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Did you guess today's Funky Find? Here's how Dippy Dawg became Goofy, as told by Collections Manager Jennifer Noffze, who is always on the hunt for funky finds in The Children's Museum Collection!
Goofy was originally known as “Dippy Dawg” when he first appeared in 1932, but by the mid-1930s, when this toy was made, he was being called Goofy. Goofy is known for his trademark clumsiness but also for his child-like and loveable demeanor.
This toy was a gift to Jane Withers, a well-known child star of the 1930s, from Walt Disney himself! According to Jane, she had gone on a picnic with Walt and heard about an amusement park he planned to build, and “at the end of the day he gave me this wonderful Goofy and said it was the first model of a line of comic character dolls he had designed.”
Jane Withers starred in 36 films between 1934 and 1943 and she appeared with Shirley Temple in the 1934 film Bright Eyes. Withers is best remembered, however, for her 1960s and 1970s Comet cleanser commercials as “Josephine the Plumber.” Withers was excited to learn that her Goofy had found a new home in a children’s museum.
Looking for more? Go behind the scenes in The Children's Museum's collection when you check out the full blog category.
