Entrepreneur Charlotte Clark is my 488th pick to be named a Disney Legend.
Shortly following the release of Walt Disney's Steamboat
Willie, Clark designed the first Mickey Mouse doll in early 1930. She obtained
permission from the Disney Studio, and the dolls began to appear in the Los
Angeles area stores. Demand soon exceeded her ability to produce the dolls, so
Clark designed sewing patterns so that customers could make their own dolls at
home. Walt and Roy Disney were so pleased with Charlotte's Mickey Mouse doll
that they rented a building on Hyperion Avenue near the studio, titled the Doll
House. Here Charlotte and six other seamstresses produced 300 to 400 dolls per
week. These first production dolls were rubber stamped on the underside of the
doll's foot: "Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Design Patent Applied For".
Clark's character creations set the design standard for all Disney
merchandising for dolls thereafter. As the collection of Disney characters
grew, Clark created patterns for Donald Duck, Pluto, Minnie Mouse and other
popular characters which were licensed and produced by manufactures worldwide.
According to the book Ink and Paint, "Walt continued to rely on her expertise to work with doll manufacturers in creating specialty dolls for various Disney characters."
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