Do You Think the Original Barbie Looks Like Lucy?

[FairreLilette]

I looked up the original Barbie the other day (and I can't quite remember for what) but I noticed a striking resemblance to Lucille Ball during the I Love Lucy days.

Does the original Barbie (or one of them - I thought the original was brunette) look like Lucy from the I Love Lucy show to you?

[Love Zhaoying]

American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.  (Wikipedia)

[FairreLilette]

5 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.  (Wikipedia)

Never new that either!  Barbie was such a big part of my life as a child.

But, she looks a lot like Lucy to me and I wondered why that was never mentioned.  Like it was a secret or something.  For what reason, I can't see why keep secrets about a doll.  

[Lucia Nightfire]

I look nothing like that. You can't see through my waist nor my head. 🙂

Edited August 20, 2019 by Lucia Nightfire

[Madelaine McMasters]

She looks just like me...

And nothing like me...

Edited August 21, 2019 by Madelaine McMasters

[JennCrossSL]

I kinda do 🙂

[Selene Gregoire]

To me, original Barbie never looked anything like Lucille Ball. That's not to say Mattel never made a Barbie to look like Lucy because they did.

And then there are these:

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

1 minute ago, Selene Gregoire said:

And then there are these:

 

Carol Burnett's Scarlett is classic...

 

[Selene Gregoire]

39 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

Carol Burnett's Scarlett is classic...

 

I loved her show and the way she would tell her grandmother she loves her at the close of each episode. I loved watching tv back then. These days... not so much. Hundreds of channels now and the pickings are just as slim (if not more so!) as they were 40 years ago.  The part that really bugs me though is in order to have some of the "basic " channels (Weather Channel, SfFy, BBC-A, Science, History) you have to pay twice as much for what ends up being less to watch. 

Oh and to stay on topic, here is Carol as Scarlett O'Hara Barbie.

 

[Layla Claven]

I know they aren't exactly classics but I wish I had bought these when they were released. 

[Madelaine McMasters]

11 minutes ago, Selene Gregoire said:

I loved her show and the way she would tell her grandmother she loves her at the close of each episode. I loved watching tv back then. These days... not so much. Hundreds of channels now and the pickings are just as slim (if not more so!) as they were 40 years ago.  The part that really bugs me though is in order to have some of the "basic " channels (Weather Channel, SfFy, BBC-A, Science, History) you have to pay twice as much for what ends up being less to watch. 

That's a very good likeness of Carol!

My parents replaced their TV with me, either thinking they didn't have time for both, or that I might be more entertaining. I did sneak in some TV watching at friend's houses and binged a lot on the oldies station in the engineering school student lounge, so I'm not completely culturally clueless.

I do have a TV now, but I don't have cable.  I stream a few things and, like you, I am overwhelmed by both the choices and the expense. My Mom's cable/internet bill (she loves baseball) is starting to look like a car payment.

[Selene Gregoire]

42 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

That's a very good likeness of Carol!

My parents replaced their TV with me, either thinking they didn't have time for both, or that I might be more entertaining. I did sneak in some TV watching at friend's houses and binged a lot on the oldies station in the engineering school student lounge, so I'm not completely culturally clueless.

I do have a TV now, but I don't have cable.  I stream a few things and, like you, I am overwhelmed by both the choices and the expense. My Mom's cable/internet bill (she loves baseball) is starting to look like a car payment.

Or maybe... just maybe, you were one of those kids that required a little tighter rein because you liked taking things apart to see how they work. In more ways than one. 

I'm not overwhelmed by the choices. I'm not interested in watching most of it. Prime Time isn't Prime Time anymore.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Selene Gregoire

[Coffee Pancake]

2 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

..... That's not to say Mattel never made a Barbie to look like Lucy because they did.

No, they really didn't. 

I really wish making dolls that looked like the people/characters they were supposed to represent wasn't actually impossible.

(and I was never much of a Barbie fan, Sindy was waaaaaaay cuter!)

[Lindal Kidd]

3 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

I do have a TV now, but I don't have cable.  I stream a few things and, like you, I am overwhelmed by both the choices and the expense. My Mom's cable/internet bill (she loves baseball) is starting to look like a car payment.

Yeah, I'm not sure why "cord cutters" think they are saving money.  But I've got to admit that all the streaming options these days give you access to some cool stuff.  I've recently been binge-watching my way through all of the Futurama and Kim Possible episodes.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

I think Barbie looks like Ruth. Or maybe Ruth looks like Lucille?

 

[Selene Gregoire]

11 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I think Barbie looks like Ruth. Or maybe Ruth looks like Lucille?

 

 

No comment.

[Jerilynn Lemon]

8 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

And nothing like me...

Lucy. Pulling a train.

I could see Peppermint Patty or Sally doing such a thing. But Lucy?

Another childhood memory of a beloved comic strip now shot to sh**.

[Ceka Cianci]

The very first barbie had black hair also.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Ceka Cianci

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

Those hours fly by, when you're watching the dishwasher wash.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

Lucille Ball was a goddess. Literally. People sacrified time and attention in her name. "Better than lamb's blood", as she says in this video:

 

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

On 8/20/2019 at 10:31 PM, FairreLilette said:

I looked up the original Barbie the other day (and I can't quite remember for what) but I noticed a striking resemblance to Lucille Ball during the I Love Lucy days.

Does the original Barbie (or one of them - I thought the original was brunette) look like Lucy from the I Love Lucy show to you?

Both were from the same period of time and both models. I Love Lucy ran from 1951-1957. The development period for the original Barbie would have been 1956-1958. Lucille Ball was a model before she went into television and the original Barbie was marketed as a fashion model. Ball was famously red-haired though. So similar hairstyle from the time period but very much the wrong colour for Lucy

 

[FairreLilette]

On 8/22/2019 at 1:44 AM, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

Those hours fly by, when you're watching the dishwasher wash.

Speaking of "fly by", my friend who lived in another neighborhood had a boy in her neighborhood who would take her Barbie dolls and throw them on the roof.

They ended up friends for life.  Well, at 6, she thought it was funny.  

This is really a true story.  And, he was pretty funny guy.  

I wouldn't want my Barbie's thrown on the roof though. 

Disclaimer:  I never watched dishes change color.   

[Lyssa Greymoon]

Yeah, she kinda does. I also want magic color changing dishes. If they'll change outside the dishwasher.