Vintage and Modern Dolls, Writing and Doll Preservation

This transcript was generated from the episode captions and lightly edited for readability. Names and product terms may occasionally be imperfect. Quoted dollar amounts retain the wording of the interview; the currency is not always specified.

0:00Hello dolls and accessories. I'm your host Kelly and this is Barbie Talk. [music] Barbie Talk with Kelly in Pink. Today I'm joined by not just a collector and a Barbie lover. He's an author and a pop culture historian with over 1400 dolls in his collection. David, known as Behold the Valley of the Dolls on Instagram, which also happens to be the title of his upcoming book, has built an incredible collection that goes beyond nostalgia. It's a celebration and preservation of pop culture history. He's been featured in several editorials and even on the Discovery Channel. I'm honored to have him on the show, so let's bring him in. Please welcome David. Hi Kelly. Hi David, welcome to Barbie Talk. Thank you. I am so excited to be here. Uh, such an honor. I'm wearing pink for you. I love it. Oh my [laughter] god, that background David.

0:53We're going to get into all of that. Look at that background. Woo, I don't even know where to look. There's so many of them. It's only a corner of this room, too. I always love to start the show with giving everyone a little bit of background on who you are, where you're from, and how your relationship with Barbie started. Okay, I'm David. I live in San Diego, California. Go Padres. I've always been a Barbie guy. I grew up with two sisters, one 10 years older than me and then one six years younger than me and they always had Barbies. And since I can remember, I love Barbies and I was fortunate I was raised in an unconventional family and they didn't care if their son played with the dolls. My sisters didn't care. In fact, I probably played with the dolls more than they did. So, Barbie guy, I was born in the same year that the Ken doll was released and he's kind of my soulmate in plastic. So, I grew up in Virginia and that's in the Washington D.C. suburbs and that's where in the 1960s and 70s and that's when my Barbie playtime started. I'm a child of the mod era. So, the twist and turn Barbies, the original talking Barbies, that time period. That's my childhood. And around 1977, I stopped playing with dolls. Of course, I became a teenager. And didn't give her much thought. Just kind of put her in the background.

2:09I was doing teenage stuff, right? Late 70s, 80s. And then my birthday, 1987, my partner at the time gave me a birthday gift. And I did not even know these dolls existed. I was not into Barbies. I didn't know what was out there. Crazy, cuz I'm a Barbie guy. So he gave me six dolls. And it was these Barbie and the Rockers. Right here. He got you all six? Yeah, all six of them. And these are the original dolls. Anyway, so obviously Barbie Rockers is my first Barbie in the collection. And Ken, that's my first Ken. So that was it. I That love for Barbie was reignited. I just loved it. I just felt like a kid again. And the next day I decided I was going to be a Barbie collector. And I went out and bought my second Barbie. And you know who she was? This is 1987.

2:59It was [gasps] Tropical Barbie. Yes, that bathing suit. All that hair. Oh, wow. So this is actually the second Barbie in my collection. We always give the first Barbie credit, right? And not the second one. That's right. That's right. And so these are not dolls you repurchased. These are your original dolls from the 80s. Wow. I mean, I have purchased some newer ones. I mean, some things which were in the 80s and 90s. But like the Rockers, for example, I've had them for a long time. That's fantastic. A lot of people have lost their collection, whether through moving or like my mom threw some of my notes. So you know, you kind of rebuy them as an adult. But to still have them in that great condition is fantastic. Yeah. I got lucky cuz I became a collector in the you know, the later 80s and the 90s. And all those great playline dolls were out. You know, California Dream and um, you could go to Toys "R" Us and still they still had the Peaches 'n' Cream to buy, and um, the Western Barbie, you know, and awesome time period. Totally Hair Barbie, um, Earring Magic Ken, all those classics that we love, you know. Yes. Um. You're You're naming my era. My California [laughter] dream was California dream was my first Barbie and Midge. I got both of them, and then we got the hot dog stand. So, it's very very sentimental to me, that whole California dream line. Yeah. Oh my god, you got the hot dog

4:20stand. I had two. I had two. One for me, one for my sister. [laughter] That line's really important for, um, you know, three things. One Number one, it brought back Midge, cuz Midge, uh, was replaced by PJ in 1969. It introduced Teresa, Barbie's first Hispanic friend, and Christie got a new face, that rounder face. So, I love California dream. I was going to say, I mean, being from San Diego, a little biased on that, but yes. Yeah, it's funny, cuz I, you know, I moved here 13 years ago, cuz I was always California dreaming. And the California dream dolls were like, I'm go This is where Barbie Ken are, you know? Mattel's out here. That's right. That's right. And it's beautiful. It's 70° right now. It's always 70° in San Diego.

5:09So, you've shown us what sparked your love for Barbie again, which of course that Rockers line is stunning. I think we all went through a time, whether it was our teenage years or, you know, maybe financially purchasing homes and whatnot, where we kind of put a pause on our collection, but the love for her was always there. And I'm glad that the Rockers reignited that for you. And you showed us your I guess your second doll, but your first doll there with Tropical Barbie. It's hard to probably answer this question, but do you have a favorite or a few favorites that you could share? I do, and it's surprising, cuz you know, I have I have [clears throat] actually 1,401 Barbie dolls in this collection. But, I do have favorites, and I'd love to share them. My number one favorite, if I can only keep one doll, which I hope never happens, is this one right here. This is the 1969 Twist 'n Turn Barbie. Look at that flip.

