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Chatty Cathy
by Mattel
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Read memories from others. |
More memories from:
2003-2005
This memory was added on: September 19, 2008
Hello,
I am 32 years old, and Chatty was before my time. But I remember hearing my mother tell me how bad she had wanted one for Christmas when she was little. She was very poor and the Salvation Army helped Santa out one year. He was unable to find Chatty Cathy for my mother and instead she got Tiny Chatty Brother. Now she loved him dearly but her heart never forgot how bad she wanted Cathy. So last year for Christmas I did a lot of research and finally found a talking brunette bob that was just beautiful. I also bought her some original outfits (any little girl who had one knows chatty must have more than one outfit). My mother was in tears when she opened her gift. She is looking into getting a special display case for her.For her birthday this year I purchased the twins for her. And sent her "official" adoption papers for all three. She couldn't be happier!
However in all my research, I too fell in love with Chatty Cathy. I now own two blonds and am on the search for a brunette. But the story didn't end there. My little 3 year old wanted one so bad that I bought her the 14" reproduction. When she isn't being played with my daughter insists that she is put on display with mine.
Chatty Cathy as become a family affair for us, and I love it.
Bobbie
This memory was added on: August 12, 2008
I feel very lucky. I had a Chatty Cathy (the red-head with the sailor suit and glasses) and a chatty baby. Loved them both!! Wish I could afford to buy one now........guess I will never grow up. But, I did have a wonderful childhood!!
Susan
1959
This memory was added on: April 12, 2008
I had Chatty Baby but my friend had chatty Cathy, I remember having Chatty baby paper dolls also. They really had some great toys out in the 60's. I almost wish we could go back in time, That was such an ideal era for kids. Great TV shows and toys. There were no computers back then so we had to play outside with our toys and friend. You actually knew who your neighbors were back then because most mom's didn/t work and stayed home with the kids.. Those really were the Good Ole Days!
Sheryl
1956
This memory was added on: March 10, 2008
For all the little girls that got a Chatty Cathy doll, you were very lucky. I wanted one so bad but Santa could never afford one for me.
But a neighbor girl got one and oh how she rubbed it in! I am 53 years old now and still remember Chatty Cathy and
how bad I wanted one.
Rose
This memory was added on: October 6, 2007
I remember getting the Chatty Cathy doll when I was a kid in the early 60s. My mom told me to take special care of her. I decided to
take her into the bathtub with me to keep her nice and clean. When I got out and pulled her string, she slowly said, "H e l l o,
m y n a m e i s C h a t t y C a t h y" in a deep manly voice. Well needless to say, I got a slap and that was the end of
Chatty Cathy....I can still hear the dolls voice till today!
Joany Palmentiere
Corona, NY
This memory was added on: May 7, 2007
Santa brought me a Chatty Cathy in 1963 and I was sooo excited (even have 8mm home movies of me jumping up down for what seems like forever)! I played with her all day on Christmas and even got my mom and dad to play. On Christmas night, my dad was pulling the string and, apparently, pulled it too hard. She stopped talking. My dad felt so bad that he sent it back to the North Pole the very next day. Unfortunately, I think Santa and his elves were on vacation, 'cause I didn't her back until sometime in the Spring. But I did get her back, and she was as chatty as ever.
Lisa
1958
This memory was added on: April 22,2007
My Chatty Cathy memory started when I was about 10 years old. I was told this story but I don't have any recollection of it myself. My older sister received her blonde Chatty for Christmas probably the same year I was born. She was five. A few years later, when I was 3 or 4, I got ahold of her fingernail polish and painted some on Chatty's left eye. Of course, after that, her eye stayed open all the time and looked really gross. Today, I live in the same huge farmhouse where we grew up. Our childhood dolls are still upstairs. I thought I might find a different Chatty on ebay as a neat gift for my sister's birthday. After looking over all the listings, I decided to buy a different blonde head plus authentic shoes and socks. I cleaned up the original body and mended her original dress. I also added a new red ribbon for her hair. She looks so nice! I can't wait until Sis's birthday. I haven't even told our parents about this project. This will be so fun!
Corinne
1960
This memory was added on: April 22,2007
I received a brunette Chatty for Christmas one year. Evidently she didn't work right so my parents exchanged her for a new one... telling me that Chatty had left on a train to go get repaired at a hospital in California. For some reason the replacement Chatty ended up being blonde. This upset me until my Daddy said, "look at that...Chatty goes off to California and dyes her hair blonde like all the movie starts!". Sounded good to me!
