Mr. Potato Head

For the Louis Armstrong composition, see Potato Head Blues. For the Toy Story character, see List of Toy Story characters § Mr. Potato Head.

Mr. Potato Head
Inventor(s)George Lerner
Company
CountryUnited States
Age range
  • 2–6 (1973–1992)
  • 2+ (1992–1996, 1999–present)
  • 2–92 (1996-1999)
Availability1952–present
Materials

Mr. Potato Head is an American toy produced by Hasbro since 1952. It consists of a plastic model of a potato "head" to which a variety of plastic parts can attach; typically ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, mustache, pipe (1952–1987), pants (1973–1983, 2010–present), headphones (2024–present), glasses, and mouth.

Mr. Potato Head was invented and manufactured by George Lerner in 1949, but was first distributed by Hasbro in 1952.[1] It was the first toy advertised on television[1][2] and has remained in production since.

In its original form, Mr. Potato Head was offered as separate plastic parts with pushpins to be affixed to a real potato or other vegetable. Due to complaints regarding rotting vegetables and new government safety regulations, Hasbro began including a plastic potato body with the toy set in 1964.[1] The original toy was joined by Mrs. Potato Head in 1953 and later supplemented with accessories including a car and boat trailer.[1][3]

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head both appeared in the Toy Story franchise, voiced by Don Rickles and Estelle Harris, respectively. Additionally, in 1998, The Mr. Potato Head Show aired but was short-lived, with only one season being produced.[4] As one of the prominent marks of Hasbro, a Mr. Potato Head balloon has also joined others in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.[5] Toy Story Midway Mania!, in Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort, also features a large talking Mr. Potato Head.[6]

Hasbro updated the brand in 2021, dropping the honorific in the name and marketing the toy simply as Potato Head, while retaining the individual characters of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d Polinsky, Paige V. (2017). Mr. Potato Head inventor: George Lerner. Toy trailblazers. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Checkerboard Library, an imprint of ABDO Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5321-1096-2. OCLC 1003777015.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WTToys was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bryant, Chuck; Clark, Josh (2023). Stuff Kids Should Know: The Mind-Blowing Histories of (Almost) Everything. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 7–18. ISBN 978-1-250-62244-0.
  4. ^ "The Mr. Potato Head Show". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  5. ^ Suddath, Claire (November 27, 2008). "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Time. Archived from the original on November 28, 2008.
  6. ^ "Toy Story Mania! | Walt Disney World Resort". Disneyworld.disney.go.com. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Diaz, Johnny (February 25, 2021). "Mr. Potato Head Brand Goes Gender Neutral". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 25, 2021.