5:58And she's wearing the dreamy blues outfit. I should I should know that. This was the Barbie of my childhood. This is what I remember. This is what my little sister played with. So, she's my favorite. I have a second favorite, too. I love the mod dolls. And this is their the first Twist 'n Turn and look at this fashion. I just wanted to show those boots off. Oh, look at those boots. It's not my era, but man, I've been doing some interviews with people and just looking at them, I'm developing such a love for this era. They're gorgeous. I mean, the detail that went to the fashions, um you know, the hair. The original Twist 'n Turn Barbies, they gave the hair color names. Like, this is chocolate bonbon. Oh. And dark, you know, dark brown. The lighter brown was called um cocoa gogo and so on and so on. With these dolls, they were fun cuz they had like six, seven colors to choose from in hair color, which was different than Let me get a closer look at her. Let me see. Oh my goodness.

6:52Oh, and the lashes, the lashes. Yeah, the lashes. Beautiful. Oh my goodness, and that outfit. Mod. Beautiful. Wild and wonderful is what this fashion is. Yeah. Great. Now, I'm going to want to add some mod dolls to my collection. Thanks a lot, David. [laughter] You're welcome. I have another icon besides Barbie. Sorry, Barbie, I'm cheating on you. Huh. [gasps] My lifetime idols, Marilyn Monroe. [sighs] And so, when Barbie became Marilyn, that was a Barbie guy's dream. Yes. Look, I say, "Hi, Marilyn." And she's got the mole. She's got the little mole. So sweet. You know what? Two icons, Barbie and Marilyn come together. Yeah. Uh I can't believe Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday is this summer. And Mattel's doing a tribute doll to her. They are. Really all excited about that. Wearing the Diamonds Are Forever dress.

7:45Beautiful. And that bow in the back, like look at that dress. It's so Yeah, look at that. Look at that bow. And the taffeta, the um the fabric, you know. Stunning. Yeah. Stunning. Do you have any more favorite dolls? Oh, I have a lot. [laughter] I love the Malibu line cuz that's what I played with as a kid, too. And if I had to pick a Ken, I love Malibu Ken. I have nine of him in my collection. [laughter] You know what's funny? There's a lot of people I've interviewed who say when they have a favorite doll, they'll buy a lot just because they want that one doll that they already have three or four of. They just keep buying only one I do that with, too. But um I do like um Great Shapes Barbie from the '80s. I love her her face. Do you have her? [laughter] She's missing She's missing her ballet her ballet shoes. We got to find her some ballet shoes. I just put tennis shoes on mine. Good idea. This was um I actually had one as a child and I lost it or it just was really played with. So, I recently got this from a friend, 80s Barbie Girl. So, thank you to 80s Barbie Girl. She was my technically my sister's first doll, but I played with her. We also had the gym. So, lots of memories with this doll. Okay, Kelly, one more.

8:52I have to give my little sister tribute. This is my little sister Kim's first Barbie. This not not actual Barbie, but this is the first Barbie she ever received. It was the 1968 Talking Barbie. Does she still talk? No. No. You can get them fixed to talk, but most of them don't talk. I know there's a lot of young collectors out there that are buying this doll. Be careful with the legs. They break off so easily. So, I always hold her by the um waist. Oh, I didn't know that. really move her legs around. Well, I mean, the the early dolls, like the early '60s, like they were solid. What Did something change in the in the material? Yes, I believe it was the plastic they were using, but the dolls from like the late '60s to 1973, you have to be really careful with them. People would get like a Quick Curl Kelly doll, and start bending her legs to pose her and her leg pops off.

9:41Yeah. Breaks off, so. How do you decide which doll deserves a spot in your collection? Like when you're looking around, how do you decide? Well, I always go with my favorites, of course. And the thing about my dolls, most of them aren't in cases, glass cases, so I have to do a lot of dusting, which I actually like. That's how I play with Barbie, okay? You know, I don't like dusting, don't get me wrong. But, um I take them off the shelf and then I rearrange them and give them a you know, just kind of spruce them up and then do the different arrangement on the shelf. But, all the dolls up front of the shelves are my favorites. They're all my favorites, so but I don't have so much room on the front of a shelf, so but that is probably a really basic answer. Well, I see speaking of basics, I see a lot of basics on your top shelf there. A little Bill Greening up there. Yeah. I love Bill Greening, by the way. Me, too. What a great man.

10:30Fantastic. I've heard such great things about him. He sounds like a sweetheart and he's super talented, so. I've had I've had the honor of meeting him twice. And he's just so down-to-earth and sweet. And his last doll is my favorite, one of my favorite. Can you see her up there? The Bill Greening. I love her. With the pink with the pink massive don't oh grail, that's a grail for me, David. It's very '70s, right? Like that kind of psychedelic almost Pucci, like that Pucci-esque kind of And the headband, look at those earrings. Look at her purse, Kelly. Oh, the purse is to die for. It opens. It does not open. yeah. Yeah. That's the happy face. That face. Look at those earrings. Good job, Bill. Right? Good job, Five. You know what I'd like to have seen, though? Cuz I think she's gorgeous. I I love her. But, how fun if they would have done also a brunette, like a dark like dark brown hair? The same you know, have that option of the two?

11:27Cuz that'd be really hot. I usually go for like the the and the even redheads. Like I love beige. I love Barbie, got lots of Barbie, but there was it was a lot of blonde. The blonde army, right? It was a lot of blonde. A lot of blondes. And it didn't it didn't used to be that way. It was um the Malibu Barbie that started that trend. Um that's when and Superstar Barbie, that's when Barbie became associated with a blonde being a blonde. But the original Barbie, which is what Ruth Handler wanted, was the option of, you know, um blonde, brunette, redhead. Which I like that. I agree with you. I like that, too. I don't really know if I should call you David because you've also been given the name Man of Pop and Barbie Guy. Barbie Guy. So, you've been given some of these names through some of your publications and some of the features that you've had because David is an author. This is David's book. I've got my bookmarks in there still. Let me take those out. From Abba to Zoom. From Abba to Zoom. So, it's a pop culture encyclopedia of the late 20th century. So, anything you need to know about pop culture from the 20th century, look, I flipped open the page and I come to the page. I literally just flipped to this page and can't show it.

