Paper doll:That Girl Paper Dolls Starring Marlo Thomas

Paper dolls of the mid-19th century showcased the latest in stylish fashion and feminine comportment. Magazines for women and for children and some newspapers offered pages of paper dolls for young readers. Manufacturers promoted their products with paper dolls that served as trade cards. When chromolithography produced paper dolls of vibrant colors, the toy became even more popular in the 20th century, especially the dolls made of the new celebrities of movies, radio, and television. In 1966 Marlo Thomas, daughter of popular comedian Danny Thomas, launched her own situation comedy called "That Girl." In the series, Thomas played Ann Marie, a young actress determined to make it big in the big city of New York and to start her Broadway career. Some see the series, the first to portray the lead as an independent woman living on her own, as the forerunner to the highly successful "Mary Tyler Moore Show" of the 1970s and the popular "Murphy Brown" series of the 1990s.