If you were a spooky kid like me and ever went to Disneyland back in the day (early to mid 70's D-World for me), chances are you came home with a variation of the uniquely cool, and very scary, glow-in-the-dark Randotti Skull. Creators Randy and Dotti Smith combined their first names and throughout the 1950's through to the 80's, unleashed one of the most original, park exclusive Disney souvenirs of all time. Made of a hard, surprisingly heavy plaster type material, and sold in park gift shops near the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean rides, the actual hardest part of a Randotti Skull was being able to decide which one to get from the variety of creepy different styles and sizes available: w/slithery snake, w/scurrying spider on top, incense burner, w/blank eyeballs, w/pirate eyepatch, wall plaque, etc. I found this one the other day but it was way over $100 so I passed on it, but it sure did scare up some macabre memories for me and I couldn't resist taking pix of it from every angle. My favorite part of a Randotti Skull will always be that shiver-inducing narrow mouth and what's left of those terrible, gnarly teeth. The snake winding his way in and out of the eye socket is a nice touch, but tbh, I prefer just the plain old regular skull version. Find out more about Randotti Skulls by checking out Coop's killer collection HERE!
5 comments:
I saw one of these at an auction where a guy collected a lot of Disney stuff. I always wondered what it was, it seemed really out of place. The one I saw didn't have a snake, though.
So, thanks, now a mystery solved! Those are really cool sculpts, too!
I love it. The only time I was ever at Disney (World for me, too) was in 1979 or so, and I don't remember seeing these or I would have definitely been smitten. Some of it was likely because the line to the Haunted Mansion was so long that I was outvoted, and so we skipped it. Grrr.
Thanks for the link to the Randotti Skull collection, Karswell, they range from the slightly cartoony/horror comic host to realistic looking.
I once saw a real skull offered for sale in an antique shop but I didn't buy it.
I have enough boneheads/relatives in my life as it is.
Great Scott! I've been hauling one of these around for a half-a-century and have forgotten where it even came from! Mine is copyright 1966 by Randotti and has a (serial?) number 871 stamped into it. There is also a sticker on the bottom indicating that's it's glow in the dark. And you're right, it's dang heavy. What a blast from the past, Mr. Karswell!
I bet a lot of people are sitting on one of these skulls and not realizing how much they're worth these days. Now you all know!
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