Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces
Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces, was a lifelike doll produced by Kenner toy company in 1975. It included many accessories, such as goatee and sideburns, which could be glued onto his bald head, creating a variety of looks. Hugo has since become a highly sought-after toy on the collector's market.
About
Hugo was created by Alan Ormsby and produced by Kenner toy company in 1975. The Hugo doll featured lifelike facial characteristics, and came with a makeup kit, wig, glasses, and several different glue-on accessories. He was housed in a large box showing him in different disguises, and had a soft rubber head and plastic hard hands. His arms were stuffed with cotton wool - international variants having plastic arms.
Collector's Market
Hugo has become a highly sought-after toy on the collector's market, especially on sites such as eBay.
Finding a set with all the accessories is difficult, since the special nontoxic glue (as stated in the instruction booklet) used to stick his disguises is usually dry after the time passed. Both the Kenner and Denys fisher boxes are identical except for the logos of each of the toy companies.
Accessories
Besides the doll and a paper instruction manual, a variety of accessories came with it:
- 1 wig
- 1 goatee/hairpiece
- 2 glue sticks (UK version included a small tub of nontoxic glue)
- 2 sideburns
- 1 mask
- 4 eyebrows/mustaches
- 2 noses
- 2 glasses
- 2 chins
- 1 eye patch
- 2 eye pieces
- 1 bandage (with fake bloodstain!)
- 4 scars A bunch of warts/moles
- 1 set of fangs
In Pop Culture
Hugo was featured on The Pee-wee Herman Show, and Uncle Floyd's variety show.[3]
Video artist R.A. Wood produced a Christmas-themed film featuring a Hugo doll and various facial accessories.[4]
Hugo is the rival of fellow face-changer Mister Potato Head in the lyrics to the Ookla the Mok song "Das Uber Tuber, Or The Mystery Of Mr. P".
Hugo was featured on The Venture Bros in the episode Showdown at Cremation Creek (part I) as a collectable in Henchman 21's collection of nerdy collectables. Hank takes the goatee to use as a disguise in both part I and part II.
Hugo (as Hugo Harperberry) has made several music videos and is part of the Theme Music Group on Facebook. [5][6][7][8]