Talking Kens have survived much better than Talking Barbies

Here are four Talking (or not Talking) Kens, three from 1969 and one from 1973.

Ken on the far left, in his original swim trunks and cover-up, is my sister's doll which she received in 1969.  He was made in Mexico.  Over the years part of his hard plastic neck broke and his head is hard to keep in place. His right arm eventually fell off and is taped in place.  I can't even pull the string out of neck--it's frozen in place.

The second Ken, in 1428 Breakfast at 7 from 1969, was probably the first Talking Ken I picked up when I started collecting in the mid-1980s.  He, too, was from Mexico.  He is in much better condition than my sister's doll.  I can pull out his neck string but it retracts very quickly.

The third Ken is a Baggy from 1973 in 7706 Suit up for Safari & Adventure.  Look closely at the back of his neck on the nude doll photo.  You can see the hole where the string went; however, there are no indentations for his voice on his back.  This doll, surprisingly, was also from Mexico.

Ken #4, in 1431 Guruvy Formal from 1969, is the same as the second Ken, made in Mexico, with a quickly retracting pull string.

The Talking doll holes in their backs are in a square with rounded edges and triangular holes at the corners.  No idea why.

I wanted Guruvy Formal, on the right, as a little girl,
and it was one of the first outfits I bought as a collector.

I have Ken's other slipper
for Breakfast at 7 somewhere!

The heads of Talking Kens faded very quickly.

Although much has been written about the hole arrangements on the backs of Talking Barbie and the other girl dolls, I've not found anything about Talking Ken.

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