Raggedy Ann
Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll and he drew a face on it. From his bookshelf, he pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, and combined the names of two poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphan Annie." He said, "Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?"
Marcella died at age 13 after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement.
Many subsequent books were published and the characters made their way into other media, including:
A series of animated Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios shorts:
Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy (1941)
Suddenly It's Spring (1944)
The Enchanted Square (1947)
A 1977 animated feature, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, directed by Richard Williams
Raggedy Ann and Andy in: the Great Santa Claus Caper (1978) a Christmas television special directed by Chuck Jones
Raggedy Ann and Andy in: The Pumpkin Who Couldn’t Smile (1979) a Halloween television special also directed by Chuck Jones
A 1988-1992 animated television series, The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy
While Simon & Schuster and Hasbro claim to own trademarks to the Raggedy Ann and/or Raggedy Ann and Andy names, the original 1915 doll design and 1918 and 1920 books are in the public domain, their copyright having expired. Books and films published after 1950 are protected by copyright.
