Name: Katy Haile
Birthday: October 27, 1979
Favorite Episode: Peril in the Pits
Website: www.RainbowBrite.net & www.RainbowBrite.org
Hi Color Kids! I’m Katy Cartee Haile and I’ve been a fan of Rainbow Brite since its release in 1984. I recall watching a few episodes as a child, seeing several commercials for the dolls, and owning a few dolls of my own (12″ Rainbow Brite w/Twink, 12″ Red Butler w/Romeo, 12″ Romeo, Starlite, and a knock-off Starlite). But it wasn’t until the age of 15 that I started geeking out over Rainbow Brite. During a thrift store shopping trip, I came across a Rainbow Brite record player and bought it. I then started looking for more Rainbow Brite items and would buy all that I found – sheets, dolls, etc. I found my childhood Rainbow Brite purse and started carrying it to high school. Then friends started giving me collectibles from their childhood that they no longer needed. That’s how I came across the Paint a Rainbow in Your Heart album and the Star Stealer movie. I was hooked.
After I graduated high school in 1997, I was given my first computer. I had just moved to a new town and didn’t know anyone, so I turned to the internet for friendship and entertainment. I had already been active in the He-Man & She-Ra fandom, and discovered that there was no fandom yet for Rainbow Brite. There were merely two websites on the internet that even mentioned her, so I happily took on the task of learning HTML and creating the first website completely dedicated to her. I then created a mailing list so that fans could gather and share memories, stories, information and enthusiasm; plus a webring so that new Rainbow Brite websites that began popping up could easily link to one another.
My collection and interest in the property have only grown since then. The fandom’s activity has waxed and waned as new collectibles and information have appeared and disappeared; and as we’ve aged and become preoccupied with adult responsibilities. But Rainbow Brite, a cartoon with only 13 episodes and a movie, has MANY fans. Not one Halloween or large comic convention goes by where someone doesn’t dress up as Rainbow. Her influence has perpetrated the fashion and beauty industry, where brightly colored styles are very often labeled as “Rainbow Brite.” Adults who grew up in the 80’s are passing their love for Rainbow onto the next generation. And new merchandise is still trickling out, even to this day.
As long as Rainbow Brite has fans, her rainbow will never truly fade. And I intend to continue doing all I can to help keep her rainbow “brite.”
