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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Xavier Roberts
Aired July 27, 2002 - 08:47 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: Well, legend has it that a young boy named Xavier Roberts -- no relation.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: No relation that we know of.
CALLAWAY: Discovered all sorts of little people in a magic cabbage patch. And he called them the Cabbage Patch Kids and he took them to Baby Land General Hospital until they were adopted.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Yes, and those kids, millions of them all across the globe, turned 20 years old this year. And now a whole new generation is being introduced today.
And the creator of those famous Cabbage Patch Kids, Xavier Roberts, joins us now this morning.
Maybe if we had been related, we would have gotten free ones as kids, but we didn't.
CALLAWAY: Yes, Xavier, we should also tell you that Jacqui Jeras, our meteorologist, wanted to be here, too, because everyone is excited.
XAVIER ROBERTS, CABBAGE PATCH KIDS CREATOR: Oh.
CALLAWAY: Of course, we get the dolls on the set and everybody wants -- all the gals want to be here, right?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
CALLAWAY: Thank you so much for coming.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Thank you.
CALLAWAY: And, you know, I know this is definitely a Cabbage Patch doll and it's a young man. But you have one of the original...
XAVIER ROBERTS: This is Otis Lee.
CALLAWAY: But he was called Little People.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Right.
CALLAWAY: See, I was born here in Atlanta and Xavier's Baby Land Hospital is actually in north Georgia.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Right. Cleveland, Georgia.
CALLAWAY: Right. And everyone in Georgia, when you were a little girl, had to have one of these dolls. I'm sorry, these kids as he calls them. And so they went from this to this.
XAVIER ROBERTS: To this, right.
CALLAWAY: And then we had the wild Cabbage Patch craze, right?
XAVIER ROBERTS: Right. Well, these were all hand made in Cleveland, hand stitched to birth, we call it. And in the very beginning I was really trying to make them look like real children. And I used old -- I'd go to garage sales and I'd get clothes and I'd dress them. And then they were called Little People. But I was always told I came from a cabbage patch. So I just kind of took that and we had the ledge and then we changed them to Cabbage Patch Kids.
THOMAS ROBERTS: So that's where you came up with this, because of something that you were told as a kid?
XAVIER ROBERTS: I was told, and I used my own birth certificate in the beginning to...
CALLAWAY: Oh, that's funny.
XAVIER ROBERTS: .... with the Cabbage Patch Kids.
THOMAS ROBERTS: And now where did these names come up with? Because my sister had one called Rory Earna (ph).
CALLAWAY: He's just amazed that there's an Erma.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Yes, Rory Earna, and she was very upset about this.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, traveling to...
THOMAS ROBERTS: She was so excited to get her Cabbage Patch doll, though. But she didn't...
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, going to all these garage sales I found an old 1937 name book, a Southern name book. And it had all the double -- because we have double names here. So, and I said, well, they're Southern, because they're from the South. So I started using all the double names.
CALLAWAY: Yes. Jacqui, did you have one of these?
JERAS: You know, I did. And I was saying that I think I was just a little bit beyond the point, you know, I was -- I'm a big girl now. I don't need a doll at the time. But I remember my cousins and I remember Christmas they absolutely had to have a Cabbage Patch Kid. And I went with my Aunt Vicky and my mom and we went and waited in line forever and ever and ever to get two of the Cabbage Patch dolls. And, in fact, I think I remember aunt doing kind of one of these...
(CROSSTALK)
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, that's a Coleco's (ph) kid...
(CROSSTALK)
XAVIER ROBERTS: That's a Coleco's kid from '83.
JERAS: This is from '83?
CALLAWAY: Is it really?
XAVIER ROBERTS: So, that's, they went from this to that and now they're going -- they're a little bit older today.
(CROSSTALK)
THOMAS ROBERTS: Jacqui, run. Take the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Now you've got one.
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAWAY: All right...
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAWAY: And I think this is great. This is a firefighter. This is so clever. And, you know, I have to show this, well, I guess I can show this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CALLAWAY: Xavier always signs...
THOMAS ROBERTS: Pulling down the pants for a reason here.
CALLAWAY: .... the bottom of the doll on the right -- is it right side or the left side?
XAVIER ROBERTS: It's usually the left side. But sometimes the right hand (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CALLAWAY: Can you guys see this?
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAWAY: Now, looking at the wrong camera there. OK, there we go.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Yes, you can see it.
CALLAWAY: And...
XAVIER ROBERTS: Now, you've really, you've made him really shy now. CALLAWAY: Sorry about that.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Poor little guy.
CALLAWAY: He just mooned our audience.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Put his hat back on.
XAVIER ROBERTS: We call it...
CALLAWAY: But he's wearing boxer shorts.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, I have...
CALLAWAY: Xavier, that's hysterical.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, he has to be totally. But these are called True Kids and they're only available at Toys R Us.
CALLAWAY: OK.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Xavier, were you surprised, though, by the popularity that these dolls had some 20 years ago and now that generation is grown up and they're going to be buying their kids this?
JERAS: We'll be wanting to buy them for our own, yes.
XAVIER ROBERTS: It is amazing to me. It really started off as a piece of art. I would travel to art shows and he actually won some prizes at different art shows, competing with sculpture and other things.
CALLAWAY: Oh, wow. These dolls, the Little People?
XAVIER ROBERTS: Yes, the Little People.
CALLAWAY: And we should tell people the original, you can't see this at home, but...
XAVIER ROBERTS: They have soft...
CALLAWAY: .... this is cloth and a soft head and...
XAVIER ROBERTS: And it's all stitched.
CALLAWAY: And all hand stitched.
XAVIER ROBERTS: All the little, the fingerprint and all the little fingers above that...
CALLAWAY: I guess that would be hard to do. You would not be able to produce them that quickly now would you?
JERAS: Are they all plastic now?
XAVIER ROBERTS: No, no. No. You know, Cabbage is, with the weather here, you know...
THOMAS ROBERTS: It doesn't help.
XAVIER ROBERTS: It's hot and dry.
CALLAWAY: You know, I took my daughter up to the baby -- there's actually a Baby Land Hospital.
XAVIER ROBERTS: It was a real hospital.
CALLAWAY: Yes, it's a real hospital where these Cabbage Patch Kids are delivered and we went up there and had a Cabbage Patch Kid delivered from the cabbage patch. And they make quite a production. They read the story and the doll appears. And my little daughter ran up and grabbed her baby.
XAVIER ROBERTS: And you can name it.
CALLAWAY: Yes, it was quite -- it was a lot of fun for a little girl.
JERAS: Are they still all unique? Are they only one of a kind still?
XAVIER ROBERTS: Well, they're one of a kind and they have different names. But we really go to -- and they're all ethnic. We have, you know, every skin color, eye color. We really try to make them one of a kind. And I think that's what's made them special and what's made them last so long.
THOMAS ROBERTS: And now they don't come in the boxes.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Now they come in a cabbage.
THOMAS ROBERTS: They come individually. They come in a cabbage.
JERAS: They come in a cabbage.
CALLAWAY: Do they really?
XAVIER ROBERTS: Yes, they come in a cabbage now.
CALLAWAY: That's great.
Well, as we leave you, we're going to show some of the other dolls that you brought in. And, indeed, they come in all shapes and sizes.
Xavier Roberts, thank you so much for coming in and bringing your kids with you.
XAVIER ROBERTS: Thank you for having me.
CALLAWAY: And good luck to you.
THOMAS ROBERTS: Yes, congratulations on your success. XAVIER ROBERTS: Thank you. Thank you.
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