Mego Corporation's Sonny and Cher

Do you believe in life after love? Let’s roll back time and take a look at Mego Corporation’s Sonny and Cher dolls from 1976. The Bold Doll sifts through some dusty postcards in the attic and discovers afresh this collectors’ favorite. I got you, babe.

It might be argued that Mego’s Cher doll is hardly an accurate likeness of the star. But this would be to miss the point. The doll’s appeal lies more in her vintage charm, together with an enviable wardrobe. The doll was endorsed by her namesake, so clearly Cher herself was happy with how she had been immortalized in vinyl at the time.

In 1976, to complete with the success of Mattel’s Barbie doll, the Mego Corporation released the first of their celebrity dolls. The Sonny and Cher fashion dolls were created at the height of the popularity of The Sonny & Cher Show on primetime TV. The 12 ¼ inch tall dolls were promoted by the entertainers themselves on air.

GYPSIES, TRAMPS & THIEVES
Clockwise from top left: Sun Kissed, Jumperoo, Good Earth, and White Out; Buckskin (Sonny); Electric Feathers and White Tux.
The outfit Strawberry is shown at the top of the page next to the main heading.

An exclusive line totaling 32 different outfits was designed by Bob Mackie for the Cher doll, and a glamorous launch party was held to promote the new line. One thousand guests attended a sparkling dinner dance at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Mego’s hunch paid off, Cher was the top-selling doll of 1976. A further Cher set was released the following year, before being closed in 1978 as the company focused on other dolls and toys.

Following the launch, eagle-eyed shoppers noticed that the prototype dolls shown in Mego’s 1976 catalog differed from the production dolls. Sonny’s face was initially somewhat stern, but he was ultimately given a smile, and Cher’s arms – bent in the catalog – were straightened for the finished product.

There were three versions of Cher produced, all with rooted eyelashes. The launch doll was sold in an orange box, was dressed in a flared coral-pink gown, and had very long hair. The next doll featured ‘growing’ hair, was packaged in a purple box, and wore a dress of black and silver, with black peep-toe shoes.

I GOT YOU BABE
Clockwise from top left: Space Princess and Space Prince; Chocolate Mocha; Private Eye (Sonny); Pink Panther; Hoedown (Sonny and Cher); Madame Chan; Laverne.

The final doll in the line had a downgraded body of hollow vinyl, and the hands were no longer jointed. The doll was cheaply dressed in a one-piece bathing suit of blue, red, or yellow. This doll was sold in a narrow orange box with a ‘Gypsy Cher’ picture.

The final indignity for these dolls came when they were discontinued by Mego and the last remaining heads were sold to O.K. Toys, to be assembled on even poorer quality blown vinyl bodies. These dolls, known to collectors as ‘Baggie Cher’ were sold in plastic bags embellished with the old Mego logo.

The Sonny doll was only made by Mego for one year. He had a much reduced wardrobe, compared with his partner doll, of only twelve outfits.

On the other hand, the Cher doll’s lavish outfits were either replicas of Bob Mackie originals, or freshly designed for the doll by Mackie himself. The costumes recreated some of Cher’s iconic looks from her TV appearances. Amongst them were Laverne, the Half Breed outfit, and Foxy Lady. To the modern eye, some of these outfits appear guilty of cultural appropriation, or worse. They are shown here in the historical context of the time.

IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Clockwise from above: La Plume, Half and Half, Foxy Lady, and Midnight Blue: Fortune Teller; Gypsy King (Sonny) and Vagabond (Cher); Bolero.
The Cher commemorative postage stamp was issued in 2012, by the Republic of Burundi.

Ever with a keen eye on marketing opportunities, Mego extended and developed the line in their 1977 catalog. Other toys available included: Cher’s Dressing Room – a closet, backstage dressing room, and carrying case for outfits; The Cher Travel Trunk, designed to hold the doll’s burgeoning wardrobe; an inflatable tent set as well as Sonny & Cher’s Roadster. The red convertible roadster was packaged in a box showing it being driven by the dolls.

Other toys included: Cher’s Theatre in the Round – a revolving stage with four scenes: the main stage, Sonny’s Pizzeria, and Cher’s dressing room. Props were a piano, a microphone stand, and a dressing table. In another strike at Mattel’s hold on the market, Cher’s Makeup Center was released in competition with The Barbie Makeup Center and was sold with similar accessories. Other catalog items were Cher’s Sing Along Phono – a portable record player, and Cher’s Fashion Jewelry. After Mego discontinued the dolls, remaining outfits were sold off for repackaging. Many ex-Cher outfits were sold at Toys “R” Us under the Jordache brand.

The dolls remain popular with collectors today, particularly those who were children in the 1970s, as well as fans of the entertainers and pop culture collectors. The main defect with these vintage dolls is something collectors call “Mego Melt”, which practically all of these dolls suffer from. The plastic used for the doll’s torso reacts with the rubberized plastic used for the arms and legs. The result is a melting of the torso where the two materials touch. The melting can result in the costumes permanently fused to the dolls. High temperatures has been found to make the problem worse, and it can also have a damaging effect on hair and eyelashes. The Cher doll also had long molded fingernails which were prone to breaking off during play.

If you like Mego’s Cher, you might want to check out Raynal’s Sylvie Vartan.

Here’s a closer look at individual postcards to Cher … click on any image to view the carousel.