Teddy Bears

Famous Teddy Bears

Teddy bears are everywhere. They are the most popular of all toys. Most are cute, soft and cuddly and they have a way of comforting us when we are lonely, ill or afraid. Teddy bears will listen to our opinions without argument, they will hear our problems without attempting to solve them, and most of all, understand when we need a hug.

Amazingly, over the past 100 years there have been a few of these lovable teddy bears that have reached celebrity status. These very special teddy bears have been so popular they are recognized by name.

Winnie The Pooh is right up there at the top of the list when we think of famous teddy bears. He was created by writer A.A. Milne, with much inspiration from his wife Daphne, and his young son, Christopher Robin. The idea of Pooh bear began with a trip to the zoo. There Christopher Robin Milne, fell in love with a small, black bear. This prompted Mr. Milne to write about the adventures of Christopher Robin, his teddy bear Pooh, and many of their friends. Today you will find Pooh bear everywhere. It never ceases, there are Winnie The Pooh clothes, bedding, animated cartoons, web sites and, of course, the teddy bear himself.

Paddington Bear is one of the quite famous teddy bears, and justly so, in his own right. Paddington Bear was created by Michael Bond, a British writer. He wrote his first book about the bear in 1958. A Bear Called Paddington, was the very first in a series of books about Paddington Bear. In 1967 Bond's books became very successful, in fact so successful that he was able to quit his job to become a full-time writer. Paddington is the level headed sort of bear with his paws settled firmly on the ground. He has a great sense of right and wrong and tends to get involved in everyday situations. There is no wild adventures for this bear. He does get involved with human situations, but he could never be human, it simply wouldn't work. Paddington Bear has been depicted as an animated cartoon and his countenance has been made into a huggable teddy bear, but don't hug him too tight, it just wouldn't be right.

Rupert the bear first appeared and was introduced as a comic strip in 'The Daily Express', a British newspaper. Rupert was introduced by the artist Mary Toutel on November 8, 1920, and he still appears in the same paper today. As Mary's eyesight began to fail, she was forced to stop drawing the cartoon in 1935. Then Alfred Bestall took over the job. He continued drawing and writing about the adventures of Rupert for 35 years, until his retirement in 1965. Various artists have taken over the task from 1965 until the present. On or about Christmas, 1936 it was decided that the previous cartoon strips would be put together in an Annual, and the tradition began. Today Rupert is popular with children and has become a star, in his own right, through animation. He is an extremely popular animated cartoon and one of the more popular teddy bears.

It just wouldn't be right to end this article without mentioning two other teddy bears of note.

Yogi Bear, introduced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957, is a very pesky, yet lovable, cartoon character who has been a teddy bear a time or two. Yogi is very famous for his schemes to swindle campers out of their pic-in-ic baskets in Jellystone National park. Yogi gained most of his popularity over the other teddy bears by the way of television.

Smokey The Bear has been and continues to be responsible for the prevention of forest fires. This talented bear has been teaching adults and children about the dangers of forest fires for over 60 years. Smokey has also been one of the more famous teddy bears.