Barbie creator’s daughter fights for her dad’s legacy after toy giant Mattel cuts him out

Jerry Oppenheimer, New York Times bestseller, is author of Toy Monster, the Big, Bad World of Mattel. He also contributes to DailyMail.com.

Mattel, the toy giant that owns Barbie, has released the story of Barbie’s father to his daughter.

Ann Ryan has been dissected by the company for years and now it’s time to make the truth about Barbie’s birth public in an exclusive interview. DailyMail.com

Jack was Jack’s father, who committed suicide in 1991. Mattel claims that Jack was a notorious sexual swinger and host of orgies at Mattel’s home. Mattel wants to keep Mattel’s best-selling toys from being tarnished by his unconventional lifestyle.

Instead, she said, Mattel prefers to stick with its story that Barbie was invented by company co-founder Ruth Handler – even though she was a convicted felon who was kicked out of the company for cooking the books.

Ann Ryan, aged 67, is speaking out for first time. Ann Ryan claims that all her emails and letters to the company requesting access to records and archives have been consistently ignored. Ryan claimed that the correspondence would show that her father was the one who invented the iconic doll.

Ann Ryan (67) claims Jack Ryan was the real creator of Barbie dolls and slams Mattel for trying to erase his legacy. According to her, one reason for Jack Ryan’s death is because of his extravagant lifestyle. Here she is with her dad. 

Ann submitted the original 1959 patent filed by her father for the famous doll to Mattel CEO. The photo was of Barbie by her father, which she included in an email to Mattel CEO. She hoped that this would draw attention. [of Mattel]’

Ann says Mattel prefers to stick with its story that Barbie was invented by Ruth Handler  (pictured) – even though she was a convicted felon who was kicked out of the company for cooking the books

“It’s now that we can set the record straight,” she stated about Barbie’s paternity. Barbie was an 11″ doll, which her dad designed and created with long legs and perky breasts. It was born in 1963.

According to her, one reason for the blacklisting of her father was his lifestyle.

Ryan was 65 years old when he committed suicide. He had been married five times. He was a kinky sexual swinger who hosted orgies at his faux castle home – a lifestyle that long embarrassed Handler, who died at age 85 in 2002, who feared it could tarnish Barbie’s reputation.

Ann Ryan tells DailyMail.com that her father “is absolutely the father” of Barbie.

Ann states, “Clearly Ruth disapproved of the lifestyle of her father and envied his achievements,”

Ryan also drank heavily and used cocaine and had periods of depression – times that Ann now links ‘to the stress and anxiety of Ruth Handler’s ill-will toward him.’

After suffering a fatal heart attack and stroke, he committed suicide.

Since Barbie’s introduction in 1959, Mattel has credited the doll’s conception solely to Handler – even though she was a convicted felon who was kicked out of the company for cooking the books, and later sentenced in federal court to five years probation, 2,500 hours of community service and fined $57,000.

Ann Ryan stated that her goal now was to “finally debunk Ruth’s story about who invented Barbie and why it has been so successful.”

She said, “My father is completely the father of Barbie,”

Mattel’s website history does not mention Ryan or honors Handler, in spite of the shadow over her.

She stated that her inspiration came from watching Barbara’s daughter play with paper dolls and that she recognized the chance to inspire and champion girls through creating a doll three-dimensional that shows that they are capable of being anything.

Ann Ryan asserts, “What’s not mentioned in the corporate History is that my dad’s involvement in Barbie’s Development began before he ever came to Mattel.”

“When he grew up, he was obsessed about the female form. He studied and traced pinups of famous artists and had for many years been pushing Ruth to create a doll with a full-developed female figure.

Ann addressed a request to Ynon Khreiz, Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive in February 2020. She wanted to’see what Mattel records I have that you would willing to share me’ to help her write a memoir about her father. Ann stated that she was consistently ignored.

Ann seeks access to the internal records of her father, who she claims is responsible for the creation of the famous doll.

Mattel cut Ryan off from the huge royalties he was receiving for his design of Barbie and other toy designs. Ryan was devastated and cut off all his ties with Mattel. He sued Mattel for $24million due to non-payment of royalties.

Ann wrote to Ynon Khreiz, Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive, asking for’see which records Mattel may have that I would be willing to share’. She was writing a book about her father that she planned to publish. Ann also noted that there had been a lot of controversy over his relationship with Ruth Handler.

Ryan committed suicide at the age of 65 in 1991. Ann was his fifth wife. Ryan was an ardent swinger and hostess who lived at his fake castle. Ann and Ryan are shown together 

One of the detailed Barbie drawings her dad had drawn was included in her package. He never called me.

The request was similar to Mattel’s media affairs director. She did not hear anything until Marissa Beck from Mattel Global Brand Communications sent an email.

Beck explained that he could not share company documents to anyone else. But if Beck has specific facts, Beck can investigate and determine if they can be answered.

Ann stated, “They totally stonewalled me.”

Barbie, like Ruth’s criminal history and Jack’s unusual lifestyle, had an interesting past.

Ruth Handler, a 1956 European holidaymaker, discovered Bild-Lilli. This adult novelty plastic doll was inspired by a popular German cartoon character.

