Chatty Cathy was a pull-string "talking" doll originally created by Ruth and Elliot Handler and manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965.

Like Barbie, Chatty Cathy was a fanciful depiction of a human, in this case a five-year-old Caucasian girl.

Originally, Chatty Cathy had blonde hair in a short bobbed style and blue eyes.

The ring was attached to a string connected to a simple phonograph record inside the cavity behind the doll's abdomen.

Other accessories included a story and comic book, shoehorn, and a paper wrist tag that was also a numbered warranty card.

Dee & Cee was rumored to have sold a French-speaking Chatty Cathy, though the doll recording gives her name as "Carola".

These special reproductions were made to resemble the 1960 version of Chatty Cathy with go-to-sleep "lifelike decal eyes", along with the most memorable outfits, cartoon box with a Chatty Cathy story book, wrist tag, and shoehorn all faithfully reproduced.

The 1998 models spoke the original eleven 1960s phrases in the original June Foray voice (see above); the special package included a numbered certificate of authenticity, a wrist tag with a picture of Chatty Cathy creators Ruth and Elliot Handler, and a special letter from Ruth Handler.

All 1998/99 Chatty Cathys sold out immediately, most purchased by avid collectors, re-sellers and fans of the original dolls.

Sold until about 1970, the dolls were made from completely different molds and do not resemble any of the North American Mattel Chatty Cathys.

The popularity of Chatty Cathy led to many pull-string talking dolls flooding the toy industry.

These included favorites like talking Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Mrs. Beasley, Drowsy, Herman Munster, Dr. Seuss characters, and all the See 'n Say toys.

When Mattel's Baby First Step ("the world's first walking doll") sold well upon its introduction in 1965, a talking version was released the following year.

In the 1987 movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Steve Martin scolds John Candy, saying "It's like going on a date with a Chatty Cathy doll.

The How I Met Your Mother episode titled "Spoiler Alert" shows Ted dating a very talkative woman named Cathy.

The 2007 Robot Chicken "Moesha Poppins" episode has a fictional Michael Moore list the fates of several "girl toys" that faded into obscurity, ending with Chatty Cathy, whose tongue is cut out by the mafia after witnessing a mob crime.