12:34And it's and it's M and the first thing I see is Midge. Well, along with Barbie, I started collecting toys. A massive collection of toys, tens of thousands of items. Barbies and other dolls and games and lunchboxes and Hot Wheels, everything pop culture, right? Cuz I love that. It was before the internet, okay? There was no Google. There was no Wikipedia. And I could not find a lot of information on the stuff I was collecting. So, from Abba to Zoom, actually started as a list. And then I thought, well, there's no book out there like this for us. Maybe I can write it. And so, because there wasn't the internet at the time, a lot of it came from the library, books, asking questions from um I'm a hairdresser, long long time hairdresser, and asking clients about, do you remember this commercial? Do you remember this TV show? Do you know, um so on and so on. And it just came, you know, I started taking notes.

13:21And then I decided I'm going to make it a book. We need this out there. And that's how it evolved. So, my collecting spawned this book. Ooh, the Pop Rocks. I remember those. Yeah. [laughter] And the Trolls, look at that. The Trolls. The only thing who's not on there I wish could have been on the cover is Barbie. But, they did honor me. Show them the spine, Kelly. My idol, my teen idol is on the spine under above my last name, above my name, Farrah Fawcett. So, they did that for me. Do you have the Farrah Fawcett doll? I do. Okay. Me, too. I have two. I have one in her pose, and then I have one I just wanted to play with. Say hi, Farrah. Aw, look at her that smile and that hair. Aw, hair. It helps that I'm a hairdresser, so I know how to feather the hair. [laughter] But, I love love Farrah. Oh, she's beautiful. And so, did you put her on another body? Cuz that's not the body she Yes. Little hint for um people out there.

14:18Her regular body just step, she's not poseable on pose. Malibu Barbie, 1970s Malibu Barbie. Same skin tone as her face. Plus, it's you know, Farrah was popular in the '70s, so why not do a 1970s Malibu Barbie body on her. I really love her. I actually have the uh It's right over there. The Farrah Fawcett poster that I My dad bought it for me when I was a a freshman in high school. This poster? Yeah. Yeah. I've had it since I was a teenager. [laughter] Oh my goodness. So, for anybody who didn't know about this book from A to Z, you can get this on Amazon from David Mansour. Thank you, Kelly. Awesome. So, no problem. Now, there's something in the works. You've got a book that you're working on called Behold the Valley of the Dolls. I do. How long have you been working on this, and what can people expect from the book?

15:03Let me show you this. This is This is just a kind of a mock cover. But, can you see that? The cover that I played with. I've been working on it for 8 years. And it started as a tribute to my own collection. I had this thought, I'm going to do a photo project. What if I start photographing every doll in my collection one by one portrait style full body pose. And so this is like March 2018. So I started and as I was doing it I thought God these pictures are beautiful. I'd love to share them with people. And this could be a book. And so this project evolved into a book now that I'm seeking publishing of. I'm real excited about it. I'm real pleased with it. I took thousands upon thousands of photos. I mean we're talking at the time my collection was on 1800 dolls and yeah yeah you can imagine. Did you just sell a few lose a few? originally I just did it recently.

15:58I mean in the past year I decided that I want to have all my dolls on the shelf. I had so many dolls in storage boxes and I realized some of them didn't really touch me right they weren't sentimental. It wasn't fair to them just to always be in a box in storage. And so I decided I'd just find ways to let other people have them. So now my collection's 1400. And I love it it's downsized and every doll I have I care about. And the thing about my dolls that's different is most of them I remember exactly when I bought it and when I bought it and the excitement [clears throat] I felt buying it you know. That doesn't go away. Even with that many dolls it doesn't go away. It's like that saying you may forget what someone said even what someone did for you but you'll never forget the way they made you feel. Right. That's so good Kelly. Yeah there's no there's Barbie's the same. You'll look at her and you'll be like I think I got this for my birthday.

16:44It doesn't matter because when you look at it that feeling of you opening it as a 6 7 8 22 year old person it doesn't matter. That feeling that comes over you never goes away when you look at it never goes away I love that. That feeling I remember walking in a Toys R Us even today going to the Target Barbie aisle that excitement is like what doll's waiting for [laughter] me you know. Even a thrift store you walk in and what's there what could be there and you find a great shape naked and you're like this is a great shape and you feel like you're saving them and you're bringing them back to life. It's Right. Yeah. Well now the exciting thing about collecting in the 80s and 90s again there was no internet, right? There was no Barbie signature sites, Mattel sites. There was no Instagram. And half the time you didn't know what dolls were were being released. And so you walk into the store, you'll see these dolls for the first time. Not even know they were coming out cuz there wasn't that kind of coverage. And the excitement you felt, I have to buy all of the whole set, you know. I mean I was born in the 80s, in the mid-80s, and I got my first doll when I was two or three. If it was '87, it would have been the California Dream and the face shape around there. And this is the only way I would see stuff on Barbie is I was subscribed to the magazine for girls. That was a great magazine. I subscribed to it, too. I actually had this Barbie Ferrari and I would stare at this for hours. I cherish these now that I'm pulling them out. I cherish these cuz I remember the hours spent. Speaking of reading and editorials, so we're going to do something special