Handler, a Harvard and Yale educated head of Mattel’s research-design department, believed that a Bild–Lilli redesign could bring Mattel fortunes as a children’s toy.

Ryan was a former designer of missiles for Raytheon’s Pentagon. He began to do his own engineering and design using Bild-Lilli to guide him. This led to the creation of what is today known as Barbie.

Ryan had nine wives. The most notable was Zsa Zsa Gabor, his second marriage to Hungarian woman.

Ann received a letter from Zsa Zsa Gabrielor, her step-mom. She signed it “Momma No. 2′

Ryan lived in what he called his ‘castle’,  a classic Tudor mansion on a hillside in Los Angeles’s ritzy Bel Air enclave, complete with a bridge over a moat

But Handler’s only concession to his work was a brief mention in her 1994 memoir, Dream Doll, citing his development of the ‘Twist ‘n’ Turn Barbie,’ a major breakthrough that gave the doll natural movement by allowing little girls to bend her at the waist and legs, and twist her at the hips – with no visible joints.

Pictured is Ann’s mother and Ryan’s first wife Barbara ‘Barbie’ Ryan

Handler stated that these innovations are among the few Barbie characteristics we could patent. Jack Ryan, however, would tell everyone later that he is the inventor of Barbie. This is how irritating it was.

Ryan was the target of Handler’s greatest attack, according to his daughter. Mattel took away her father’s large royalties for designing and selling Barbie, and other toys.

Ryan was devastated and shocked and he ended all ties to Mattel after 20 years. He sued Mattel for $24million in non-payment of royalties.

Ann Ryan stated that they could spend one million dollars a year on litigation in the hope Jack would give up. He didn’t give up, he believed he was right and Mattel was wrong. All he needed to do was continue to come up with cash to pay his lawyers.

“It was terrible for him. It was like his heart had been broken.

“His efforts to help the company become more successful were immense, but then they began to reduce his royalty payments without him saying anything. He was very, very upset. It was a personal matter for him.

Ryan was ultimately awarded $10.1million in settlement. That is half of the amount he had claimed to owe.

To make matters worse, Ryan even had to sell his beloved castle – a classic Tudor mansion on a hillside in Los Angeles’s ritzy Bel Air enclave into an actual fairytale castle, complete with a bridge over a moat – just to keep the lawsuit going.’

Later, a developer bought it for less than $2 million.

Ann fondly recalls that her father was the “king” of their castle. He hosted his sexy orgies in the castle with numerous beautiful women.

‘He often threw Tom Jones dinners – a utensil-free bacchanal. The female guest-of honor, who sat upon a throne of power, was crowned and it was all over.

“As an adolescent, I often made an appearance at these parties dressed in Renaissance garb and riding one of my horses straight into Tom Jones’ dining area.

Ann acknowledged that her awareness of her father’s sexual proclivities was a part of her swinger lifestyle.

She stated, “It was the Sixties,” and that free love was her new religion. After seeing Californian women playing together, he was hooked on this idea of a non-provincial life.

Ann said that Ann had been fed up just two years ago when the Ryan family arrived at the castle. Ann said that she hated parties and women.

“My parents were separated but lived under the same roof. They had separate lives.” Barbara Ryan, also known as Barbara, was the first of Jack’s five wife. She began divorce proceedings, and then moved to a modester home.

“Now, I’d like Mattel to finally recognize all my father did for this company. Ann shares his fathership of Barbie. 

Ryan has a harem full of women, but the most famous was his second wife, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was ‘famous because he is famous’ and nine times wed Hungarian beauty Zsa Zsa.

Gabor wrote in 1991, “One Lifetime Is Not Enough”, that she discovered that Jack was not interested in building a new life together with her, but with one woman.

“I couldn’t handle it.” Jack’s dungeon was another matter. It is a darkly lit torture room with fox fur and painted in a sinister, black color. Jack’s entire sex life would have shocked the average Penthouse reader.

Ryan was in Japan for business meetings. They went on a honeymoon. Zsa Zsa was invited to Tokyo by Ryan, and when she returned to her hotel, Zsa Zsa thought it would be a good idea to take her to Tokyo with him. But, as Zsa Zsa was about to leave, her escort shocked her.

Magda was Ryan’s fifth and final wife. She had only been here from Poland for six months. Ryan, who is a quarter of his age, convinced Magda to get married to him.

Following a stroke, he became partially paralysed with no ability to speak and was left partially blind. He decided to end his suffering.

Magda discovered Ryan’s corpse in the pool of blood near his bed on August 13, 1991. Magda found Ryan’s body in a pool of blood next to his bed after he fired one shot from his.45 caliber pistol. However, before pulling the trigger, he wrote, “I love you” on a mirror using her lipstick.

“I loved my father and can understand why he took his own life. Maggie, his wife of a young age, was the one he saw as he had realized she was a caretaker for an elderly and frail man.

“Now Mattel, please acknowledge my dad’s contributions to that company. He was also the father of Barbie and many other things.

DailyMail.com did not reach Mattel to request comment.