Figures From Simpson Trial Dolled Up Oregon Man Creates Set Of Nesting Dolls Featuring Judge Ito, O.J. And Furhman

In Russia, sets of nesting dolls usually are painted in the form of quaint babushka-wearing maidens.

But quaint is not how one might describe the characters portrayed in a doll set created by a Beaverton man.

The so-called “Seven Wonders of the Courtroom” set features the likenesses of personalities from the O.J. Simpson trial - with a series of increasingly smaller dolls nestled within the robes of Judge Lance Ito.

The 9-inch tall wooden Ito doll opens to reveal a smaller Simpson doll, which opens to reveal a smaller Marcia Clark. The rest, in descending order of size, are Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, Kato Kaelin and - the teeniest, innermost doll - Mark Fuhrman, looking like a thimble with a tie.

Dale Miller, a semiretired Beaverton importer, is having the dolls made at the Sunan company in Zhijiang, China. Miller is the sales agent for the Portland company Oriental World, which will sell “The Seven Wonders” to U.S., European and Asian markets in January.

“We did miss Christmas,” Miller said ruefully, citing problems with perfecting the look of the dolls.

For example, Simpson, for some reason, has a moustache. And the Chinese workers originally didn’t differentiate skin tone between Simpson and Cochran, who are black, and the others.

“We’d get samples and make corrections. You should have seen my initial sample,” Miller said, shuddering at the memory.

But Miller is looking forward to January, when his first order of 1,000 sets will be sold at novelty shops at a price of $49.95.

Miller said he is donating 50 cents from the sale of every set to the National Organization for Women.

But local and national NOW representatives were unaware of Miller’s plans. And with Nicole Brown Simpson’s documented history as a victim of domestic abuse, the organization wasn’t immediately comfortable with the idea of receiving profits from the sale of trial-related items.

“We would need to investigate and see the product,” said Tia Plympton, assistant coordinator of Oregon NOW. “It’s not something where we say, ‘Great, we’ll take a check.”’

Don’t expect to find the “Seven Wonders” at big chain stores, either.

“I’m listed as one of Kmart’s vendors,” Miller said. “And they said they wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole. The chain stores, even though they sell those wild tabloids, they’re still very sensitive to things like this.”