18:06here on Barbie Talk. Okay. So for everyone watching, David's book is still not released yet. Behold the Valley of the Dolls. Keep your eyes open for it, but we have a little special something. We're going to show here a few images from David's book. And this has not been released yet. This is a Barbie Talk exclusive. And how long did it take you to start going through each doll and getting them in position? And obviously I'm assuming maybe fixing their hair Well, their hair is probably really nice already cuz I know you [laughter] redress them. But in terms of the prepping of it, like how was that process? I did a lot of reshoots initially cuz when I first started, you know, I thought, "Oh, I'm just going to take their photo, right?" And then when I thought, "Oh, this is going to be a book." These dolls have to look really nice, right? And so I had a doll where her hair is like covering her eyelashes or eye or something. It's like, "Can't be this way. I can do better with this, right?" And so I would reshoot it. And it was Yeah, a lot of prepping that way. But also too with um, you know, I would pose them. The catch was I wanted the reader as they're looking at these photos to feel like the doll's looking back at them. You know, like who's beholding who? Um hence the name of the book, Behold the Valley of the Dolls. And so there was a lot of posing going on there. What was really fun is I created a photo studio. I went down the recycling bin, pulled out a box that would be big enough to pose dolls in. And every single picture in the book was taken in that box. So,

19:30that's my thing is like you take Barbie out of a box and put her in another box to be photographed, right? As I was going, I initially um, every picture was taken in front of a pink background for Barbie, the girls, blue for the boys. And I thought, nah, let's get more creative here. And so I started painting backdrops and looking at fabrics, finding toy props. My Baywatch Barbie and Ken, I actually went to the beach and got sand and shells from the beach. And so they're posing with sand and the shells scattered around. Things like that, little fun, little whimsical things cuz I want Behold the Valley of the Dolls to be playful. Even the narrative in there is more playful but informative. The focus is on the pictures and they're all one of a kind, never been seen before except today. And I appreciate you doing that. That sounds like a lot of work, but of course, I mean, eight years in the making. This is something that you're creating from the ground up and I'm so excited and I cannot wait for it to be released. Everyone watching, keep your eye out for Behold the Valley of the Dolls by David Mansour. Thank you, Kelly. I really appreciate that. Can I read an excerpt from it? Yes, let's read an excerpt. Yes. I have um, four pages in the book that are dedicated. It's just an introduction to introduce me and my love of Barbie. So I wanted to read this to you. And this is from my childhood. I was always a girl's best friend. While the other boys in school avoided them, taunted they had cooties, I couldn't wait to hang with the girls. There were many play dates at a girl's house and first things first,

20:52I asked to see her Barbie dolls. Once in first grade, I smuggled a little Kiddle doll to class, hidden in my Archie's lunch box, so I could show the girls during lunch. They adored it. And so, where I'm going with this, Archie's lunch box. First grade. And the actual little kid doll I smuggled to show the girls at lunch break. Isn't she cute? So cute. You still have all this. Yeah. David, this is fantastic. A lot of people lose their stuff and you still have it. What an awesome Well, surprisingly cuz my mom would always clear out as a lot of moms did or my sister and I's toys for summer yard sales, You know, three kids, you you collect a lot of stuff, you know, moms eventually start to purge and they think, "Ah, they've outgrown this." So Yeah. Wonderful.

21:45But we lost a lot of stuff. And that's also one of the reasons I started toy collecting, not just Barbie collecting, but toy collecting. Cuz my main thing was finding those lost toys my sister and I played with that we loved so much, and then they evolved to a big huge collection, you know. I love that. And thank you for sharing the little excerpt from the book. So, that was a first. And very important, my love for dolls was more the stronger than my fear of being bullied. Cuz you know, back then it was socially unacceptable for boys to play with dolls. One other doll, I can't believe I didn't show him with my favorite dolls. Christmas 1969, maybe 1970. He was a gift from Santa under the Christmas tree. The talking Ken. So, thanks Santa. Thanks Santa. Yeah. [laughter] So, my parents were really unconventional and really cool, and I was really lucky. There was one time a neighbor saw me playing with a doll and criticized that to my mom, and my mom got so defensive. She said, and paraphrasing now, "A doll is a toy, and a toy is meant to be played by all kids." So, thank you, Mom. Yeah. They really supported my Barbie collecting, and even um when I became a Barbie collector, she would always buy me Barbies as Christmas, birthday presents, and just because I love you presents. That's so sweet.

23:00You mentioned that you always remember where you got the doll or a story with the doll. Do you have any dolls close by that has a memorable story attached that you could share? I do, actually. Um, I'm a very lucky guy. I went to get my teeth cleaned in the 1990s and my dentist says, "I have something for you." And she gave me her French Barbie's friendship. You know, the airplane that it opens up to the side of a pool side of an airplane, right? It's huge. So, she gave me this. I'm sorry. I've never gone to the dentist and walked out with a [laughter] Barbie friendship. And she gave me a handful of her dolls and one of them is my favorite Francie of all time. This is my dentist, Lisa Myers, childhood Francie doll. The Francie with pretty growing hair or is it Francie with growing pretty hair? Always get that confused. Isn't she beautiful? Look at that hair.

23:52Oh my goodness. Yeah, look at those eyelashes. Always the eyelashes. So, did her hair is that how long it grows? Yeah, this one does. I think you could just push it up. I like her hair long. Yeah. Sometimes I'll wrap it around here and give her a total updo. And she's got those side pieces. I was going to say the sideburns but they're pieces. 1971. Well, get this. So, I'm in San Diego now. I have another great dentist, Kathleen, and I go in for [laughter] my dental cleaning again and she's also like, "I have something for you in a box, right?" There is over 20 Barbie and Ken dolls in there from her childhood. These were her dolls, the mod dolls, you know, Brad, the first black Ken is in there and she just gives them to me. The kindness of people. And who doesn't like to get their teeth cleaned, right? There's something on your shelf that's catching my eye. Another icon. Oh, this is Cher? Cher?

