Fisher-Price Adventure People

If vintage action figures and toys can indeed be viewed as part of the cultural record of earlier decades, then for me personally, no figures scream “1970s” louder than those wonderful Fisher-Price Adventure People! Available for about a decade from 1975 onwards, more than 70 different figures were eventually released – mostly, but not exclusively, male figures sporting stylish flared trousers, like this very early Jack the Pilot here, date stamped 1974. These solidly built 3¾ inch figures were aimed at encouraging kids’ interest in exciting jobs and played on the intrinsic glamour of adventurous or dangerous occupations – years before Village People took YMCA to the top of the charts the Fisher-Price Adventure People already had a Construction Worker, Biker, Cowboy and Policeman on the team!

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Kenner’s 3 ¾-inch Star Wars action figures turned the world of movie tie-in toys on its head and became one of the world’s most popular collectible lines ever. Before those toys were even a twinkle in the eye of a Kenner executive, however, the very first 3 ¾-inch line of action figures and vehicles was launched in the US in 1975 and went on to influence all those that followed – the Fisher Price Adventure People!

These sturdy little figures were clearly designed to encourage kids’ fascination in exciting jobs and just about every adventurous occupation you could think of was covered during the decade that they were in production – there were racing drivers, skydivers and pilots, to name but a few, as well as several different divers like this chap here with the Tom Selleck ‘tache.

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