DR. Clay Pimentel is a Doctor in a highly specialized field,taking care of Teddy Ruxpin from Worlds Of Wonder.So before I get ahead of myself let's start at the beginning.
In 1985 after 30 years as a Financial Manager at General Motors Corporation Clay Pimentel retired.Four days later at age 54 he took a job as the Director of Consumer Services at Worlds Of Wonder.There he was in charge of the "GRUNDO GENERAL HOSPITAL" sounds like a title of a soap opera but was the place where sick, and injured Teddy Ruxpins and Grubbys' could go to get well again.DR. Clay spent much of his time on the telephone reassuring worried Teddy owners and angry parents whose bears didn't work correctly,andtaking care of the admitted toys.Pimentel is a difficult name for chidren to pronounce so he told them his name was DR. Clay.They would say "DR. Clay are you going to make my bear well?" and thus the a.k.a. which most of us know him from was started DR. Clay "Bearwell".
Through a letter I have received from DR. Bearwell, one of the most rewarding parts of his job while working with Worlds Of Wonder was touring with Teddy Ruxpin throughout the U.S. visiting terminally ill chidren and those in orphanages.I also have gotten several e-mails from those fortunate enough to come in contact with him.He was always known to go out of his way for people here and abroad.
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Grundo General Hospital wrist tag that was attched to Teddy Ruxpin.
Notice the name DR. Bearwell. |
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Nurse Cara at the WOW Customer Service Entrance in Fremont. CA
Which as the sign states Grundo General Hospital
Photo Courtesy of Nurse Cara |
DR. Clay "Bearwell",Nurse Cara, and Teddy Ruxpin
displaying the Grundo General Hospital Banner Flag.
Photo Courtesy of Nurse Cara
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Teddy Ruxpin, DR. Clay "Bearwell",and Nurse Cara at the entrance of Grundo General.
Notice Flag sequence changed from picture above.Cardboard cutout of Teddy Ruxpin in Doctor Outfit is what the real "Doc" Outfit looked like.
Photo Courtesy of Nurse Cara |
Nurse Cara keeping some of the kiddles happy while their Teddys' are being repaired.
There was a waiting room with toys,books,and a television to watch Teddy videos.
Photo Courtesy of Nurse Cara |
Nurse Cara who was with WOW from the start in 1985 until the end,has stated there was herself,Nurse Nancy,DR. James,and Phou Tran being the staff at Grundo General Hospital."Working for WOW was a blast" she said as her office had a waiting room where kiddles could play with toys and read books,and watch Teddy Ruxpin videos on television while Dr. Clay made their bears well.
"When business was really good, they opened up a restaurant/cafe at work. I think it was called Grundo Cafe if I remember right. They had really great food and it was fun socializing with the other employees."
"Most days, we all felt like we were kids. We were surrounded by toys and we got to play with all the new toys that they were testing before launching. We had an employee store where we could buy anything we wanted at a big discount."
"Then the end came. We were all told that the company was closing. It was unsure if we were going to get paid in the end. Some of us got toys instead of pay checks."
Nurse Cara has recently gotten ahold of me August 2011,and I am so happy that she has,in a wonderful email she has told me alot.She loved her job and I wish she was still there as not to many folks can say they enjoy their work.
In 1991 when Worlds Of Wonder closed it's doors, DR. Bearwell hated the thought of seeing Teddy Ruxpin fade into obscurity.He put out a bid and purchased all of the company's existing stock for $125,000.00,and then bought more finished product from the Korea and China manufacturers.
He then opened TOY FAIRE in that same year as well as moving into a 5,000-square-foot space located in Freemont California, with a sky blue-painted ceiling,a full wall painting that looked like the Land Of Grundo and Rillonia,and a choir of Teddy Ruxpins and Grubby in tuxedos that sang at 2:00 P.M. every day.
TOY FAIRE was the only authorized dealer of Worlds Of Wonder products.Over the years he had looked and hunted down stored caches of Worlds Of Wonder items and buying them from collectors and other retailers such as Toys "R" Us who helped him by selling their leftover stock.
These numbers are from an article I read about DR. Bearwell and TOY FAIRE in 1992 his staff which included the WOW veteran Nancy Wiseman better known as "Surgeon Nancy" and 5 other members repaired 750 toys and sold 5,000 new ones.Toy Faire was known World Wide and had done numerous International repairs.
TOY FAIRE closed it's doors in 1998 it was rumored that they were to close in 1994 but everyone was so saddened that DR. Clay dug up more WOW stock and stayed open another 4 years.Thank You to DR. Clay "Bearwell" Pimentel if you hadn't had a part in the Worlds Of Wonder history Teddy Ruxpin and the gang would have been even more short lived.
A point of interest DR. Clay is now a travel agent,him and his wife travel all over with his travel groups.He once said "maybe I'll retire at 70" : ) In 1998 TOY FAIRE closed but not entirely as Surgeon Nancy moved it to Gardnerville,Nevada renaming it BEARS 'N CARES were she carried on the repairing and selling of the last remaining Worlds Of Wonder Original Stock.I had bought items from them and it was always a great experience.They had a great website and many hard to find items for sale.
But sadly they too have closed their doors in June-2004.
I was fortunate to get several referrals for repairs and restorations from both DR. "Bearwell" and Surgeon Nancy and I am very glad to have met both of them,they have been a great help.