24:42The Timeless Treasures Cher? Yeah. Let me grab her. Cher. Oh, you aw. Like minds think alike. So, I have a video on my YouTube channel about Cher dolls. I don't know what it is about these dolls. I mean, she's an icon, obviously. Oh, totally. Some of those dolls like Bob Mackie, the half-breed, like just the dolls that he They're just so beautiful and Uh-huh. So, I got this at a toy show out of the back of somebody's car. Can I ask you how much you paid for her? $10. No way! Yeah, at the back of somebody's car. She didn't have this outfit. This was also gifted to me by my friend 80s Barbie Girl. Uh she's [clears throat] like, "You've got the doll, take the fashion." And then I found him thrifting. I wouldn't believe it. I found him thrifting. This is obviously not his original outfit. I got to get that, but Yeah, that's awesome. He's not easy to come by, either.

25:29I think out of the Mego dolls from '70s, it's the Cher and the Wonder Woman, I think, are the best, you know? I like his Sonny. [laughter] He looks like a porn star. He does. He looks a little He does. He does. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. We've got [laughter] Sonny's coming into the camera. [gasps] Yeah. But anyways, sorry. She caught my eye because I have my Timeless Treasures here. [laughter] And uh she's another icon. If we're talking about Marilyn Monroe and and some of these icons, right? Farrah Fawcett. Farrah Fawcett. All icons, part of part of pop culture, are they Yeah, did you hear that they're going to do a Whitney Houston Barbie? Yes, they are. Another I can't wait. She's on my list. So, your collection has been featured on several editorials. Kansas City Star, Kansas City Spaces, The Guardian, Washington Post, and even Toy Tales did a whole interview with you. What was that like? Oh, I loved it. You know, it's a passion.

26:23Kansas City Star was the very first. At the time, I had a client who worked with Kansas City Star, and she was the lifestyle editor. She knew I was a Barbie collector, and they were doing a story on Barbie on the Barbie for President 1992, and they thought she didn't look very presidential with that blonde fluffy hair and that gamut stuff. And so, they wanted to do a makeover on her. And she says, "You're the perfect guy. You're a hairdresser, makeup artist, and you're Barbie collector." This is actually a Polaroid right from that shoot. That's the before and the after. So, Wow. [sighs] And so, that was not That was October 1992, and that was the start That story became um the Kansas City Star's Barbie guy. That's where that nickname came from. Yeah. Whenever they were doing a story on dolls, toys, Barbie, they would call me, and that was it. That was the start.

27:10And then other magazines and um newspapers started picking up on that. This, you know, syndication stories and stuff. They would contact me. After from About the Zoom, Pop Nation TV show, they flew me to Washington D.C. for the Barbie segment. I was a pop culture expert from About the Zoom, and also Barbie collector, so they wanted me to be one of those talking heads that talk about Barbie. And I did. And that's when I became nationally renowned Barbie expert, quote Barbie expert. Um I still have a lot to learn, and I just think of myself as a regular Barbie guy. I'm learning new things about Barbie from the young collectors. I'm always learning. Why do you think preserving dolls and toy history, why do you think that matters? It matters so much. Toys connect the past to the present. I feel like we wouldn't have the things that we have now.

27:59A lot of the toys, if we didn't have those toys in the past. And Barbie's a really good example. You know, she's been around for 65 years, and the passion is not slowing. And so many other toys, Hot Wheels, classic games, and dolls. We always We're always seeing revival of dolls coming back. Well, the other thing I think is really important, life can be pretty stressful. There's a lot going on. You know, look at the news, right? Toy collecting, the history of toys, takes you back to that innocent time period, being a kid. You know, when mom and dad took care of everything. All you You didn't have to worry about things. I think that comes back into When I'm stressed out, I go into this room, and I think, I'll just start dusting a shelf off, and maybe I'll rearrange something, and maybe I'll just sit and look. Look at the dolls on the shelf, and it calms me. I also made this room my meditation room, too. Where I'm sitting right now, I look that way at the shelves of dolls and I just meditate for 10 minutes or so a day.

28:51It grounds me, you know? So, I hope that answers your her question. What doll there is your most recent purchase? Oh my god. This is a reissue for the book I did. I had to get her. I don't know if you heard of Growing Up Skipper. Yes. She was discontinued though. She was like there was all this like controversy, right? Right. I think the first controversial Barbie doll, right? Cuz you twist her arm, she grows, becomes slimmer and grow it gets the breasts, right? And so I had one that I photographed, but I thought I need a pose her with what she looks like when she's all grown up. She's a Growing Up Skipper, so I bought another one. And I did a reissue for the book and it's so fun. So, this is Growing Up Skipper, not grown up. Okay? She's shorter. She's wearing a maxi dress. And now look at her. I mean, you she's all grown up.

29:43Mini skirt. Her hair is even lighter. She probably dyed it cuz she's old enough to be able to do so. And she's taller. And she looks she's got And she's got a lower cut top. Yes. And she's got boobs. Can you see them? Well, I can. [laughter] That's my recent purchase. Skipper, even though she was controversial, she was successful. People either liked her or hated her. People think she's creepy, you know? Moms she was a bad image for kids. God forbid if your daughter gets breasts, right? But she was so popular and was successful seller that the next year they gave her a friend. Growing Up Ginger. Ginger? I didn't even heard of Growing Up Ginger. Yeah. Look I'm learning something new. She's hard to find. But anyways, now now they can grow up together. [laughter] Look at her face. She's adorable and I love the dark hair. That's the thing about the '70s dolls. They didn't make enough brunettes, I think. I love brunettes. Just for collectors, we all have holy grails. I'm going to show you seven dolls. And this is Yellowstone Kelly.

