids could buy them for 3 cents, or they could rent them for a penny. Kids would sit in front of my apartment in Brooklyn and read them."
When Stanley was old enough, he applied to and was accepted into New York University with the goal of earning a master’s degree in business. But he had to put that on hold when he joined the Army to participate in the Korean War.
The War started on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces led by Kim Il-sung and equipped with Soviet tanks and artillery, invaded South Korea, capturing Seoul within days.
For South Korea, the fight was under the direction of Syngman Rhee, supported by the United States and a UN coalition (including troops from 15 nations, e.g., UK, Canada, Australia).
The U.S. and South Korean forces were initially overwhelmed, retreating to the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive line in southeast South Korea.
But then General Douglas MacArthur, commanding UN forces, executed a daring amphibious landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950, recapturing Seoul and cutting North Korean supply lines. UN forces then pushed north, capturing Pyongyang (North Korea’s capital) by October.
The U.S. Eighth Army and South Korean troops advanced toward the Yalu River, the border with China.
China, fearing a U.S.-aligned Korea on its border, entered the war with 300,000–400,000 troops (People’s Volunteer Army). Their surprise offensive pushed UN forces back south of the 38th parallel, retaking Seoul by January 1951.
By mid-1951, the front stabilized near the 38th parallel, leading to two years of trench warfare. Known battles like Heartbreak Ridge and Pork Chop Hill were costly but changed little territorially.
Peace talks began in July 1951 but dragged on due to disputes over prisoner exchanges and borders.
It was however after Joseph Stalin’s death and Eisenhower’s election, negotiations concluded with the Korean Armistice Agreement, signed at Panmunjom. The DMZ was established, and prisoners were exchanged under Operation Big Switch.
The war ended with no clear victor, preserving the division of Korea into North and South. But it took it’s tole on all sides in the fight with causalities in the millions:
South Korea: - 137,000 military deaths, 450,000 wounded, and 1 million civilian deaths.
North Korea: - 215,000–350,000 military deaths, and 1–2 million civilian deaths.
China: -180,000–400,000 military deaths (thought estimates vary).
UN Forces: -36,000 U.S. deaths, - 103,000 wounded; other UN nations (e.g., UK, Canada) lost -3,000 combined.
The war shaped post-WWII American patriotism, influencing media like MASH* (set in Korea) and other shows that drew on military heroism.
It most definitely impacted Stanley Weston’s life and career. The war’s intense combat and harsh conditions (subzero winters) would have exposed him to the realities of military life.
And that military exposure would later have a defining moment in his career.
The Merchandising Life
You see when he returned home to New York, he found a job with the advertising agency McCann Erickson and enrolled in night courses at New York University to finish his MBA, which he did sometime in 1956.
At the agency, Stanley was involved with marketing and branding for different companies. That is also how he got involved in making licensing and merchandising deals.
In fact he was so good at it, he left the agency to work with a firm that exclusively handled licensing for television shows, movies, athletes, and celebrities, including early clients like Twiggy.
Remember Twiggy? Born Lesley Hornby on September 19, 1949, in Neasden, a suburb of London, England. As a teenager, she was known for her waif-like, petite frame (standing at 5’6” and weighing around 90 pounds).
In fact it was her boyfriend and manager, Justin de Villeneuve (real name Nigel Davies), that gave her the nickname of Twiggy. He initially called her "Sticks" due to her skinny legs, but "Twiggy" was chosen as a catchier, more marketable name.
In 1965, at age 16, she began modeling after being spotted by a hairdresser, Leonard of Mayfair, who gave her a distinctive short haircut that became her signature look. In truth it was a journalist from the Daily Express who wrote an article about her after seeing a photo of her new haircut, launching Twiggy into the spotlight. He named her “The Face of ’66.”
It was early in her modeling career that Stanley secured deals for Twiggy including products like the 1967 Mattel Twiggy doll, mod clothing, and cosmetics. In reality, the Twiggy doll was a huge success, selling in the 500,000–1 million range from 1967–1969.
His deals helped her earn roughly $500,000–$1.2 million and that doesn’t include the money she made as a top model.
