Dolls

At South Gate High, teen-agers are lining up to have babies. Students in a teen-age pregnancy prevention program--the only one of its kind in Los Angeles County--spend several days lugging around frighteningly lifelike baby dolls that wail at unpredictable intervals. The $220, computer-controlled "baby" with a recording of a newborn's cries cannot be quieted unless properly cuddled and "fed" by inserting a key into its monitoring device.

Think of bobblehead dolls as a sub-species of the American fan, smaller but more likable and in the long run, probably worth far more. Like most items these days, they are made in bulk in China, but there is a burgeoning collection of companies that produce personalized dolls as well -- for Father's Day, coaching gifts, graduations and, in extreme cases, to mock the idiot in the next cubicle. At about $100, these custom-made versions are not cheap, and they require a bit of lead time -- about a month.

Move over bobble-heads, the matryoshkas are coming! In the U.S. sports memorabilia market, bobble-heads are starting to lose their bounce. Some in the business are betting that the next promotional hit in stadiums around the country will be Russian nesting dolls, more formally called matryoshkas.

Two years before she became the object of young men's fantasies as Catwoman on the ABC series "Batman," Julie Newmar starred as a shapely robot named Rhoda on the 1964-65 CBS sitcom "My Living Doll. " The series, though, never had a chance. It premiered on Sunday opposite the No. 1 show on TV at the time, NBC's "Bonanza," and then moved midseason to Wednesday evenings opposite yet another high profile western on the Peacock network, "The Virginian. " The series was axed after 26 episodes, and "My Living Doll" all but disappeared from public view.

Brigitte Starczewski-Deval makes dolls. Exquisite dolls. Dolls that wouldn't look out of place in a painting by one of the old masters who inspire her. In a craft demeaned by Barbies and Kens and countless other rubberized, plasticized, babbling, gurgling junk, Starczewski-Deval makes dolls for museums and collectors, for people who consider doll-making an art form. For people who won't wince at a price range of $2,400 to $14,000.

A boy from a poor family makes good, opens the first sex shop in his hometown, wins the mayor's job by a landslide, defies the Kremlin, goes to prison, gets barred from politics and ends up where he started: surrounded by sex toys, including a set of erotic Matryoshka nesting dolls that he delights in showing off. The story of Alexander Donskoy's entrepreneurial and political odyssey, complete with his decision to open Moscow's first sex museum, might...

To their legions of fans -- Sasha Obama and Snoop Dogg included -- the Ugly Dolls are anything but ugly. With names such as Babo, Big Toe and Puglee, the creatures look more like impish cartoon monsters than adorable Beanie Babies. Millions of these odd, squishy misfits have charmed their way into buyers' hands since David Horvath began doodling them eight years ago on letters to his college sweetheart, Sun-Min Kim. Manhattan Beach residents Horvath and Kim had dreamed about creating toys that could tell stories and make kids happy.

A sizzling biography of "Valley of the Dolls" author Jacqueline Susann, due out March 19, is sending her widower, Irving Mansfield, running to his lawyers. Author Barbara Seaman, with a six-figure William Morrow advance, told Outtakes that "Jackie created her steamy best-sellers out of the raw materials of her life"--which Seaman has used as the basis of "Lovely Me," also the title of a Susann stage play.

First Lady Michelle Obama, who has described herself "first and foremost . . . Malia and Sasha's mom," has defended her daughters' likenesses, saying it is not proper for a company that makes the plush Beanie Babies to produce dolls called Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. "We feel it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes," Obama's press secretary, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said in a statement Saturday. Oak Brook, Ill.-based toy maker Ty Inc.

She can kiss, hiccup, burp and even sneeze. She plays pat-a-cake and sucks her bottle and laughs when her tummy is rubbed. She is Baby Heather, a plump electronic baby doll, and she comes with a high-voltage $110 price tag. Mattel's Baby Heather, a blonde, blue-eyed bundle of silicon chips, isn't the only high-technology, hundred-dollar baby being delivered to toy stores this fall.