30:44She was my first holy grail in 1974. Say hi. Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous. Hold on, her name is Kelly? I'm very confused with some of the character names. Okay. Yellowstone Kelly. Steffie look. She almost had a like a Midge She's got like a Midge look to her. Steffie Steffie face. Wow. Okay, you ready? Okay. So, I got that holy grail. Then another doll replaced as my holy grail. Now, I didn't get them one after the other. It took me some while. I got the Live Action Christie. Oh. face. My goodness. Look at those eyelashes, Kelly. The The lashes, the eyeliner, the eyeliner. [gasps] 1971. So, I got this holy grail. Okay. She's not easy to find. No. [laughter] No. Again, patience is key. And people think I can't afford them, right? You can get lucky. You know, I can't really spend a lot of money on dolls. Yeah.

31:38But I just wait and see what happens, right? Did she come in that outfit, David? Yeah, that's her original outfit. The only thing she's missing is a her head band. That's okay. Yeah, [laughter] I think it's okay, too. Those things are They can be found, they can be made. It's all It's It's She's pretty much complete. She's stunning. Oh my god. So then, she's off my holy grail list. You keep checking it off, David. Just check it off. Yeah. Oh wait, there's four more. [gasps] Talking Dizzy Steffie. 1972. Look at that face. Yeah. And look, she still has her wrist tag. Where are you finding these? All these came from eBay, actually. I always I always joke I I don't need any more dolls, but you'll find me on eBay like at 10:00 11:00 at night just seeing what's out there, right? So, my next holy grail Got her. Check checked off?

32:27Checked off. And so, now I have a new holy grail. And wait till you see her. It's the 1975 Quick Curl Cara. Cara, look at that Look at the dress. Look at her shoes. I need to do her hair, but I'm afraid to mess with it. So, she's going to have to wear it like that for now. Oh my goodness. I've never heard of Cara. Yeah. She's darker than like a Christie. She looks a little darker. Yeah, though different different skin tone. And she's um she's got Steffie face, too. She does. She does. Yeah. Which is not common to see in that skin tone. No. Mattel gave um Barbie along with Christie a new black friend in mid-70s. It was Cara. So, Cara's off the list now. So, who's my next? She's got her recent purchase, by the way.

33:17Quick curl PJ. PJ. PJ. I love PJ. She pretty. She's that platinum blonde. The platinum blonde. Yeah, her hair's like almost white. It's so blonde. Yeah. Stunning. Some collectors are really good with the quick curl hair, [laughter] but I always find I'm just going to make it a frizzy mess. So, I just leave them as is for now. In original state. Yeah. Plus, she's nice flip. It's beautiful. Look at these grails that you're just checking off. Oh, wait. Oh, wait. There's more. Yeah, [laughter] this is the big one. I've wanted this doll for 10 years. I've never been able to find her. I've never seen her at um doll shows and stuff. And she's often high priced. And I got her. Fashion photo PJ. Yes. You know, the rare brunette that Mattel made in the 1970s.

34:07She pretty. This is like so many people's grails. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Did you get the camera, too? Like the stand and the camera? Do you have the camera, too? Beautiful. She's gorgeous. And that hair, that's what I loved about PJ. Yes. The only thing she's missing is her earrings. So, but that's okay. Those things are always missing. It's fine. Yeah, there's always something. Oh, but her hair just like Oh my goodness. Beautiful. So it's like your hair, your hair color. It's got a little sunscreen on it. [laughter] After all these years, what still excites you about collecting? Oh god, just to see what's going to be around the next corner, you know. I'm it's always exciting. I'm a pop culture guy. I love it when Mattel does pop culture dolls, not just Mariah Carey. I I like Mariah, don't get me wrong. But I wish they'd go back to the TV shows and stuff. I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched and those were always fun, too. I would love to see um a Mary Tyler Moore from Mary Tyler Moore Show Barbie doll.

35:02Um yeah. Which leads into this. I'm a huge fan of Sharon Tate in Valley of the Dolls. Sharon Tate, can you see the picture? Coppertone, 1967, the movie Don't Make Waves, she plays a beach girl. She is who the Malibu Barbie is based on. She was also a huge fashion icon. I would love it if Mattel would do a Sharon Tate Barbie doll, just an honor of her. You know, she the woman who inspired the Malibu Barbie. So, I created my own Sharon Tate. Here she is. Where I styled her hair, found a Barbie that I thought resembled her. Those kind of those hazel almond color eyes, cut her hair, flat ironed it, and I found a mod fashion that I thought was something Sharon Tate would wear.

35:51I love it. That fashion is that not from the Adler Jonathan Jonathan Jonathan Adler. Yeah, I love that whole Jonathan Adler because it has like that whole that whole retro vibe in the furniture. I loved it. I love it. Oh, I love it. Me, too. Such a nice honor for you to do that. I photographed her for the book. The piece is called Sharon Tate in Behold the Valley of the Dolls. And the picture I I have in the book up where I turned into wall art that hangs on my wall. Can you see it? oh my goodness. And Wow. [sighs] the page tribute to her most famous movie, Valley of the Dolls, all those pills which they back in the '60s they called dolls. Also going to be featured in Behold the Valley of the Dolls book. In your book. I cannot wait. And like just all the little details that you get into your photography is just absolutely stunning. Yeah. What a nice What a nice uh way to honor Sharon Tate, too. Thank you. But if Mattel approached you and said, "We're going to do a reproduction of an existing doll. They're going to fix it up maybe or modernize it." What doll would you suggest that they repro? I would like to see them do the 1970s Busy dolls. Like Are you familiar with those? Yes. That that line. They're holding their items. That would be a great one. I think they should do that. I think they should do more of those '70s Those Barbies from the '70, you know, like from '72 to about '74, the Quick Curl Barbies. They'd be great, too.