Another famous person that Stanley did deals for was Milton Supman otherwise known as Soupy Sales. His slapstick humor and pie-throwing gags made him a kids’ TV icon, with The Soupy Sales Show airing nationally (1960–1962) and in syndication (1964–1966).
Stanley secured deals for merchandise like Soupy Sales lunchboxes (by Aladdin), trading cards, comic books (e.g., Dell Comics), records (e.g., “Pachalafaka”), and novelty toys (e.g., pie-throwing kits), sold at toy stores and five-and-dimes.
If there’s one thing to say about Stanley, it’s that he most definitely had a knack for spotting pop culture trends.
A Toy for Boys
By 1960, he founded his own merchandising company Weston Merchandising, which he later renamed as Leisure Concepts. He was handling clients like MGM, Universal, World Wrestling Federation, Nintendo and of course later on Farrah Fawcett.
In 1967, he signed a 10-year agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Assn. for the likenesses of virtually every ballplayer in the National and American leagues.
However before that deal, Stanley had his biggest breakthrough of all … creating a toy doll figure for boys.
Remember, Stanley had a knack for spotting trends and one toy that was taking the country by storm was Mattel’s Barbie. (I wrote about Barbie several issues ago, but if you want to read the story, you can do so by clicking on the link below)
Stanley thought that if a toy could sell that well for the little girls market, surely the same could happen for little boys.
Drawing upon his experience in the Army but also from his many, many visits to Army-Navy surplus stores buying a variety of paraphernalia for each branch of the service. And from the dozen of military articles he read in Encyclopedia Britannica, Stanley came up with his one good idea - a poseable, military-themed action figure.
So in 1963 Stanley Weston pitched his concept of a toy doll that would come dressed in military outfits to a toy manufacturing company called Hassenfeld Brothers. The company was founded in 1923 by three brothers - Henry, Hillel, and Herman Hassenfeld in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. (They later shortened the name to Hasbro Industries in 1968.)
Don Levine who served as the company’s Vice President and Director of Marketing and Development, as well as a former Korean War vet absolutely loved the idea.
Hasbro offered Stanley two options: (1) Get paid $50,000 up front and 1% royalty on G.I. Joe’s sales or (2) Get paid $100,000. Stanley took option number 2 and entered an agreement with Hasbro, which gave the company all the rights to Stanley’s “outfitted action figures.”
That is equivalent to about $1 million today. This decision, while lucrative at the time, meant Weston missed out on the toy’s massive future profits.
But Stanley was happy with the deal because he still had his licensing and merchandise business. And besides that his next big deal was just around the corner - a merchandising deal for ThunderCats.
To jog your memory, ThunderCats was a science-fantasy series about humanoid cat people fleeing their dying planet, Thundera, to battle evil forces on Third Earth, a distant planet resembling a futuristic Earth.
The story centered on themes of leadership, honor, and survival, with a mythical tone inspired by works like Masters of the Universe.
Project Robot
Now Don who became the lead on bringing Stanley’s action figure hero to life was also inspired by how Barbie captured the little girls market for dolls. And he wanted to make something similar.
It also just happened that he noticed a wooden artist’s mannequin in a store window, sparking the idea for a highly articulated action figure that could mimic human poses. He led the development of the toy, ensuring the doll had 21 movable joints, a groundbreaking feature at the time.
He then hired Massachusetts-based sculptor, Phillip Kraczkowski to design the head for the figure for $600 (about $5,700 today). Don requested a “young, good-looking American man” to represent the armed forces. A distinctive facial scar was added to deter knockoffs, and some speculate the head subconsciously resembled John F. Kennedy due to Kraczkowski’s prior work on a Kennedy medal.
The Hassenfeld brothers were taking a significant risk on producing the action figure doll because nothing like it existed before. They invested millions in production including streamlining the process for making the doll’s outfits.
With so much money at stake, they didn’t want to a chance on other toy makers finding out what they were doing so they codenamed the project “Robot” to maintain secrecy. To avoid the “doll” stigma, which seem too feminine for what they were creating, the Hassenfeld’s coined the term “action figure,” creating a new toy category altogether.
