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Originally posted by: Shin Densetsu @ HissTank.com

Quote:

BarringtonPatch has posted an article about Don Levine's visit to the Barrington Preservation Society Museum. Who is Don Levine, you may ask? Levine is the very man who created the GI Joe action figure in 1964. He is also a veteran of the Korean War. Here's a blurb about how GI Joe came to be, and a surprising model for it in the form of a mannequin:

“I came back and felt that I had a duty to tell people about the real American hero,” Levine said. “That became GI Joe.”

Levine said just about the first decision he made was that “I wanted a moveable soldier. What’s the use of a soldier unless it could be moveable to ride in Jeeps and planes and boats and scuba diving.”

Levine said he found the model for GI Joe in an art supply store: the wooden dummy with multiple joints used by artists and sculptors as a foundation for their works.

Interestingly enough, Levine mentions that GI Joe was “the first toy ever to be promoted on a TV commercial.” Things have certainly changed as GI Joe toy commercials these days are rare occurrences, the last one airing a few years ago.

Linked to the article was a commercial featuring the original GI Joe figures, shown below:

Original Source: Don Levine Discusses The Birth Of GI Joe - HissTank.com - G.I. Joe