Shazbot! Who can forget this nutty hit show that launched Robin Williams into comic greatness in the late 70s? Although there were not many toys launched to go with it, Mattel did corner the market by grabbing up the rights early on. They produced a popular talking 9" Mork figure, a 9" Mindy doll, a small 4" Mork figure with EggShip and a large talking plush doll.
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Talking Mork 9" Figure 9" Mindy Figure 4" Mork w/ EggShip
Talking Mork Plush Doll Did You Know?
The 9" Mattel Talking Mork was actually fairly popular. The talking feature came in the form of a backpack which Mork wore. Granted, it looks nothing like the rainbow coalition-like backpack Mork toted around in the show, it does actually talk well and was stolen from their Big Jim talking back pack design. The box has a hole for the pull string, which has led to a number of boxed figures now missing the talking string mechanism as kids yanked them out. Still, you can easily find a boxed Mork for around $20. Like their Space 1999 figures, Mork was rubber with wires throughout his body for articulation. Thus, he is very posable but extremely basic in design and detail.
They didnt feel right making a Mork without a Mindy, so Mattel unleashed this bendable bust of a toy on kids everywhere. Although she is a great likeness to the actual character, she was very unpopular and sold in limited numbers. Like Mork, she is wire/rubber constructed so she is quite posable but poorly detailed apart from the head. They were marked down to $1.99 toward the end of the line, so she is still very easy to find today.
Equally as popular as the talking 9" Mork was the 4" figure that came with an EggShip. For some reason, I loved this thing as a kid. I remember scooting him around the bath tub. Ok, too much information. Any way, Mork was constructed of solid rubber similar to other Mattel 4" figure lines of the late 70s (Battlestar Galactica, etc.). Like the other toys, this is pretty easy to find today.
Another somewhat popular toy (also released by Mattel) was the large plush Talking Mork doll. Designed much like the Knickerbocker plush dolls of the 70s, Mork sold pretty well with the younger kids.
Raquel Welch actually guest-starred on Mork & Mindy as a man-eating alien.
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