Wizard of Oz
One of the Mego Corporation's greatest achievements was obtaining the license to create action figures and playsets based on the classic MGM film, the Wizard of Oz. Mego president Marty Abrams was already making a name for himself and the company by staging some of the most elaborate toy line introductions at the New York International Toy Fair. In many instances, his premieres resulted in large purchase orders being placed by many of the nation's leading retailers. To debut the company's new Wizard of Oz toy line in 1975, Abrams invited over one thousand of the toy industry's most influencial people to join every surviving cast member from the film for a celebration at the Grand Ballroom of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. With the audienced wowed, Mego found itself with over 15 million dollars in orders by night's end and over 20 million by the end of the 1975 Toy Fair. This success solidified Mego's position in the marketplace and for a good while, enabled it to secure just about every toy license it desired. The Wizard of Oz line consisted of the following characters issued in colorful window boxes: Dorothy with Toto, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Wizard, Wicked Witch and Glinda the Good Witch. Four munchkin figures, the Mayor, Flower Girl, General and Dancing Girl, were also issued in slightly smaller boxes. Other offerings included 15-inch cloth dolls of Dorothy, Lion, Tin man and Scarecrow, an Emerald City playset, a Munchkinland playset and a Witch's Castle offered through Sears and sold in a brown shipping box. |
