Chatter Telephone

The Chatter Telephone is a pull toy for toddlers 12 to 36 months of age. Introduced in 1962 by the Fisher-Price company as the "Talk Back Phone" for infants and children, the Chatter Telephone is a roll along pull toy. It has a smiling face, and when the toy is pulled, it makes a chattering sound and the eyes move up and down. The toy has a rotary dial that rings a bell, and was conceived as a way to teach children how to dial a phone. The original version was made of wood, with polyethylene receiver and cord. In 2000, Fisher-Price changed the rotary dial for a push-button version with lights in an effort to modernize the toy, but consumers complained and the rotary version returned to the market the following year. The Chatter Telephone was designed by Ernest Thornell (shared in a phone conversation on 8-31-16 between Eric Smith and Mr. Thornell); he went on to share that the inspiration for the toy came from his daughter Tina who had a metal phone and would drag it around while playing. Thus the idea of wheels was born which permitted, with a bent axle, the movement of eyes which adds to the "whimsical" nature, that Herman Fisher desired, of all Fisher-Price toys (from phone conversation with Ernie Thornell and recollections of Herm Fisher by John Smith).

From its introduction through the 1970s, the Chatter Telephone was Fisher-Price's best selling product. It has been cited as one of the company's offerings that helped save Fisher Price in the 1990s following a failed attempt to market toys for older children in the late 1980s, and enjoys continuing popularity. It is available both as an authentic reproduction and in a modern form.