Xavier Roberts Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family
Xavier Roberts (born October 31, 1955, Cleveland, Georgia), the manufacturer of Cabbage Patch Kids, is an American artist and businessman. During the American Folk art movement of the late 1970s, Roberts observed several techniques involving the making of dolls from various materials, including the dolls of Martha Nelson Thomas of Louisville, Kentucky. Influenced by the quilts that his mother, Eula, made, he began experimenting with a quilted doll. After much experimentation, Roberts created a type of doll he called "Little People". Roberts and a small group of friends began to travel from state to state in the southeastern U.S. attending various folk art exhibitions. At these exhibitions, Roberts began selling these handcrafted dolls he called "babies". Going into business as Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., Roberts started producing Little People in his hometown of Cleveland, at a converted medical clinic, which he rechristened "Babyland General Hospital".The Little People evolved by 1982 into Cabbage Patch Kids, which quickly became a major toy fad. In 1984 alone, 20 million dolls were bought, and by 1999, 95 million had been sold worldwide.Martha Nelson Thomas, the creator of the precursor to the Cabbage Patch Kids, filed suit again Roberts in January, 1980. Mrs. Thomas met Roberts in 1976 at a fair where she was selling her dolls. He liked what he saw and asked her to supply him some for sale at a Georgia state park where he then worked. But after some of her dolls had been sold there, she says, she decided to stop supplying them because she was concerned he might take the idea away from her. When Roberts began producing his own dolls, Mrs. Thomas noticed a resemblance in design. The dolls are very similar, she says. The marketing technique also resembled hers, says her attorney, Jack Wheat, of Louisville. 'She also is unhappy with the fact that the dolls are now being mass-produced. There are too many mass-produced things. You need something personal, something hand-made, with someone who will stand behind it, she says.Roberts would later create a series of country inspired toy bears called The Furskin Bears.
Net Worth
$10 Million
Date Of Birth
October 31, 1955
Place Of Birth
Cleveland, Georgia, USA
Occupation
Stealer of ideas
Profession
Producer, Actor
Religion
Christian
Nicknames
Xavier Roberts, Roberts, Xavier
Star Sign
Scorpio
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Fact
1
Creator of "The Cabbage Patch Kids", one of the most popular toy lines of all time.
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Cabbage Patch Kids: Vernon's Christmas
1999
TV Movie executive producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: Saturday Night
1998
TV Movie executive producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: Screen Test
1997
TV Movie producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: The Club House
1996
TV Movie executive producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: The New Kids
1996
TV Movie executive producer
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Batman of Suburbia
2010
Video short
Paralegal
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
100 Greatest Toys
2010
TV Movie
Himself - Cabbage Patch Kids Creator
Known for movies
Cabbage Patch Kids: The Club House (1996) as Producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: Vernon's Christmas (1999) as Producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: The New Kids (1996) as Producer
Cabbage Patch Kids: Screen Test (1997) as Producer
