The Love-team Dolls

Celebrities are immortalized not only in Madame Tussaud but also, as if you didn’t know, in dolls.

Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas has been collecting those kinds of dolls, not always actually (he owns some of them, like the Margie Moran Doll which he bought in an auction) but in “gallery” form.

Celso’s new grouping is made up of The Love-team Dolls. Aren’t they cute? (“All except the Prince Charles and Diana Wedding Dolls were released by Mattel,” Celso clarified.)

• The Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler Dolls — Released on January 1, 1995, the dolls were recreated from the New Orleans honeymoon scene of Scarlett (played by Vivien Leigh) and Rhett (Clark Gable) in Gone With The Wind shown (1939). The movie won 10 Academy Awards trophies (eight competitive and two honorary, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Leigh), out of 13 nominations, a record held for 20 years. Gable was nominated for Best Actor. On Dec. 15, 2014, the landmark movie will celebrate its 75th anniversary.
•  The Lucy and Ricky Dolls — Issued on Nov. 1, 2000, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of I Love Lucy, a black and white TV comedy series which premiered on Oct. 15, 1951. The sitcom centers on Lucille Esmeralda “Lucy” McGillicuddy Ricardo (Ball) and her Cuban American husband, an upcoming singer and band leader Enrique Alberto Fernando y de Acha “Ricky” Ricardo (Arnaz) along with their best friends and landlords of their New York apartment.
•  The Rock Hudson and Doris Day Dolls — Patterned after Hudson’s and Day’s 1959 movie Pillow Talk in which where Day played Jan Morrow, a fashionable New York interior decorator in a cat-and-mouse clash with her party line, songwriter Brad Allen (Rock), who annoyingly monopolizes the phone singing love songs to a bevy of women. Day received her first and only Oscar Best Actress nomination for it. Released on June 16, 2011, the dolls were designed by Linda Kyaw.
•  The Elvis and Priscilla Wedding Dolls — The romance between Elvis Presley (1935-1977) and Priscilla Beaulieu is legendary. Priscilla was barely 15 when she captured Elvis’ heart at a party in Bad Nauheim, Germany. After an eight-year courtship, they married in a civil wedding ceremony on May 1, 1967, in Milton Prell’s Suite at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Elvis wore a black brocade silk tuxedo and black Western boots, and Priscilla a floor-length wedding gown she herself designed — white silk chiffon, with beaded yoke, trimmed in seed pearls and topped with a three-foot tulle veil secured by a rhinestone crown. The newlyweds danced to Love Me Tender (Elvis’ 1956 No. 1 hit on Billboard Charts for five weeks) at their wedding reception. They had a daughter, Lisa Marie. The couple separated in 1972 and officially divorced on Oct. 9, 1973. The dolls were designed by Sharon Zuckerman and were released on July 1, 2008.
• The Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Dolls — Tim and Faith met in the spring of 1996 on the Spontaneous Combustion Tour where she performed the opening act. In a whirlwind romance, Tim proposed right before a performance and Faith wrote her response on a mirror. Shortly after the tour ended, they married on Oct. 6, 1996, in Rayville, Louisiana. In 1997, the couple’s It’s Your Love, their first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, won several awards in the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Television, Country Music Association and Billboard Magazine, and scored nominations in the Grammy Awards. It was followed by several hit duets including Let’s Make Love (2001) and Like We Never Loved At All (2006), both songs won Best Country Vocal Collaboration in the Grammy Awards. The multi-awarded singers have three daughters. Designed by Linda Kyaw, the dolls were released on Aug. 11, 2011.
•  The James Bond and Bond Girl Dolls — The James Bond doll is as debonair as any of the actors who played 007 on screen. His midnight blue suit is an authentic recreation of the classic tuxedo worn by Bond and designed by renowned clothier Brioni. The Bond Girl doll’s ensemble was created by Lindy Hemming, an Academy Award-winning costume designer, who also designed costumes for James Bond films. The dolls were issued on Nov. 1, 2002, a few days before Die Another Day (with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond) was released in UK.
•  The Bella and Edward Dolls — Designed by Linda Kyaw, the dolls were released on Dec. 1, 2012, when The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was shown. It was the fifth in a hit series based upon Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling novel. The Bella Doll (Kristen Stewart) wears a leather jacket and leggings and the Edward Doll (Robert Pattinson) a button-up shirt and jeans.
• The Prince Charles and Princess Diana Wedding Dolls — The Royal Couple were married in a “fairy-tale wedding”/”Wedding of the Century” in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. Prince Charles was in his naval commander uniform while Princess Diana opted for a puff-ball meringue wedding dress, with huge puffed sleeves and a frilly neckline designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel. It was made of silk taffeta, decorated with lace, hand-embroidered sequins, 10,000 pearls with a 25-foot train of ivory taffeta and antique lace. The dolls were released by Danbury Mint in 1998.
• The Prince William and Catherine Wedding Dolls — Now bestowed the titles Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the couple’s Royal Wedding took place on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William wore an Irish Guards mounted officer’s uniform in Guard of Honor Order with a forage cap. Catherine’s bridal gown was designed by Sarah Burton and Alexander McQueen, made of satin and featured an overlaid lace bodice and appliquéd skirt. The dolls were designed by Robert Best and issued on a Valentine’s Day in 2012.
•  The Romeo and Juliet Dolls — The tragic drama of the star-crossed young lovers Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeare’s classic tale is best remembered for the famous balcony scene. Released on Jan. 1, 1998, the Romeo Doll wears a velvety tunic with silvery sleeveless jacket, a jeweled chain and blue velvety hat and the Juliet Doll a high-waisted velvet gown with beautiful golden trim and a dramatic chapel train that falls from her shoulders. Both ensembles capture the intricacy and richness of the 16th-century fashion.
•  The Camelot’s King and Queen Dolls — The King Arthur Doll wears a crimson cape and matching velvet tunic with an embroidered lion’s crest. A realistic sword on his leather belt offers an authentic glimpse of the medieval warrior. The Queen Guinevere Doll looks regal in her full-length slate-blue-medieval-style gown with long, flowing sleeves accentuated with crimson and metallic golden designs. The dolls were issued in limited edition on Jan. 1, 1999.

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