37:11Cuz that's what collectors really seem to want right now, and they're so hard to come by. So hopefully one day Mattel will watch this and they will take your advice and they will make, you know, another Bewitched doll or a Lalaloopsy doll or Shirley or Maybe Gilligan's Isle and Ginger and Mary Ann or something. Exactly. Or maybe a real Sharon Tate doll. I would love that. Mattel, are you listening? Let's put it out there. Hopefully they listen and they hear one day. That'd be great. Yeah. Do you have a doll that you feel is underrated? Like we talk about Skipper and we've mentioned like Midge, and I feel like those dolls kind of hide in Barbie's shadow. Is there a doll that you feel is underrated? That's a really good question, by the way. No one's ever asked me that before. But you know who comes to mind is Jazzie. Do you remember Jazzie? Barbie's cousin? This is Barbie's cousin. Yeah, from the late '80s. Jazzie.

38:00There she is, Barbie's cousin. Yes, 1989 Barbie's cousin. Um I think Mattel was hoping that she would have the success that Francie had. And I think she was successful, but nobody really talks about her. And She's got a really unique face, though. Yeah. Yeah. And she came with three friends who are right here. Oh. Look at this face. She's got a goofy face, doesn't she? She does, but it's still unique. But the hair's a nice I love it. And then, Stacy. She's got the Steffie face. She does. Jazzie has to have a boyfriend. Is that dude? Dude? That's dude. What kind of name is [laughter] that? Dude. What kind of name is dude? I know, right?

38:48He could have been like Steve or Jeff, you know? Right. But that's Derek. That's Derek's face. That's [laughter] Derek from Barbie and the Derek. I know, dude. But again, it's the late '80s, so you know, dude was one of the slang words, right? [laughter] So, Jazzie, that's my answer. Cuz that's that's who popped in my head personally when I really like his Let me see his outfit. I like the jean. It's very '80s, late '80s. What do they call that? Um stone wash. Mhm, yeah. I like it. Yes. And cuff jeans, which I think are making a comeback on this. They A lot of the stuff is coming back. Always. It always comes back. It always comes back. So, like some of the stuff I threw away or my mother threw away, I'm like, "Mom, do you still have this dress?" She's like, "No." I'm like, "It's in style now." And she got rid of it. But yeah, yeah, that face mold there is same it's Derek from Barbie and the Rockers. Yeah, right there. There he is. Somehow Derek from the Rockers is a lot more cuter. Can we bring them together closer to the screen? I want to see actually look at them. I've never looked at them side by side, but when I saw dude, I'm like, "That's Derek." Oh, wait a minute. Well, I mean, they're They've got different colors in their hair. There's a mild difference there. Yeah. Yeah. He's cuter. You think he's cuter? Okay, yeah.

39:56What do you think? Um Both cute. Yeah, yeah, they are Yeah, definitely. Um He's got lighter skin. I think. Maybe it's hard to tell through the camera. Yeah. maybe this one's got the lighter skin. I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what? It could be the denim that's making it look that way, but Yeah. I love him. Besides Ken, he was my first boy doll. I need him and you know what's really difficult? I've got the original like the generation one Derek. I think those are the generation two, the ones that danced, right? They were the ones that moved. I have a Derek. His pants are gone, completely shredded. Oh, that leather or that fake leather? And then even that Derek you have luckily he's still in good condition and your Ken in the back there he seems to be in good condition too cuz that material would just flake. Yeah.

40:41This Derek I have's jacket was that material and I don't have I threw the jacket out cuz It just the mess created. Plus it sticks to their skin, you know? It does. Yeah. And when it flakes it gets everywhere. One of my favorite boy dolls, I'll show you him. Okay, this is Cali Girl Barbie. Oh, I have her. I love this line. I love the line, too. One of my favorite 2000s lines, right? Which will also be featured in the book cuz the book ends at the Y2K. So I just give a little nod to the dolls that ring in the the new century, you know? Very nice. So Barbie's dating Ken. Look at that Ken. And then Blaine comes on the scene. Oh, no. Look at that face. And do you know that Blaine is you know how Barbie's Cali Girl friend Summer? Yes.

41:26Blaine is Summer's brother. So blame it all on Summer. fault. It's Summer's fault. It's Summer's fault. Yeah, so blame it on Summer. They're from Australia. He's a surfer from Australia. That's his background. That's right. all we all know what happens. Barbie dumps Ken for Blaine. Yes. I love him. She makes Barbie a little juicy and some drama. there was some drama for sure. I actually have a video about did Barbie and Ken ever get married and in that video I talk about her breakup with Ken and Blaine. [laughter] He's featured in it and I mean he's a cute doll. Look at those kids. Look at them. What's his style? That whole line with like the beachwear and they were so tanned. They had a really nice tan. Yeah. And they smelled like um suntan lotion like um you know, they had that suntan smell. I mean look at the difference. Who would you Who would Who should Barbie date? Mhm. Sometimes the bad boy wins, right? A bad boy surfer with that Australian accent. I guess that makes sense. Ken did get a new look. She didn't take him back. It wasn't till 2011 that she said yes. She said yes. Yes, that's right. Yeah. Do you have any other dolls you want to show? Uh I do. This is actually a fashion. Oh, I love this. I love this. This was my holy my holy grail fashion. This was my Christmas present this past year. Oh. Um is the Marcia Brady dress. Oh my god, it's Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Yes, doesn't she look like Marcia? She does look like Marcia.

