Wind-up doll joke
Encyclopedia
Wind-up doll jokes is a series of jokes in which an imagined wind-up doll of a well known person (a show business or sports celebrity
or a politician) acts in a way supposedly peculiar to this person. An example is given in the biography of Miles Davis
by John Szwed. Miles had a habit to walk to the back of the band after finishing his solo, which was called "turning his back on the audience" by press. George Crater of the Down Beat
magazine cracked the following joke: "Question: What does a Miles Davis doll do if you wind it up? - Answer: It turns its back on you!"
These jokes are among relatively few examples of American
folklore
recorded by folklorists close to the time of their origination. They started to be transmitted orally in fall 1960 in the Los Angeles
area, and in two years they have found their way to major popular periodicals as a new fad. They were variously called "Living Dolls", "Topical Dolls", but the "wind-up doll" was the most common term.
This fad had even produced a whole book, "Dolls My Mother Never Gave Me", by Jack Wohl & Stan Rice (1962)
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
or a politician) acts in a way supposedly peculiar to this person. An example is given in the biography of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
by John Szwed. Miles had a habit to walk to the back of the band after finishing his solo, which was called "turning his back on the audience" by press. George Crater of the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine cracked the following joke: "Question: What does a Miles Davis doll do if you wind it up? - Answer: It turns its back on you!"
These jokes are among relatively few examples of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
recorded by folklorists close to the time of their origination. They started to be transmitted orally in fall 1960 in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area, and in two years they have found their way to major popular periodicals as a new fad. They were variously called "Living Dolls", "Topical Dolls", but the "wind-up doll" was the most common term.
This fad had even produced a whole book, "Dolls My Mother Never Gave Me", by Jack Wohl & Stan Rice (1962)