The initial line included four figures—Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, and Action Marine. They named the figures G.I. Joe after “government issued,” a stand phrase in the military.
The first G.I. Joe launched February 1, 1964, leaning into the post-World War II patriotism. Needless to say G.I. Joe was a massive hit upon release. In its first year, Hasbro sold over 300,000 units, generating $16.9 million in sales.
By 1965, sales reached $36.5 million, accounting for nearly 66% of Hasbro’s profits. The toy’s high-quality articulation, detailed accessories, and appeal to Cold War-era patriotism drove its popularity, resonating with families who had veterans at home. Accessories like the Deep Sea Diver, Jeep, and Space Capsule sets fueled sales even higher.
But when your sales skyrocket quickly, sometimes a thing comes along and squashes everything. And the thing that came along was the growing anti-Vietnam War sentiment. This led to a backlash and protests against war toys, with slogans like “Toy Fair or War Fare?”
Retailers like Sears dropped military toys, causing sales to falter. And things just getting worse for poor Joe. Hasbro tried to rebranded G.I. Joe in 1969 as the “Adventures of G.I. Joe,” shifting from military to adventure themes like deep-sea diving and environmental rescue.
In 1970, the line became the “Adventure Team,” with features like flocked hair, movable eyes, and “Kung-Fu Grip.” Despite innovations, sales continued to decline due to changing social attitudes and the 1970s oil crisis, which increased plastic costs. A 1976 attempt to pivot to a sci-fi “Super Joe” line (8 inches) failed, and by 1978, G.I. Joe was discontinued.
A Revival in The Making
Inspired by the success of that toy maker Kenner had with their .3.75-inch Star Wars figures, Hasbro relaunched G.I. Joe in 1982 as “A Real American Hero.”
The new 3.75-inch figures, designed by Ron Rudat, featured enhanced movement (e.g., swivel-arm battle grip) and competed directly with Star Wars toys. The line introduced a narrative of G.I. Joe as an elite counter-terrorist team fighting Cobra, a terrorist organization, with characters like Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Cobra Commander, crafted by Marvel Comics writer Larry Hama. Hama’s even included detailed “file cards” and comics gave each figure a unique backstory, boosting engagement.
And to cement the toy’s future success, in 1983 animated series was created. The show, produced by Marvel and Sunbow Productions with writer Ron Friedman’s iconic “Yo Joe!” catchphrase, hooked kids through a five-part miniseries, leading to a full series in 1985.
The Cobra Commander figure, available only via mail-order with “Flag Points,” received over 125,000 orders … amazing when the company only expected to sell 5,000. Between 1982 and 1994, the line produced over 500 figures and 250 vehicles, becoming one of Hasbro’s best-selling lines.
By 2004, Hasbro had sold over 400 million figures, and by 2014, over 375 million. The toy line has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame (2004) and Pop Culture Hall of Fame. Its influence extends to comics, cartoons, video games, and films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009).
In the first two years after its release, the new G.I. Joe line contributed significantly to Hasbro's revenue, accounting for two-thirds of their income.
Today Hasbro generates revenues of over $4 billion with the G.I. Joe franchise estimated to be worth $100 million. Hasbro is the third ranking toy maker, with Mattel coming at number two and Lego at number one.
Stanley Weston, a Korean War veteran and advertising professional, revolutionized the toy industry with his creation of G.I. Joe, the world’s first “action figure.” But in some ways, you could say that glory faded because his name is barley mentioned as the man behind the toy soldier. Other people took credit for the invention and shared handsomely in the profits.
As for Weston’s flat-fee deal, that meant he missed out on royalties, a recurring theme in his career. His financial gains were tempered by short-term deals; unlike the sustained wealth of franchises he helped build.
Weston’s legacy, marked by his 2017 death and a net worth estimated at $10–$20 million, is bittersweet: a licensing pioneer who created billion-dollar properties but reaped only a fraction of their value, while leaving an indelible mark on pop culture.
Amazing Quotes by Amazing People
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs
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