42:49The rosy cheeks, the hair. Mhm. The straight blonde. Look at that hair. Oh, wow. [sighs] And that dress. Let's see a little Yes, that with the belt and the socks with the heels. What a beautiful flowers. I love it. I love it. Oh my goodness, I'm falling in love with mod. I'm in No. [laughter] That's not a bad thing. I know, but my for my bank account it is. Do you have there the oldest doll in your collection? Um anxious to show you. Okay. I don't have an original ponytail Barbie. Um but I have this one. She's my oldest. She's ponytail Barbie number four from 1960. Wow. Oh my goodness. Look at that ponytail.

43:34First of all, she's in great condition. Yeah, totally. Her skin is like porcelain, so soft. Look at that makeup. Oh my goodness. And she has no green earrings. You know She doesn't. So, this is my oldest doll. I do have a um I like to get the number three. A brunette. She's probably going to top my holy grail list after this weekend. So, I'll lead up to that. This is a lead up to something. Oh. This is um and my oldest Ken Oh, yes. is an original 1961 Ken. What the flock? I actually have a Ken with the flock hair, one of my oldest Kens. He's balding. It doesn't come off. It does happen. So far, he's pretty good. Blond. Oh my goodness. He's so Look how cute. Look how cute he is. isn't cute?

44:25Oh my god, look at that. He's adorable. Yeah. We're the same age. That's [laughter] right. the way, Barbie and Ken are Pisces. Oh. Ken just That's right, they are. And Ken is also a Pisces. like you. I'm a Pisces, too. Look at all the Pisces. [laughter] So, it's a Pisces couple. That's nice. Yes. [laughter] Yeah. Wow. The other thing, too, because I'm limited with money, but I had this big toy collection I've been parting with. And there's a great vintage toy store here in San Diego. It's called Replay Toys. It's in the North Park neighborhood. And the owner, Kim, will take in vintage toys and either give you money or credit to the store, right? I go for the credit cuz she's got some great vintage Barbies. Two of them I got, and this is by parting toys that have been in storage for years that don't really mean anything to me.

45:13An American Girl Barbie. Oh. Ooh, yes. part. Yes. Isn't she beautiful? Look at that face. Oh my gosh. [snorts] So, I got her just from parting with some toys. And then I also got this Ken who I I love. Yeah, that makes sense. Sometimes we have to part with things that we just don't feel attached to anymore. No, cuz I moved here San Diego 13 years ago, and these toys have been in storage in boxes since then. And it's like I'm never going to have them all out. I just really want the Barbies. And so, let someone else have them, right? That's right. And if I can let them go and get some decent dolls. I mean, look at this Ken. [sighs] He's so dapper. He is. That outfit. Yeah, look at that. Pinstripe. Look at those shoes.

46:02Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So he is so dapper. He reminds me of like Mad Men. He should be in an episode of Mad Men. [laughter] Right. I love that. Yeah. Oh my goodness. He's so handsome. Wow, David. You've got some beautiful dolls. Thank you, Kelly. So beautiful. Thank you. So before we close off and end the show, I love to always kind of end the show with something rare or one-of-a-kind or like a really good grail. You've shown a lot of grails, but I think you're holding back on something. I am. This is a doll I never thought I could have, okay? I didn't put her on my holy grail list on top of it cuz I thought you just can't have her. She's very hard to find. Anyways, I bought her and she's supposed to be shipped this week. She's coming from New Jersey.

46:50I'd love to show the viewers. Can you see that? It's the 1971 Hair Happenings Barbie. Does she come with hair pieces? Yes. That is cute. Look at that bob. That angle that is cut, right? Not only does she come with the three hair pieces, but her heels are hard to find and the velveteen belt. Oh my goodness. So so because you checked off you just kept going down that grail list, you were able to reach this? Yeah. Yeah. Just got lucky. Beautiful. Well, I can't wait to see once she arrives. I'm sure you'll make some content. I can't wait to see that. I'll share it on Instagram. So that's my holy grail not I say not holy grail. She's on the list, but she doesn't top it cuz it's like I've never seen one. In 39 years of collecting I've never come across one and when I've seen her on eBay, she's not even in this kind of condition, but she's like $1,000, you know, she's missing her shoes, she's been played with. So let me ask you since you ordered that she's on route, what's next then? What's the next grail? This is never ending, isn't it? I like to have a 1967 red head twist and turn Barbie. I have a reproduction, but I'd like to get the original. And so many people have her, but for me somehow she's elusive.

48:02Yeah. so we'll see what happens. Hey, you never know. And I'm sure maybe by the time we meet again and do another episode because we're going to, you know, talk about Behold the Valley of the Dolls because I have it in my hands, maybe you'll have that one in your hands, too. Yeah, I would love that. Goals, okay? We have goals. Put it out in the universe, David. Put it out, right? Manifest, manifest. Both of us, doing it together, that's pretty strong manifest. power for sure. Thank you so much, David, for sharing your time, your stories, and your perspective today, your collection. What makes your collection so fascinating is that it goes beyond just nostalgia. It really highlights how dolls and toys can preserve places of culture, memory, and history. You remind us that collecting isn't just about owning things. It's about storytelling, preservation, and keeping those worlds or those times alive for future generations. And I thank you for being on the show. Uh-huh, thank you. I had so much fun, Kelly. This has been really a blast, and I look forward to seeing you again. And um keep an eye out, Behold the Valley of the Dolls. Keep your eyes open, and let people know where they can find you on social media and your website. Okay. Um I'm on Instagram. I'm not on Facebook, but I'm Behold the Valley of the Dolls or David Mansour. And my website is www.beholdthevalleyofthedolls.com.

49:21So I thank you so much, David, for your time. Until next time. Uh that's fine. Bye-bye. It's amazing how one doll can connect nostalgia and storytelling and become part of pop culture history. [music] Make sure to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell if you love all things Barbie. And if you enjoyed this episode, click [music] here to see one of my other episodes. Thanks for watching.