"Tuesday Taylor" was made by the Ideal Toy Company from 1975 through 1978. She was 11 1/2 inches tall. A year earlier in 1974, the same doll was released as "Tiffany Taylor" and was 18 inches tall.
Early Tuesday Taylor dolls had a unique feature where you could change the color of her hair by twirling around top section of her head. Here is Tuesday as a brunette:
And with a quick turn of the head, here is same doll as a blond:
As you can see above, the first Tuesday Taylor came in a white skirt and blue top accented with white lace appliques. The top was actually one piece. With the skirt removed, it became a bathing suit.
Here are some pictures from her original packaging. The two photos below illustrate her "hair-changing" feature.
This drawing shows additional clothing available for Tuesday. Like the swimsuit/mini-skirt outfit she came with, the other outfits also had a convertable feature:
This drawing shows Tuesday's "Penthouse Apartment". Complete with '70's style decor, her appartment came with a special back panel that switched the outdoor scenary from day to night.
Tuesday also had a "Summer/Winter Vacation House". Here are some photos from a closed Ebay auction:
A later version of Tuesday Taylor included "Suntan Tuesday Taylor" where her skin darkened and left tan marks when left in the light. "Tuesday Taylor Beauty Queen" and "Tuesday Taylor Supermodel" were also available, but no longer had the changing hair feature. Tuesday also had a boyfriend named Eric and a sister "Suntan Dodi".
Here are some pictures of 1978 "Tuesday Taylor Supermodel". Notice the different hair. This version also had a special feature where her head and waist would automatically twist back and forth when her legs were moved, sort of like a runway model. (Doll below has been re-dressed in a current Barbie outfit.)
Here is a picture of the "Super Model" version in her original box.
Early TV commercials for the Tuesday Taylor doll had a theme song in the background with the lyrics "Tuesday is Today...." sung at the begining and the end. A young Brooke Shields can also be seen in some of these commericials.
I never owned a Tuesday Taylor doll when I was young. I probably could have asked for her, but I seem to remember something about her switchable hair with the revolving scalp scaring me a bit. Also, you could still see the other color of her hair when looking at the back of her head. When her hair was brunette in the front and blond in the back, I thought she almost looked like a skunk! During the mid 70's "frosting" hair was popular. I seem to remember alot of women with hair which had distinctly brown and blond sections to it. I do remember seeing a woman walking into our local Stop & Shop supermarket with hair that almost looked striped with these two different colors. I must of thought it looked so awful that her image still sticks with me today.
Anyway, looking back now, I think Tuesday Taylor was a rather pretty doll. However, I do think she looked much better with her hair all one color in the later "Super Model" version.
My cousin Dina did have a Tuesday Taylor doll along with Tuesday's "swanky" penthouse apartment. Shortly after Dina received the doll, we were playing with it at her house. We noticed the penthouse accessories included a small picture in a frame that could be placed on a table in the apartment. The picture was of an actual person (not a doll or drawing). Dina and I stared at the picture for the longest time because the man looked very familiar to us. We soon realized that the photo was of singer Bobby Vinton who had a television variety show at that time. We thought it was so hysterical that we laughed forever about it. Both Dina and I remember this moment even today. Here is a picture of us around the time of making this discovery. I was 10 years old and Dina was 6.
So it looked like either Tuesday was a big Bobby Vinton fan, or perhaps she was even carrying on a secret affair with Bobby Vinton. Who knows for sure?
Well I did some research and Bobby Vinton is still around and singing in his own theater in Branson, Missouri. Here is a link to his official web site:
I also found the photo below on the Bobby Vinton Fan Site that looks almost like the photo I remember in Tuesday Taylor's apartment (minus Bobby Vinton's name on the side of course.)
And just in case some of you don't rememember, Bobby Vinton was famous for songs such as "Blue Velvet", "Roses are Red", "Mr. Lonely", and "My Melody of Love". He also has been known as the "Polish Prince" due to the use of Polish lyrics in many of his songs.
And if that hasn't jogged your memory, click below to hear the midi version of the famous "Blue Velvet" song. I'm sure you will recognize it.