BURBANK WOMAN OUT OF CLOSET WITH BARBIE COLLECTION.

Byline: Joan Hart

For years, Linda Brundage kept quiet about her secret passion. But today, the 47-year-old Burbank nurse is proud to talk about it. Brundage is a Barbie collector, and she has amassed 5,000 of the dolls.

Brundage has been collecting Barbies since her mother bought her first one 36 years ago. Her collection, which she keeps in cabinets and boxes throughout her house, is worth $500,000, she estimates.

"I continued to buy them all through college. I never stopped buying them," she said. "But it wasn't until around 1986, that it was considered OK to collect Barbies," she said.

That was when Mattel Toys, manufacturer of Barbie, created a limited edition porcelain collectible doll geared for adults called "Blue Rhapsody." With release of the collector's item, other Barbie collectors began to admit their hobby.

"There are over 100,000 Barbie collectors just in the United States," said Lisa McKendall, spokesperson for Mattel Toys of El Segundo, home of Barbie.

The first Barbie doll was made by Mattel Toys in 1959, said McKendall. And the intriguing popularity of this doll over the years remains a mystery to not only Mattel people but to collectors like Brundage.

"I have no idea why Barbie has continued to be so popular," said McKendall.

Although she cannot officially prove her status, Brundage believes she has one of the largest Barbie doll collections in the country - a claim she bases on her attendance of the International Annual Barbie Convention, which meets in different locations throughout the world.

"We're a small group who gets to know one another," she said.

Brundage said when Barbie first came out most little girls just had one. Today, most girls own at least eight, she said.

McKendall said Barbies for children cost between $5 and $55, and collector Barbies run from $20 to $500.

The original Barbie, which could be purchased for $3 in 1959 - like the one Brundage's mother bought her - then stashed away in an unopened box, recently sold at an auction for $4,500.

But Brundage never plans on selling her dolls because she loves them so much.

"I'm an R.N., but Barbie is my real love," said Brundage, who works with her husband Dr. Herald Brundage, a Burbank obstetrician and gynecologist.

Because she loves Barbie so much, she recently agreed to a request by Mattel to give a talk on Barbie collecting at the Burbank Toys 'R' Us.

She recommends they purchase first edition series of the doll because they typically go up most in value.

While she tells would-be collectors that Barbie can be profitable, she cautions people not to get into the hobby unless they care about the doll.

"I do it for love," Brundage said.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Photo Linda Brundage says she has collected about 5,000 Barbie dolls. Terri Thuente/Daily News