Kelly
1958
This memory was added on: March 15,2007
My mother was a Jubilee attending Tupperware dealer and she won a Chatty Cathy for having high sales that month. Wmy sister was too old a teenager, but I was a wee bit too young. Well my mean big brother and my sister would hardly let me touch it, but after they finally handed her over the first time I pulled her string it broke! So Sad....
Trixie Lane
1958
trixie_lane@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: February 24,2007
Gosh.....all of these stories are simply wonderful! I grew up in a household that simply could not afford any little extra luxuries like Chatty Cathy. We had very nice, but very scant Christmases at home. Ohhhh I wanted a Cathy so badly. But it was not meant to be. I had other dolls to love, though. In fall 2000, I went 80% blind due to cataracts. My daughter, then 23, and I used to chat about my childhood all the time. One day we were sitting and I was remembering how badly I wanted that doll! It moved me to tears. Imagine my total AWE when on Christmas morning of 2000, my daughter handed me a very prettily wrapped gift. I could NOT see too well, but when I opened that box and said "What is this Shaunna?" my daughter reached over and pulled the string. I heard that voice say "I LOVE YOU". Oh my gosh......my heart is pounding fromn the memory. I could not see her too well, but I could make out all of her features TOO well. I just held her allllll day long. Well, I had cataract surgery.....I could see. I graabbed my Chatty and held her as if she were my truest friend reunited. She is sitting here looking at me. I Love Her. But mostly I cherish my daughter for being so thoughtful. OOOOOOOPPS!!!! Tissue time!!!! :o)
Pam Mortimer
1952
HoneyBear952@aol.com
This memory was added on: February 22,2007
I had a chatty cathy doll in 1964. I dropped it off the top bunk onto my sisters head. It nearly illed her. She was unconscious and bloody and had a big knot on her head. Boy did I get spanked!
Lisa Hammer
1961
lisa.hammer@mchsi.com
This memory was added on: February 7,2007
I had a Chatty Cathy, but she got dropped once too often and her recording got stuck. She said the same thing over and over, and it made my dad crazy. He finally pulled her string all the way out and cut it with scissors! She was still my favorite doll, though.
Juli
1959
This memory was added on: January 5,2007
I wanted this doll so badly as a little girl, but for some reason never got one. My mom even had one in her closet (I found it), but she said it was for someone else and I that was the last I saw it. I wanted to blonde one with the short hair.
Donna
1965
yeshua_saves@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: December 30,2006
we were poor. parents were teenagers. but i got chatty cathy for christmas in 1960. she had blonde hair like i did. i was mesmerized. then she broke and mother couldn't find another blonde. my brunette chatty cathy wasn't the same but i loved her even though she didn't look like me anymore. fast forward 22 years and i find myself divorced mom with a four yr old. broke and trying to get on my feet, mother and i dug around and found chatty cathy,cleaned her up and sold her to a collector. what a boon to our bank account. chatty cathy saved the day!
i remember a doll my grandmother bought me for my birthday in the 60's. a doll with all these medical accessories, like a snap-on leg cast and crutches and other medical supplies. does anyone remember her name? i am sure she got her with green stamps or at mongomery ward.
1957
This memory was added on: November 3,2006
I had a Brunette Chatty Baby! It was Cathy's little sister. MY sister had the Blonde Chatty Cathy. Both of them talked. I really treasure photos of my childhood and I have one of Christmas morning the year we both got our Chattys! I don't know what happened to them so I found Chatty Baby on Ebay. She has the original outfit but doesn't talk. I just love seeing her again! I too am collecting dolls from my childhood. There is nothing like the dolls from the 60's and 70's. I still enjoy them! :) I don't want to grow up!!