Seeking to boost its relatively healthy business for classic movies on DVD, Warner Bros. has signed a multiyear deal to release 73 classic films produced by industry legend Samuel Goldwyn. Among the titles Warner is licensing from the producer's son Samuel Goldwyn Jr. are best picture Academy Award winner "The Best Years of Our Lives," the Lou Gehrig biopic "The Pride of the Yankees" with Gary Cooper, the musical "Guys and Dolls" with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, and Danny Kaye's "Hans Christian Andersen.

Danielle Pepers is such a fan of"The Hunger Games"that she had the book's unofficial mascot - a mockingjay - tattooed on her right arm this month. But her intrigue with the books and movie, which hit theaters Friday, didn't stop there. On a recent Wednesday, Pepers, 27, was shopping for T-shirts and jewelry at Hot Topic, a teen-oriented chain store at the Glendale Galleria that sells pop-culture ephemera. A mound of movie tie-in merchandise greeted her at the door. There were knee socks, pillowcases and nail polish.

Over at the Gettysburg National Military Park bookstore in Pennsylvania, they've decided that maybe it's not such a great idea to sell a bobblehead of John Wilkes Booth, the notorious Confederate sympathizer and assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. The Associated Press reports that the dolls were on sale for about a week, then pulled from the shelf after the park superintendent and other officials determined that a bobblehead of a guy who murdered one of the nation's most revered public figures was sort of inappropriate.

An eerily lifelike Steve Jobs doll will not be sold because of "immense pressure" from Apple Inc.'s lawyers and requests from the late chief executive's family, according to In Icons, the company that had advertised the action figure. "We understand that this decision will cause many of the fans' disappointment, but please forgive us as there is no other alternative unless to have the blessing from Steve Jobs family," the company said in a statement on its website. The company said it would aim to provide full refunds to customers who had ordered the doll.

A Clampett may have struck it rich yet again. Or at least the actress who played the beautiful tomboy Elly May on the television show "The Beverly Hillbillies," who settled a lawsuit with toy giant Mattel Inc. and CBS Consumer Products over a Barbie doll modeled after her character. Actress Donna Douglas, who held the role of buxom Elly May, claimed that she never gave permission for the El Segundo toy maker to use her photo or name in promoting the doll, according to court filings.

H&M and other big-box retailers are obvious go-tos for fast fashion. But they aren't the only stores in town for shoppers seeking that little black dress in lace or a cashmere sweater that won't break the bank. Many of L.A.'s independent boutiques offer a curated selection of dresses, sweaters, pants and accessories in a more intimate environment with attentive service. Below we look at five of those boutiques, with current styles and prices that frequently average less than $100.

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits a local retailer from reproducing a doll that was popular during the waning days of World War II. U.S. District Court Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler on Tuesday prohibited Anaheim-based doll store operator Dale Noble from using the doll's name or fulfilling his plan to make copies of the dolls that were last manufactured in the 1960s.

Brigitte Nohrudi, fascinated with antique dolls, sells their original clothes and accessories, from tiny leather shoes to French lace hats. But those things aren't always easy to find. That's what brought the 56-year-old Buena Park dealer and collector this week to the 48th convention of the United Federation of Doll Clubs Inc. at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers. "You have to look for [antique things], and hunting for them is fun," she said.

EVENTS Get a jump start on the holiday shopping at the 29th Annual Irvine Holiday Faire festive boutique, which will feature hand-blown glass, ceramics, jewelry, folk crafts, porcelain, dolls, clothing, holiday decorations from more than 150 vendors. Proceeds from the fair are put back into the local arts community. Irvine Fine Arts Center, 14321 Yale Ave., Irvine. 5-9 p.m. Fri., 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Sat. $2. (949) 724-6880.

Malibu toy maker Jakks Pacific Inc. has received a $670-million takeover bid from Oaktree Capital Management after the Los Angeles investment firm tried for months to work out a friendly deal with the company. One of the five largest U.S. toy companies, Jakks designs and markets action figures, electronics, dolls, costumes and stuffed animals and is a licensee of major brands including Disney, Nickelodeon, Cabbage Patch Kids, Hello Kitty and Pokemon. It was founded in 1995 and went public a year later.