March 28, 2009 1:22 am

Slinky, a "Cult" Favorite - Flash Back Friday

Why do so many toys seem to have some very crazy back stories?  Today we have the story of the Slinky, and its rise and fall (bah dum dump..ching! Thank you, I’ll be here all week- Try the roast beef!) at the hands of the family behind it, Richard and Betty James.  You see, Richard invented the Slinky after seeing a spring fall off a table, after the toy became a hit, he joined a cult and gave them a lot of his profits…But The Straight Dope tells it better:

 By the 1950s Richard was pretty flush. He and Betty lived with their growing family on a 12-acre estate near the suburb of Bryn Mawr on Philadelphia’s affluent Main Line. But he wasn’t content and at some point got religion. Previous accounts have been vague on how this came about, and Betty herself doesn’t have a lot of specifics. She doesn’t know what religious organization Richard got hooked up with, only that it was an evangelical Christian sect that she termed a cult. Richard began consorting with what Betty considered dubious characters, made sizable financial contributions, and testified at revival meetings. She attended one and found it mortifying.

I asked Betty what had gotten into her husband. She said Slinky sales were slumping in the mid-50s and that Richard, a charismatic man who had gotten used to being a big shot, liked the attention he got while confessing his sins.

Wondering what kind of sins we were talking about, I asked: “Did Richard have, ah, personal issues that led to his religious conversion?” Yes, Betty said. He’d been a philanderer. She’d found out about it, they’d had discussions of the sort that usually ensue, but she’d stayed with him for the sake of their six children.

Finally, in February 1960, Richard announced to Betty and their two eldest children that he was moving to Bolivia to work for his religious group. They could either sell the business or run it themselves; he was cutting all ties. By July he was gone. What exactly he did in Bolivia, Betty doesn’t know, although there’s no reason to think it was anything along the lines of Jim Jones in Guyana–more like a mission, from the sound of it. At one point she heard he was printing religious tracts.

To provide for her family, Betty decided to keep the Slinky business going, but it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Richard had diverted the company’s resources to his religious interests and left millions of dollars in unpaid bills. Betty begged her creditors to be patient, and miraculously they all agreed. She wangled a TV advertising deal, moved the Slinky plant to her hometown of Hollidaysburg in central Pennsylvania, and slowly put the company back on its feet.

You have to love the persistence of Betty James!  Here are some of the classic Slinky commercials for you to enjoy this Friday.  Don’t forget to check out the changes in the stairs that the slinkys walk down- the 70’s version is particularly nice.

From the 60’s:



From the 70’s:



And the 80’s (ohhhh colors! and plastic!):




Have a great weekend- I hope its fun for a girl and a boy!

–Laura McMullan