Kathy (Luck) Caveny
1960
katcave@ameritech.net
This memory was added on: October 26,2006
Hi my name is Martha and Chatty Cathy was one of the best and most memorable dolls I ever had. I remember I got her for Christmas. I don't remember how old I was probably 10. Back then little girls played with dolls a lot longer than they do today. I remember taking her from my moms house after I got married. We lived in the country back then. My husband & I moved to the city and we left the box that had my dolls in them in a storage shed or smoke house if you will. The highway department took our house to build a highway right through it. By the time we sold the property my husband & I were getting a divorce. I didn't go back to get the dolls. I don't know whatever happened to those dolls. I could kick myself now, since I have a daughter who just had a baby and boy would I like to have that Chatty Cathy to hand down. Some of the best memories I have are playing with my Chatty Cathy in the attic of an old house we lived in when I was a kid. I remember my 2 brothers younger than me were jealous and they tried to pull her teeth out while we were playing one day. haha. We were a family of 12. I have 9 brothers and 2 sisters. We were really poor. I always thought that my mom bought the doll only to find out later in life that the older brothers who were working washing dishes in a restaurant bought it for me for Christmas. WISH I HAD HER BACK!
Martha A. Heckenberg
1950
mheckenberg@netscape.net
This memory was added on: October 13,2006
I hated my Chatty Cathy doll.. she was so scary.. My brother pulled her string so much it messed up her voice.. It said " I want to eat you"
Susan
This memory was added on: September 2,2006
i dident hav one but my grama calls me chatty cathy so my mom might of had one.
kelsy
1995
This memory was added on: July 5,2006
I dont know exactly why? but I just loved to play with her!
Mudd
1953
Down the comode.com
This memory was added on: June 21,2006
Ha, ha..I remember getting a Chatty Cathy doll from my parents in the 60s..I took her in the bathtub with me only to find out that when I pulled the string to talk she would sound like a man with a speech problem..I got in so much trouble for doing this! Joany Palmentiere
Joan Palmentiere
1958
Teach319@aol.com
This memory was added on: June 19,2006
was at a street fair in june of this year, 2006 and someone was selling a Chatty Cathy doll for $25. she wasnt in the original clothing, so i didnt buy it.
carol basquez
1958
aerolover830@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: May 28,2006
I never had a Chatty as a child. My mother had saved to purchase a Ginny for me when I was seven and a Jill for me when I was nine. While I had kewpies and baby dolls and such, my mother thought Chatty was too expensive for a girl who was about to enter her early teens. The years rolled by, and I forgot about Chatty Cathy. Then I discovered eBay and started getting back the dolls of my childhood. I still have my Ginny and Jill but there were other wonderful dolls as well that I am happy to now have. Chatty was my second eBay purchase. The dealer was disreputable and pulled her head off before sending her on to me. The neck flange pieces were not in the doll or the box, so it had to have been deliberate damage before mailing. So, I did what I should have done in the first place--found a reputable antiques dealer who had a Chatty that speaks for sale. She joins Patty Playpal, Sweet Sue, Sweet Ann by Deluxe Reading, and several other dolls of yesteryear. They just don't make dolls like that today!
Jo
1950
JoanneVLavender@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 28,2006
Hello my name is Sonni and I have been looking for Chatty Kathy in the website for a while. I wanted to look like the one I use to have when I was about 4 or 5 years old don't really know what age I was but I do remember when my mother gave me her. We lived in Calif. at the time and my mother was working at the Mattel factory and she made me this doll called Chatty Kathy I will never forget she was wearing a crush red velvet dress with a white lace apron over it. She was beautiful. My mother pass away years ago and I can't stop thinking about this doll she got me for Christmas at the time. We didn't have much money then but she did get me this doll and I remember my mother's face when she did she was so happy. And of course I fell in love with that doll. I never new what had happen to my doll because we always move a lot then. I just wish I could fine that particularly red velvet dress doll. I would love to have Chatty Kathy back again just like the one I had years ago.
Sincerly Sonni
sonni keyes
1957
sonni@comcast.net
This memory was added on: April 26,2006
The thing I remember best about my Chatty Cathy was when I was around six years old, I was in hospital for an operation and, of course, I had to take my favorite doll with me. After giving me some pre-op drugs to relax me, the nurse placed my Chatty on the over-the-bed table so I could see her better. My mom and dad came in to visit with me before they took me away to the operating room. They told me later how upset they were because I wouldn't talk to them but kept saying to my Chatty Cathy, "What did you say? Say it again, Cathy, I didn't hear you!" All of a sudden her lips were actually moving and she was talking, but nobody was pulling the string! Of course, I realize it was the drugs talking, but when I was a child I truly believed that my Cathy was talking to me because I really needed her to.
