--- title: Cute, Creepy Teddy Bears and the Grown-Ups Who Love Them description: In December 1970, LIFE featured a number of adults who still retained a fondness for the fluffy teddy bear companions of their youth. canonical: https://time.com/3878804/teddy-bears-and-the-grown-ups-who-love-them/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-03T03:30:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:34.821Z og:title: Cute, Creepy Teddy Bears and the Grown-Ups Who Love Them og:description: In December 1970, LIFE featured a number of adults who still retained a fondness for the fluffy teddy bear companions of their youth. og:url: https://time.com/3878804/teddy-bears-and-the-grown-ups-who-love-them/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0365704feed0fda/69884b2735ba6f2d5bc0cbf9/140129-teddy-bears-nina-leen-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Teddy Bears 1970 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cute, Creepy Teddy Bears and the Grown-Ups Who Love Them twitter:description: In December 1970, LIFE featured a number of adults who still retained a fondness for the fluffy teddy bear companions of their youth. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0365704feed0fda/69884b2735ba6f2d5bc0cbf9/140129-teddy-bears-nina-leen-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sort of Cute, Sort of Creepy Teddy Bears and the Grown-Ups Who Love Them by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 3, 2014 3:30 AM CUT  Not published in LIFE. Unidentified woman and teddy bears. Not published in LIFE. Unidentified woman and teddy bears.Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 3, 2014 3:30 AM CUT Nobel Peace Prize winner, Medal of Honor recipient, New York City police commissioner, America’s youngest president, Mount Rushmore visage, Dakota cowboy, [trust-buster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust%5Fbusting "undefined") — Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, Jr., packed so much living into his 60 years on earth that the phrase “larger than life” sometimes seems to have been coined expressly for him. But it’s as the man who inspired a fluffy bedtime toy that Roosevelt left one of his most enduring legacies. On a hunting trip in 1902 (so the story goes) the young president refused to shoot a black bear — a refusal somewhat at odds with the man’s well-earned reputation as a hunter who killed countless birds and beasts, without compunction, for decades. At any rate, a toymaker in New York learned of T.R.’s merciful moment and, inspired, created a toy bear — a “teddy bear.” (Roosevelt, incidentally, always despised the name Teddy.) The bear was an immediate hit, and for the past century has remained one of the tried and true emblems of childhood. In December 1970, LIFE featured a number of adults who, long years after their childhoods had ended, still retained a fondness for the fluffy companions of their youth. The resulting photos by Nina Leen are somehow sweet and, at the same time, just a little bit unsettling. --- > “” --- --- > “” --- NOTE: Since 1987, the original, well-worn, beloved Pooh and four of his friends — Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Kanga — have resided at The New York Public Library at 42nd and Fifth in Manhattan. Visitors to the library, young and old, can see [Pooh and his friends](http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?strucID=1766444&imageID=1628602 "undefined") year-round in their grand home. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Caption from LIFE. "The two Teddies who started it all." Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Unidentified woman and teddy bears. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Rosemary Ritchie of Browns Mills, N.J., with a 63-year-old teddy bear. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Teddy bear, age 63 (in 1970). Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Theodore Thau, an international trade expert for the Department of Commerce, has had his teddy bear ever since he was six months old. The bear is less benign than most. 'Sometimes it frightens little girls,' Mr. Thau admits. 'I don't know why, it's never bitten anyone. In fact, it has a very edible nose.'" Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Mary Hadley of West Hartford, Conn., has had Sinnamon for 64 years, although as a child she let her brother play with him. Not long ago she rolled over in bed and accidentally detached Sinnamon's nose. 'I burst into tears,' she says. 'I hate to stick him with a needle. He may not feel it, but I do.'" Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Sinnamon, age 64 (in 1970). Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. The Rev. Stephen Williamson of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., with teddy bears and sons, 1970. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Unidentified woman with "One-Eyed Connolly," the teddy bear. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. One-Eyed Connolly, teddy bear, age 30 (in 1970). Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Emma Rogers' bear, born in 1904, fell into a lake in 1940, and while drying out before the fire, turned green. He survived but is sadly patched and wears clothes to hide his scars. 'He knows me, and loves me,' says Mrs. Rogers, a retired railroad law calendar clerk of Queens, N.Y. 'I'll keep Teddy until God calls me, and after that they can do what they want with him.'" Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Unidentified woman with Sam, a teddy bear. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Sam, teddy bear, age 37 (in 1970). Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Unidentified man with his teddy bears, 1970. Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images   LIFE magazine, Dec. 11, 1970\. Best viewed in "Full Screen" mode. See button at right. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, Dec. 11, 1970\. Best viewed in "Full Screen" mode. See button at right. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, Dec. 11, 1970\. Best viewed in "Full Screen" mode. See button at right. 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