Childhood Fun with Mr. Potato Head

by Guy Belleranti


There are many toys I remember from my youth. One of them is Mr. Potato Head. 

Mr. Potato Head was invented by George Lerner in the late 1940’s. Lerner’s idea of a toy made up of plastic face parts that could be stuck into a potato didn’t catch on at first. Then, in the early 1950’s, Lerner sold the idea to the Hassenfeld brothers and their Pawtucket, Rhode Island Company, a company that became Hasbro, Inc. (Hasbro being short for Hassenfeld Brothers). 

Under the Hassenfeld’s marketing Mr. Potato Head became a big success. It was the first toy to be advertised on network television, and in 1952, its first year of production, it made over $4 million.

For more than a decade Mr. Potato Head was sold as separate plastic face parts – noses, mouths, eyes, ears, spectacles, hats and mustaches, for example. These parts could be stuck into real potatoes or into other vegetables and fruits. It was a fun toy where children could create silly faces by using face parts in different ways – i.e. putting a nose on top of the head, using unmatching eyes, etc. 

A plastic body was added to the kit in 1964, eliminating the need of a real potatoes and other fruits and vegetables. 

Changes continued to occur in the toy over the next couple of decades. One of these changes included the elimination of one part – a pipe – in 1987. Elimination of the pipe was due to the growing concern about smoking among young people. In fact Mr. Potato Head became an official “spokespud” of the American Cancer Society’s “Great American Smokeout” campaign for several years. 

More recently Mr. Potato Head has appeared in comic strips and has been used in playsets, puzzles and video games. He has been a character on TV and has appeared in movies such as Toy Story. He has also been used to market potatoes as a healthy food. 

But most of all, Mr. Potato Head continues to be what it always was - a toy.

more articles by Guy Belleranti

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