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This is a letter I received from BEARS' n CARES. |
Janan Fairbairn who was the Worlds Of Wonder Clothing Designer for the WOW Toys, such as the Teddy Ruxpin Collector's Box Series and the Mother Goose Collector's Box Series had been asscociated with DR. Clay and I have been told you could get custom designed clothing for your Teddy Ruxpin,Grubby and Mother Goose at TOY FAIRE even a Fremont Police Officer Set for Teddy Ruxpin.
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Janan is sitting behind Mother Goose with her Granddaughter.
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Some of her many designs for Teddy Ruxpin and Mother Goose. |
More wonderful works of Janan's
Picture Courtesy of Joann
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Janan has such talent, her work is the greatest. Picture courtesy of Joann. Thank You Joann |
Janan Fairbairn is known as the "Top Hat Lady" and made custom Top Hats for the WOWs' I have seen some of the custom hats and outfits she made for Mother Goose and the tiny Top Hats for Hector.
I am fortunate now to own a Astaire Style Tophat for Teddy Ruxpin made by the "TopHat Lady" herself. Thank You Janan!
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My very own Janan "TopHat Lady" Fairbairn. This tophat is professionally made and the craftsmanship is phenomonal. |
Whit Greene who lived in Fremont, CA in the late 80's thru early 90's needed a Teddy Ruxpin part for his daughter's T.R. and was directed to ToyFaire. Upon entering the store, Whit was mesmerized by the WOW Store Displays, so while getting his eye assembly, he bought a Teddy Ruxpin and Mother Goose Display in the box. They were Quite inexpensive at that time. Whit has stated "The moment I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to do with them." The plastic would disappear and the rest would be mounted on children's furniture. He completed the first small dresser and took it back to show Dr. Clay who purchased it and requested many more. There were many and all were sold to collectors he knew. There were headboards, book shelves, and even a treasure chest with Teddy sitting on it. Whit's son(38 now) still owns that one. Adults were very fond of WOW Characters and you would be very surprised at how many WOW characters were in childless homes!
Whit came up with the idea for a Polar(blue eyes) and Panda Teddy. Approximately six or seven sets were made and some as individuals. Each had standard vests with "Polar or Panda Teddy by "Susana" embroidered on them. Dr. Clay placed these in Plastic display cases and sold them as serial numbered "Collector Sets." #1 went for a reported $1000.00. Whit then created the "Designer" line of Teddy Ruxpins. These were re-furred Teddys of many combinations of shades of brown and fur types. One was redone with rather long fur and in Whit's opinion was rather wolf-like and angry looking. He felt that they should scrap that idea but was convinced to continue with it. It turned out that it was probably the best seller of all the designer Teddys. Apparently people would choose to have longer furred Teddys if they could. All fur was faux from fabric stores. One beautiful pink furred Teddy with a custom colored vest in shades of pale purples, was created and went to a little girl whose Dad told Whit "She was one happy little girl with a special one of a kind Teddy Ruxpin."
(This article is written by Mr. Greene and many-many thank yous' for the pictures from Mr. Greene and Friend)
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Magnificent WOW Displays handcrafted by MR. Greene
Thank You
Whit and Friend
I had seen a Teddy Ruxpin Dresser Display go for $500.00+ on Ebay 5-6 years ago,and a Mother Goose/Hector Book Shelve go for $800.00+ on Ebay around the same time frame.
Below picture has Whit sitting on the left.
Pictures show some interior and exterior views of ToyFaire |
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Thirl "Tee" Hupp also known as "Tee Ruxpin" worked for Disney for 26 years.Tee started working on WOWs' in 1991 when he visited a thrift shop and found a Teddy Ruxpin, remembering what a great toy it was, he started tinkering around to get it to work.
Tee loves to research so looking for parts and how Teddy worked was a joy as he found more and more WOW toys to work on.Eventually he had one of the biggest collections in the country,TV Stations found about this and wanted him on their show.Video Footage of one TV Show is in Tee's possesion and is going to be cleaned up and maybe posted on youtube at a future time.
Tee became a single father and would work at Disney,be a father,and work tirelessly at repairing and locating WOW products.Stated to me over a great phone conversation with Mr. Hupp he had quite a few WOW supplier connections who he worked well with.
In 1999 Tee sold his collection as he states "I had to make a big decision to sell everything to make for a better life for my son and I,it was very profitable and a very timely move,as they say in the stock market sell when it's high". "I had build up such a new interest for Worlds of Wonder and so many knew my name ( Tee Ruxpin ) it was the prime time for me to sell and move on to the next chapter in my life .......but thank you so much Teddy Ruxpin you got my son and I through a very tough time in our lives,and today life is great!!" Tee's new chapter is just as cool as the WOWs' ,he is a top Maltese Dog Breeder.
I had heard about Tee Hupp in 1996-1997 and have been trying to find him since around 2000 "I am so glad I finally have gotten to meet you Tee!!"
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Tee's Garage in the 90's WOW and I don't mean the company : )
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One of his beautiful Maltese
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There is also A4ANIMATION to give a Thank You to as well.
Founded by Stan (DR. Stan) and Marianne Hanel.This duo has been keeping Teddy Ruxpin and the WOW's going as well as selling me parts and being a great source of WOW information.
Thank You!
THANK YOU
DR. Clay "Bearwell" Pimentel
SURGEON Nancy Wiseman
NURSE Cara Johnson
DR. Stan and Marianne Hanel
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