Mr. Potato Head was invented by George Lerner in 1949 and first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952. The first toy advertised on television, Mr. Potato Head has remained in production since its debut.

Although the toy was originally produced as separate plastic parts with pushpins that could be stuck into a real potato or other vegetable, complaints regarding rotting vegetables and new government safety regulations, resulted in the production of a plastic potato body in 1964.

Source: Wikipedia