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CNN Live At Daybreak

Teddy Bear Celebrates 100th Birthday

Aired January 01, 2003 - 06:26   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Believe it or not, the Teddy bear may be turning 100 years old, but he's not showing his age, unless, of course, he's been really, really loved.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to toys, Teddy is still our main squeeze, even at the ripe old age of 100.

(on camera): Did you ever have a Teddy bear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.

MOOS: You did?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I pushed his (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he talks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have the one, it giggles.

MOOS: Uh-huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes ehhhh.

MOOS (voice-over): It is the toy with the right stuff, or at least the right stuffing. Recently, Teddy provoked a terrorist alert when officials feared these stuffed animals might be transformed into bombs. Sure, kids carry 'em.

(on camera): But it kind of matches your outfit.

(voice-over): But even soldiers occasionally bear more than arms. Calvin Klein dressed one up in his Calvins. Elvis owned one. They've been auctioned for tens of thousands of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ninety thousand, $95,000.

MOOS: They've become stars, from Winnie-The-Pooh to Smokey The Bear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "SMOKEY BEAR")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only you can prevent forest fires. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Though the original, with his vinyl face, looked more like Smokey The Pig.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David, Teddy is a super toy and I know you'll take good care of each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not a toy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Teddy is an institution.

(on camera): We shouldn't touch him, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, please don't. Let's not touch them because these are museum collection objects.

MOOS (voice-over): The Museum of the City of New York has put some of its oldest Teddies on display in honor of the 100th anniversary.

(on camera): Who was the Teddy bear named after?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teddy Roosevite.

MOOS: Teddy who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roosevelt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what I said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said Roosevite.

MOOS (voice-over): Vite, velt, here's the story. In 1902, President Roosevelt was out hunting for bear when he spared the life of a bear cub. This cartoon then appeared in the "Washington Post" and a Brooklyn shop owner started selling what he called Teddy bears, with the permission of the president. At around the same time, a German toy maker named Steiff started developing this bear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And its name is actually P.B. 55.

MOOS: P.B. as in plush bear, 55 centimeters in height. Replicas of the first Steiff bear are on display at FAO Schwarz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One way you can tell that these are earlier is by the shape of the nose.

MOOS: Wedge-shaped muzzles, long limbs. By the 1940s, Teddy had gotten fatter with shorter limbs. "The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book" charts how Teddy's eyes went from shoe buttons to glass to plastic. Adults don't forget their childhood Teddies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of his eyes fell out and my grandma had to sew it back in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The odd thing was, I don't know why I did it, but I kept plucking the fur out of it.

MOOS (on camera): Did you always pluck the same spot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's pretty much plucked completely clean now.

MOOS (voice-over): Better keep his hands off his hat. This muzzled Teddy from 1908 looks like he just stepped out of "Silence of the Lambs."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had my mink stole made into a Teddy bear for my granddaughter.

MOOS: And if you think humans are the only ones stuck on Teddy, check out "The Anna Nicole Smith Show." Her dog Sugar Pie is more than ready for Teddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anna, you've got to get her a boyfriend of her own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 1, 2003 - 06:26   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Believe it or not, the Teddy bear may be turning 100 years old, but he's not showing his age, unless, of course, he's been really, really loved.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to toys, Teddy is still our main squeeze, even at the ripe old age of 100.

(on camera): Did you ever have a Teddy bear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.

MOOS: You did?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I pushed his (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he talks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have the one, it giggles.

MOOS: Uh-huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes ehhhh.

MOOS (voice-over): It is the toy with the right stuff, or at least the right stuffing. Recently, Teddy provoked a terrorist alert when officials feared these stuffed animals might be transformed into bombs. Sure, kids carry 'em.

(on camera): But it kind of matches your outfit.

(voice-over): But even soldiers occasionally bear more than arms. Calvin Klein dressed one up in his Calvins. Elvis owned one. They've been auctioned for tens of thousands of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ninety thousand, $95,000.

MOOS: They've become stars, from Winnie-The-Pooh to Smokey The Bear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "SMOKEY BEAR")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only you can prevent forest fires. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Though the original, with his vinyl face, looked more like Smokey The Pig.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, David.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David, Teddy is a super toy and I know you'll take good care of each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not a toy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Teddy is an institution.

(on camera): We shouldn't touch him, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, please don't. Let's not touch them because these are museum collection objects.

MOOS (voice-over): The Museum of the City of New York has put some of its oldest Teddies on display in honor of the 100th anniversary.

(on camera): Who was the Teddy bear named after?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teddy Roosevite.

MOOS: Teddy who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roosevelt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what I said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said Roosevite.

MOOS (voice-over): Vite, velt, here's the story. In 1902, President Roosevelt was out hunting for bear when he spared the life of a bear cub. This cartoon then appeared in the "Washington Post" and a Brooklyn shop owner started selling what he called Teddy bears, with the permission of the president. At around the same time, a German toy maker named Steiff started developing this bear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And its name is actually P.B. 55.

MOOS: P.B. as in plush bear, 55 centimeters in height. Replicas of the first Steiff bear are on display at FAO Schwarz.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One way you can tell that these are earlier is by the shape of the nose.

MOOS: Wedge-shaped muzzles, long limbs. By the 1940s, Teddy had gotten fatter with shorter limbs. "The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book" charts how Teddy's eyes went from shoe buttons to glass to plastic. Adults don't forget their childhood Teddies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of his eyes fell out and my grandma had to sew it back in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The odd thing was, I don't know why I did it, but I kept plucking the fur out of it.

MOOS (on camera): Did you always pluck the same spot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's pretty much plucked completely clean now.

MOOS (voice-over): Better keep his hands off his hat. This muzzled Teddy from 1908 looks like he just stepped out of "Silence of the Lambs."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had my mink stole made into a Teddy bear for my granddaughter.

MOOS: And if you think humans are the only ones stuck on Teddy, check out "The Anna Nicole Smith Show." Her dog Sugar Pie is more than ready for Teddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anna, you've got to get her a boyfriend of her own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com