“The Talkboy” was originally a cassette recorder and non-working prop designed and built for the 1992 blockbuster Christmas film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Following the success of the film, an American company called Tiger Electronics obtained permission from 20th Century Fox and producer John Hughes to make and sell a real version of the device.
The original model did not have the variable-speed voice changer of the film version and sold only moderately during the 1992 holiday shopping season.
In April 1993, Tiger released the Deluxe model, which added the voice-changing feature and interest in the toy spiked, making the Deluxe Talkboy one of the most highly sought-after toys in the US during the 1993 holiday shopping season.
A pink version of the recorder called Deluxe Talkgirl was released in 1995.
Tiger Electronics abandoned the product and the “Talkboy ” trademark in 1999.