Marjorie
1956
radreadhead@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: April 23,2006
Although many people loved their Chatty Cathy doll I cannot say the same. I wanted a doll that I had seen in a Sears catalog, one that came in a trunk with all the dresses, shoes, brushes, everything needed to care for her but instead I woke up Christmas morning to find Chatty Cathy under the tree. She reminded me of a girl in our neighborhood that had freckles and was not so nice at times. Chatty's face reminded me constantly of this mean neighborhood girl so I simply couldn't love her the way I should have. I think back now and laugh to think to this very day when I see pics of the original Chatty how very much she looked like this girl and why in a child's mind this would prevent her loving her doll that she received for Christmas.
Lora Lee
1959
LoraLee@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: April 16,2006
OK I hope this doesn't disturb anyone. I have what I believe to be a Chatty Cathy doll. I was always told she was one but who knowa. Nobody seems to be able to help me identify her. She could be a Chatty ripoff. I think I got her around 1960-61. I was a tomboy and I hated dolls....what were my parents or grandparents thinking??!! So needless to say I was never thrilled w/ feeling pigeon holed into loving or even liking dolls!!! So I wasn't very nice to my Chatty (or whoever she may be) But for some reason she has followed me from house to house through the years and I unearthed her last year to clean her up to sell her. Horrors...she was naked and had a piece of yarn around her neck! I swear I was not criminally insane!! Anyway at this juncture I need help to first identify my doll. Is she a real Chatty or not. And then I would like to sell her. She now is all cleaned up her hair and eyes look great her skin is all clean and I put some clothes on her. A dress sock shoes hat ya know the whole deal! I would appreciate and help or direction. She didn't have a pull string but she walke and talked she is big too. thanks for listening! kathy McCarry picjack@comcast.net
kathy mccarry
1958
picjack@comcast.net
This memory was added on: January 23,2006
I got a brunette Chatty Cathy and my little sister got the blonde one in 1962 for Christmas. My sister passed away from cancer about 10 years ago and after reading some of the stories it brought back memories of the fun we had playing with our dolls. Some things are just so precious. I was talking with a friend today and she said she had been to poor to have one but would play with the one a little girl she babysat for had when she was a little older. I found this site looking for a way to get one for her. Isn't it amazing all the things something as simple as a doll can make you feel even when you are 48 years old. hug your dolls and your friends and especially your sisters
Teresa
1957
nazbaht@aol.com
This memory was added on: January 15,2006
She was the best (and probably most expensive) Christmas present I ever received. I got her when I was 7, and I still have her. In recent years she used to sit on top of my bed, and my dog would sleep at her feet. One day a friend saw her and made a big fuss, commenting on how amazing it was that I had this doll for 40 years and that she was in such great condition. I picked the doll up and was stroking her hair, saying how much I loved her. We left the room, and when I returned, I found that my dog had chewed up Chatty Cathy's original red felt shoes. She had NEVER disrespected CC before, and I think she got jealous when she heard us talking about how beautiful and loved she was.
My 13-year old daughter, however, won't go into the same room if CC is out on display. She is scared of her! She says CC reminds her of "Chucky."
My doll is brunette. She originally had pigtails and a dress with a red velveteen bodice and layered lace skirt. When the velveteen started to wear thin, my grandmother removed the bodice, made a new one out of beautiful red fabric, and sewed it on to the lace skirt. Needless to say, the doll is very precious to me.
1957
eandebeeman@aol.com
This memory was added on: January 15,2006
Boy, did I love my Brunette Chatty Cathy doll. My favorite memory.
Evelyn
1958
This memory was added on: January 7,2006
I was thrilled to get a Chatty Cathy when I was about 8, for Xmas. I had wanted one for ever! I think she was blonde and she had a see-through bonnet. I spent hours playing with her (lonely childhood). She used to say ' Please comb my hair', 'Let's play games', 'I love you mummy,' 'Do you like my dress?'and the rest I forget. Eventually, when her words became muddled, my mother must have disposed of her because I can't remember where she went. I have fond memories of her.
Carol Gill
1955
purplestar444@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: January 1,2006
I had two Chatty Cathys. The brunette one and the blonde one. I loved playing with them. Unfortunatley the string on my brunette one broke the day after I got her. I still have them both tucked away, both are in good condition.
Brenda
Aug. 13th, 1962
brenda50841@hotmail.com
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