Cuddly ET dolls sell red hot
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Bouquets of
flowers, bribes and threats are the stuff of
Astrid Kamar’s Christmas season She is pres
ident of the company with exclusive rights to
make “E.T." dolls — and some retailers are
desperate for extra extra-terrestrials.
"The pressure has been incredible."
Kamar said "I've been around for 25 years and
I have never been offered bribes before. I have
never received flowers or been taken to dinner
by customers before. Usually. I take them."
Kamar International Inc. is the sole licen
see for making the stuffed toys, which are
based on the title character in the smash
Steven Spielberg film, "E.T. The Extra-Terres
trial.” Even with 45 factories in Korea and
Taiwan working overtime. Kamar can't keep up
with demand. Kamar has turned to air freight to
try to meet orders.
"Of course, if a shipment misses the plane
they get nasty," Kamar said "And it's getting
nastier as it goes along If we deliver to one
store and not the one next door, we get the
president and chairman of the board on the
phone."
The phenomenon has created a mon
umental headache for Kamar, 48, and her
59-year-old husband, Pascal, who adapted the
"E.T.” design to five doll figures the firm
already sold
"Most of my day is consumed by the
problem of counterfeits and knockoffs,"
Kamar said in an interview at company head
quarters in this Los Angeles suburb, where
staffers answer the phone, “Kamar Interna
tional, home of 'E.T
Knockoffs, or product imitations with
slight variations built in to circumvent the
copyright, are common in the toy business But
Kamar said the hot-selling little alien may have
sparked a first: dolls copied right down to the
stolen Kamar label.
"I think this is the first time there has been
a counterfeit toy on the market, she said
"Jeans and watches, yes. but toys? But there
are so many people who want to get in and get
out and make a quick buck. And they are using
our tags and our labels, so that Customs
assumes it's Kamar and it goes on through."
Alarmed by the ingenuity of its imitators,
Kamar earlier this year bought full-page news
paper ads warning unauthorized manufac
turers they would be prosecuted So far, Kamar
said, attorneys have identified 300 firms mak
ing illicit "E.T.s" and obtained 35 injunctions
with more in the works
Kamar, which expects to sell 10 million of
its dolls by Christmas, stopped taking orders
from U S retailers two months ago But it
expects even bigger sales internationally as
the movie, which has already grossed more
than $300 million in the U S., begins to pack
foreign theaters
Kamar doesn't expect sales to drop off,
even after Christmas
"Everybody loves it We have letters from
people who want to marry 'E.T.'" she said "I
think E.T.’ is going to be around for a long
time It's the Teddy Bear of the future."
Congress looks at MX, gas, jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) - De
spite talk of compromise on the
MX missile controversy, it is
becoming increasingly unlikely
that Congress will wind up its
lame-duck session as
scheduled on Friday
Such troublespots as the gas
tax, an emergency jobs bill and
the battle over the missile Pres
Ronald Reagan dubbed the
'Peacekeeper,” may keep the
lawmakers in session through
next week or even after Christ
mas,
And Sen Robert Dole. R
Kan , indicated Sunday the gas
tax issue alone would keep
Congress busy until New Year's
Eve.
Early in the week, the House
is expected to begin action on a
stopgap spending measure that
includes a $5 4 billion
Democratic jobs bill which
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make the
difference.
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Republicans say will prompt a
presidential veto.
The House Appropriations
Committee affixed the jobs plan
to the catch-all spending bill on
Friday by a vote of 25-18, in a
move by Democratic leaders to
improve the chances of the jobs
measure
The Democratic plan would
provide money for a variety of
emergency public works jobs,
plus housing aid and assistance
for the unemployed, including
food and shelter Democrats say
it could provide work for
300,000 people
Today in the Senate, an effort
is scheduled to choke off a
filibuster by conservative
Republicans that is stalling ac
tion on the proposed nickel-a
gallon increase in the 4-cent
federal gasoline tax
Aides to the Senate Repub
lican leadership said Majority
Leader Howard Baker, R-Tenn.,
would have more than the 60
votes needed to pass his clo
sure motion to shut oft debate
on the gas tax increase.
The legislation is supposed to
raise an estimated $5.5 billion a
year for highway and mass
transit improvement.
Reagan is pushing the tax in
crease. Opponents argue it
would depress the private
economy by making consumers
pay more for gasoline
A $231 billion defense spend
ing bill, a peacetime record, also
awaits Senate action. The
House approved it after
stripping out nearly $1 billion to
buy the first five of the MX
missiles Reagan has proposed
putting into the cluster called
“dense pack" near Cheyenne,
Wyo.
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LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING
DIFFERENT?
Mow about an
autographed copy of
,Ripley's Believe It or
Not -
' With all good wishes and
apetites (sic) Ripley - 1936"
This copy, $35.00
That's an unusual giftI
We also have several out-of-print Copies
of Ripley s 1929 original collection.
Rare book collectors and
trivia buffs, come in and
check out these books.
BOOHSTOI
13th & Kincaid
. , . , . Mon-Fri 7.30-5:30
Limited number of copies Sat 1000-300
General Books 686-3510
TURN BOOKS
INTO BUCKS
i«/
At the
Book Sale!
Looking for the best text-change operation in town?
Turn your books into bucks at the AAF Book Sale,
where you set the prices for your used texts.
Bring your used textbooks to 115 EMU (in the
cafeteria) this week, Monday through Thursday.
Books will go on sale in January starting on
Monday, January 3. Pick up your cash or unsold
books on Friday, January 7.
BOOKSALE
115 EMU (in the cafeteria)
OPEN 10 a.m. • 4 p.m.
Monday through Thursday