The original idea for Billy, The First Out and Proud Gay Doll, was conceived in the early nineteen-nineties. Since then Billy and his friends have become part of gay culture.
Billy first appeared as a limited number of 17-inch tall latex figures in 1993. They were created by artists John McKitterick and Juan Andres as a political statement against hostile government policies and homophobia in general. A commercial line of vinyl dolls was produced from 1996 until 2002. During (and since) this relatively short time-frame, the dolls became a much-loved part of gay history.
The 13-inch tall jointed vinyl figures were introduced in 1996, and marketed in the United States by London-based Totem International. McKitterick and Andres created the website, www.thebillyconcept.com where you can find out more about this cultural icon.
Many versions of Billy have been created since his inception, so we wanted to put together a definitive listing of the dates and types of dolls that were originally manufactured, or authorized, by the doll’s creators – to be precise, a Billy Timeline.
The original 17-inch tall latex Billy doll was constructed on an internal wire armature, and was hand-painted, right down to his molded boots!
BILLY AND FRIENDS TIMELINE
1993 Billy Sculpture
1993 Billy Series I: A limited number of 17-inch tall latex dolls were produced, built over wire armatures using a similar construction technique to the Bendy Toys of the late 1950s-60s – watch a video from 1957 here. ALERT: This historic video shows potentially unsafe work practices as well as images of a racist toy that was widely available at the time. These early Billys were created in a range of guises representing stereotypical gay characters. The figures are hard to find today, especially as these rubber dolls are sharing a fate similar to vintage Bendy Toys. The spongy material has not stood the test of time, becoming brittle and crumbling with age. Additionally, the over-painting often reacts with the substrate to become sticky and can flake off. The full range of figures were:
- San Francisco
- Cowboy
- Master
- Slave
- Sporty
- Army
San Francisco Billy, one of the original 17-inch tall latex concept dolls in an outfit that was replicated for the later 13-inch tall vinyl dolls.
Army Billy’s outfit differed from the later 13-inch tall vinyl Army Billy that was put into production.
Cowboy Billy wore a costume similar to the later vinyl doll.
Master Billy wore an outfit broadly similar to the later vinyl Master doll.
Sporty Billy was in a sportswear kit that was not used for the later vinyl doll production.
COMMERCIALLY MANUFACTURED BILLY DOLLS
Showing the code number for each doll
1996 Cowboy Billy Dark Hair CB15
1996 Cowboy Billy Blond Hair CB2
1996 Master Billy Dark Hair MB14
1996 Master Billy Blond Hair MB1
1996 Sailor Billy Dark Hair SB16
1996 Sailor Billy Blond Hair SB3
1996 San Francisco Billy Dark Hair SFB17
1996 San Francisco Billy Blond Hair SFB4
1998 Cop Billy Dark Hair COB25
1998 Cop Billy Blond Hair COB5
1998 Vacation Billy Dark Hair VB20
1998 Vacation Billy Blond Hair VB10
1998 Wrestler Billy Blond Hair Only WRB1
1999 Baseball Billy Dark Hair BB29
1999 Baseball Billy Blond Hair BB28
1999 Firefighter Billy Dark Hair FB208
1999 Firefighter Billy Blond Hair FB108
COMMERCIALLY MANUFACTURED CARLOS DOLLS
Showing the code number for each doll
1998 New York Carlos NYC12
1998 Vacation Carlos VC11
1998 Wrestler Carlos WRC2
1999 Firefighter Carlos FC508
1999 Baseball Carlos BC27
1999 Cop Carlos COC26
COMMERCIALLY MANUFACTURED TYSON DOLLS
2000 Army Tyson
2000 Leather Tyson
List of boxed clothing with code numbers
The outfits were marketed in either square black boxes, or clear plastic cases. The codes for the black boxes are shown.
Master Outfit MBC6
Cowboy Outfit CBC7
Sailor Outfit SBC8
San Francisco Outfit SFBC9
A double set of Billy/Carlos Wrestlers’ Outfits in a clear plastic case was also produced.
Billy Opens His Closet. In 1998 Billy was the subject of an exhibit at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Dozens of fashion designers created custom outfits for the doll in support of a benefit auction for AIDS charity LIFEbeat, billed as “The Music Industry Fights Aids.” Designers included: Alexander McQueen; Nicole Miller; Perry Ellis; Tommy Hilfiger; Paul Smith; Liz Claibourne; and Diesel.
Later and/or Special Edition Dolls
1997 Aids Benefit Billy Blond
1998 Wall Street Billy Blond
1998 Gay Games Billy Blond
1999 Drag Billy Blond – Dolly
1999 Drag Carlos – Carmen
2000 Santa Billy
2000 Santa Carlos
2000 Santa Tyson
2000 Tattoo Beach Billy Blond
2000 Tattoo Beach Billy Dark Hair
2000 Tattoo Beach Carlos
2002 BPS Billy Blond
2002 BPS Carlos
2002 BPS Tyson
Billy loves to dress up! A range of unique Billy and Carlos dolls wore drag in 1999 for the Be a Doll event, a charity auction in aid of Body Positive. Outfits included: Dolly Parton; Madonna; Naomi Campbell; Liza Minelli; and Carmen Miranda. Other drag outfits included: Bette Midler; Cher; Judy Garland; Marie Antoinette; The Queen; and Wonder Woman. Versions of the Dolly and Carmen dolls were put into production.
A sixteen-feet tall sculpture of Billy – 16 Feet Billy, a colossus by Alex Hancock was exhibited at the Free Range Exhibition, Brick Lane, London, 24-28 July 2003.
Billy and Carlos dolls are included in the permanent collection at the Science museum, South Kensington, London.
The Bold Doll has other features about Billy and his chums, follow these links:
A Night Out with Billy
Billy and Bob
Billy and Carlos
To find out more about Billy, please visit his official website: www.thebillyconcept.com. All images shown here are courtesy of thebillyconcept.com.
This mini-documentary about the Billy dolls serves as a celebration as well as a retrospective. The video includes LGBTQIA dolls produced by other manufacturers following the trail-blazing path set by Totem International.