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Juro Novelty Company was a toy company headed by Sam Jupiter, and later by his daughter Vivian. The company manufactured plastic ventriloquist figures from the 1950s through 1977, at which time they were acquired by the Goldberger Doll Co. Some of the figures included Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff, Danny O'Day, Ricky Lane, and Emmett Kelly. They also made a Dick Clark doll at one time. Goldberger continued to offer the Charlie McCarthy and Danny O'Day dolls after their acquisition of Juro, as well as adding other celebrity dolls to the range. The ventriloquist figures usually had a string coming from the back of the neck that would cause their mouths to open and close. During its heyday, however, it also sold a Jerry Mahoney ventriloquist dummy with a turning head (mounted on a post, in the manner of professional ventriloquist dummies) and for a short time also offered a deluxe Jerry Mahoney model which also had moving eyes. Juro Novelty Company grew from the owner going door-to-door selling boudoir dolls (intended for adults who used them to decorate their beds and sofas) to a successful doll company in a relatively short time. Juro Novelty originally had two partners - JUpiter and ROosevelt. The dolls made included The “Dancing Doll” (a large doll with elastic under the doll’s feet that children could place their feet in, so they could dance with the doll.) and the ” Rich Girl-Poor Girl” Doll that had a reversible dress and two heads. By reversing the dress, the child made the doll either the Rich Girl (white dress) or the Poor Girl (patchwork dress). These were big sellers. Other dolls made included “Sleepy Suzie,” a “Beat the Clock” doll and the “Little Audrey” doll (comic strip character). The company shifted to making character dolls related to television shows. They made the Bill Baird Marionettes (including Charlemane the Lion and Heathcliffe the Talking Horse), the Maggi McNellis doll (from the “Leave It to the Girls” TV show), a “Dick Clark” Doll, a “Dagmar” doll based on the character in the tv show “I Remember Mama” and a “Pinky Lee” doll. By 1950 Sam Jupiter had already taken over the JURO Company and he he began making ventriloquist dolls. The “Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show” was popular, so Juro made the “Jerry Mahoney” and “Knucklehead Smiff" dolls. Most of its ventriloquist dolls worked by pulling a string at the back of the neck that made its mouth open and close. However, it also sold a Jerry Mahoney ventriloquist dummy with a turning head (mounted on a post, in the manner of professional ventriloquist dummies) and for a short time also offered a deluxe Jerry Mahoney model which also had moving eyes. This was very rare. Jimmy Nelson was the ventriloquist on Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theatre” and and so Juro began making “Danny O’Day” and “Farfel the Dog.” Farfel remained popular thanks to the “N-E-S-TL-E-S makes the very best Chocolate” Commercial. Juro also made Nelson’s “Haley O’Hara. A larger, semi-professional “Danny O’Day” doll, with a moveable head-on-a-stick that could be manipulated by one hand also was made. Juro had Jimmy Nelson make two records. The first one was included with a baseball-suited Danny, as a package. The last Danny made, “Yankee Doodle Danny,” was a semi-professional head-on-a-stick model, dressed in red, white and blue for the 1976 anniversary of the U.S. It’s very rare. Juro briefly manufactured “Velvel” and “Lester.” “Velvel” was Ricky Layne’s creation, who spoke with a Yiddish accent. Ricky was a Borscht Belt Ventriloquist and he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show frequently. “Lester,” was the creation of Willie Tyler, TV’s first black ventriloquist. Almost immediately after Juro began producing “Lester,” Willie Tyler added an afro to the doll, so the doll with short hair never took off. Juro signed up Edgar Bergen next, and a Juro-made “Charlie McCarthy” and “Mortimer Snerd” made their appearance. A semi-professional Charlie, with a moveable head was later added. His suit was made of velvet. It too is very rare. Edgar Bergen also made a record for Juro. Juro signed up Emmett Kelly Sr., probably America’s most famous circus clown. This turned out to be the doll with the most expensive head. It required a longer series of steps in the painting process, because of the number and order of colors used. The doll’s hat was made as part of the molded head and served to protect the head from damage. Each clown usually had different make-up. E.K. Jr. had the same make-up as his father, but he signed with a different company. Compare the two dolls and you’ll see why the Juro dolls, always completely manufactured in the U.S., are special. “Little Ricky” was Juro’s own. It wasn’t associated with a ventriloquist, It was a little smaller in size than the other dolls and it was easier for younger children to handle. Sam Jupiter passed away in 1974, leaving his wife Miriam, his daughters Barbara and Vivian and his son Jessie. His wife, and then his daughter Vivian ran the company until it was sold in 1977 to Goldberger. Sam would say truthfully,“I make my living from dummies.” When asked if a dummy was a good gift for a bright child, he’d reply, “The dummy is as bright as your child.” V. Spetalnick General Manager Juro 1975, Son-in-law of Sam Jupiter worthpoint.com over 700 photos of Juro Dolls. celebritydummies.com ebay.com Identifying Toy Ventriloquist Figures jimmydsannyfarfel.com.bio.ht ml snipview.com 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Juro Novelty Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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