Stunt Doll
Gabriel Toys broke the “fourth wall” of TV and movies with the Hal Needham stunt set. This fabulous toy allowed you to reenact the filming of a Saloon fight complete with break away chairs, windows and of course, a set of stairs to send our hero down. This may be one of the few incidents where the toymaker wanted you to beat up your toys ( Manglors is another)
Interestingly enough, while Needham was a veteran stuntman with a tremendous amount of screen credits he was getting more known at the time for writing screenplays for movies like “Smokey and the Bandit” and “MegaForce”.
I kind of liken this toy to Ideal’s JJ Armes, in that both these men were famous but not exactly household names with children resulting in only modest sales. From all accounts of people who have emailed me over the years, this toy was completely full of win.
We have another entry “Christmas in the 1970s” contest although this guy can’t win the prize cause it’s Me! Here is a little image and tale I call “Waiting is the Hardest Part” you can read it here.!Send us your vintage Christmas pics! You could win a prize or be involved in our upcoming book “Christmas in the 1970s”!
I had Hal Needham, but not the whole stunt set. The figure was definitely unique because he was designed to automatically fold up into a "rolling" position during the "stunts". It worked great when my Mego figures would punch him in the gut. 🙂
Wow, a toy about filmmaking–I have *never* heard of this!
Man I wanted one of these so bad! I only remember it being offered one year.
I have the remains of this set up in the rafters of my garage. The cardboard hasn't held up too well over the years, but it sure was a great toy.
The year I got this I ignored everything else Santa brought. At least until I broke off Hal's head and had to learn how to play with superglue.