Larry Crash Dummy Costume, 1990s
Larry Crash Dummy Costume, 1990s
- Description
- In the 1970s, few motorists wore seat belts because of apathy, distrust, or ignorance of the safety benefits. In 1985 the U. S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) partnered with the Ad Council to create television and radio public service announcements that would persuade motorists to buckle up. The Ad Council hired Leo Burnett, a talent company, which recommended the use of humor. Leo Burnett staff writer Jim Ferguson and art director / creative director Joel Machak created Vince and Larry, a pair of crash test dummy characters with personalities and attitudes. For the actual filming, Grant McCune, a special effects designer and a partner at Apogee Productions, worked with Apogee’s costume designer, Wanda Watkins, to create believable dummy costumes. Watkins purchased race car driver jumpsuits – gray for Vince, blue for Larry – and applied silkscreened safety tape and bulls-eyes that simulated camera targets. One of Larry’s costumes had a detachable arm so that he appeared to be dismembered after a crash. For this costume, Watkins cut a sleeve off a jumpsuit. Apogee staff members made a prop arm and a shoulder appliance that allowed Whitney Rydbeck, who played Larry, to eject the arm.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- costume
- Physical Description
- cotton (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 60 1/4 in; 153.035 cm
- waist: 38 in; 96.52 cm
- leg inseam: 29 in; 73.66 cm
- center back, collar to waist: 20 1/2 in; 52.07 cm
- ID Number
- 2011.0088.10
- accession number
- 2011.0088
- catalog number
- 2011.0088.10
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
- Transportation
- Road Transportation
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
