Cricket and Corky Dolls

Are we having fun, or whaaaaaat???!!!

Cricket, the talking doll, made her first public appearance in February 1986, at Toy Fair in New York. Playmates Toys had to work hard to spread the word about their precocious little girl. They were not one of the big players in the industry; up till that time they had mostly imported toys from overseas manufacturers for distribution in the U.S. The Cricket doll was their first major offering and they were excited. (See Cricket's Toy Fair poster at the bottom of this page.) Cricket was designed and engineered by Larry Jones at California R & D Center. It was his idea to create a talking doll that looked and acted like a child's best friend - not a talking bear or a Mother Goose doll like Worlds of Wonder was selling - but an almost-real little girl. Playmates asked Robin Frederick and Jay Tverdak to write and record the cassette tapes and books that would be sold with the doll. Robin had an extensive background in family entertainment having written over 200 songs for the Disney Channel series, Welcome To Pooh Corner and Dumbo's Circus, as well as scripts for the See 'n' Say toy line at Mattel and a series of educational children's musicals for Tony award-winning South Coast Repertory Theater. Jay Tverdak was a licensed Montessori School teacher. Together they wrote and produced the Basic Tape (sold with the doll) plus 24 others. The tapes were released with outfits, books, or accessories. (A complete list of Cricket's tapes is included at the bottom of this page.) Trivia: Cricket's signature line, "Are we having fun, or what!" was written by Larry Jones. Every script ended with "I'll be talkin' to ya!" Robin Frederick wrote Cricket's theme song, "You're My Friend."	Cricket and Corky are no longer sold in retail stores but you can still buy them at Ebay Auctions. Some dolls have been well-loved - and well-used! - but others are in near mint condition and are priced accordingly. Tapes and accessories are also available. Cricket Doll - Ebay Auctions now. Mouse over the picture to find out more!
The voice of Cricket was played by nine-year-old Laura Mooney, a remarkably talented actor and singer. Cricket's trademark staccato laugh, the one that sounds like a cross between a mad squirrel and a woodpecker working on cement, was Laura's own invention. She was given a script and song demo tape four days before each session. She read over the script with her mother and learned the songs by singing along with the demo tape. Laura would arrive at the studio and record Side A in two hours. In the afternoon she would do the same with Side B. When she wasn't recording, she spent time with a tutor doing school work. The voice-over sessions were directed by Jay Tverdak. Solo electric piano underscore and song accompaniment was provided by keyboard player, Mike Watts. The sessions were produced by Robin Frederick. Trish Stewart, who headed up the Cricket project for Playmates Toys, was present at several of the recording sessions. The tapes were recorded, edited, and mixed by Carla Frederick. Carla would listen to the master tapes through an actual Cricket doll so she could determine whether the sound was being muffled by the fabric covering the cassette speaker in the doll. Cricket's eyes and mouth are sound activated, so the voice was always kept on a separate track of its own. In Cricket's first year of release, she reached No. 6 on Toy World's list of Top Ten toys. Trivia: Laura Mooney went on to co-star opposite Tony Danza in the movie She's out Of Control. Laura made a memorable stairway entrance as Danza's tomboy daughter transformed into an elegant pre-teen beauty. She continued to do voice-over work, appearing in the Steven Spielberg-produced Animaniacs tv series as the voice of teen time-bomb, Katie Ka-Boom. Trivia: Cricket's name was originally going to be Spunky. Eeeek! It was changed before any of the tapes were recorded.
Corky, Cricket's little brother, was introduced one year later at Toy Fair '87. RobinJay productions created ten cassette tapes, all of which were released with either books or outfits. (A complete list of Corky's tapes is included at the bottom of this page.) The voice of Corky was provided by seven-year-old Edan Gross. Edan imbued Corky with an infectious sense of mischief and exuberance. At seven, Edan was already reading at college level. His parents did not have a television in their home so Edan entertained himself with books. He was able to 'cold read' the scripts, including words like "colossal," in character and without stumbling, something many adult actors are unable to do. The same development and production team was involved with Corky. At Playmates' request, a full band was used for two songs on each of the Corky tapes. The band was also used on later Cricket tapes like "Cricket's Favorite Games" and "Cricket Goes To A Wedding." Band members included Mike Watts (arranger, keyboard and synthesizers), Dave Marotta (bass), Jay Leach (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin) Terry Schonig (drums, percussion, sound effects), Bob Sandman (woodwinds, tenor and bari sax).	Jay and Robin with all their talkative "kids". (1987)
Trivia: Edan Gross went on to co-star in two TV series, Free Spirit and Walter and Emily and make guest appearances on such acclaimed series as Northern Exposure, Murphy Brown, Empty Nest, Cheers, and Married With Children. He did extensive voice-over work including starring roles as Flounder in Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid and Little Dracula in Little Dracula. Trivia: Just two years after introducing Cricket, Playmates Toys acquired the rights to make and sell action figures based on a quirky set of characters with the outlandish name of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Toy Fair Poster for Cricket's debut in 1986.
Tapes for the Cricket Doll Basic Tape & Instruction Tape (sold with doll) School Time Sleepy Time Party Time Time For Outdoor Fun Time For Health & Exercise Indoor Play Time Cricket Takes A Vacation Growing Up With Cricket Holiday Fun With Cricket Cricket's Clubhouse Around The World With Cricket Cricket Goes Camping Cooking With Cricket Cricket's Favorite Games Cricket's Kitty Shadow Cricket Visits the Zoo Cricket's Special Surprise Cricket Goes To the Circus Cricket Goes To The County Fair Cricket Tours The Hospital Cricket Goes To A Wedding Cricket Visits China (not released) Cricket Visits Australia (not released) Cricket Visits Spain (not released)	Tapes for the Corky Doll Basic Tape (sold with doll) Let's Play At My House Let's Play At Outdoors Let's Play At School Corky's Adventure Scouts Corky's Star Ship Corky's Big Game Corky's Big Race Corky's Circus Adventure Corky Meets A Monster Cricket's Video Tapes Two limited-cell animation videos were created for Hi Tops Video. The half-hour programs are based on "Cricket's Clubhouse" and "Around the World With Cricket."
A big thank you to Robin Frederick for providing information and photos used on this page. Cricket and Corky are registered trademarks of Playmates Toys. ~ A Cricket Fan

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