Gay Bob was the first actual gay doll, complete with his closet and a catalog promising many tongue-in-cheek-outfits that didn’t actually exist. Gay Bob was anatomically correct – although his proportions were a little more modest than for his successor, Billy.
Billy, the out and proud gay doll, by Totem International had a range of outfits as well as a boyfriend, Carlos, Billy’s Puerto Rican boyfriend, and Tyson, their African American friend. Other merchandising included a book, a video, and a CD. Billy was based on drawings by the artist John McKitterick. After a successful limited-edition run of 1,200 dolls created to benefit an AIDS charity, McKitterick decided to mass market Billy as a 13 inch tall vinyl doll.
The doll was the subject of a 1998 exhibit at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Several dozen fashion designers created custom outfits for the doll in support of a benefit auction for AIDS charity LIFEBeat. Also in 1998, Billy and Carlos served as the basis for the film Billy 2000, which featured segments based on the Master Billy, Cowboy Billy and San Francisco Billy figures. More Billy and Bob details can be found here …
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