The Associated Press
Published: December 3, 2007
Things you may not have known about the Rankin/Bass TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which first aired in 1964:
_"Rudolph" was worked on simultaneously in New York, Japan, Britain and Canada. The concept for the show was developed in New York, the animation was done in Japan, the music was recorded in England and the voice actors were in Canada.
_Rudolph's voice was provided by a woman, Billie Mae Richards.
_Each Rankin/Bass "animagic" figure cost $5,000 to make in 1964. The production took 18 months to complete.
_The song "We're a Couple of Misfits" was replaced by "Fame and Fortune" when the special reaired in 1965. An executive with original sponsor General Electric Co. made the decision, though his reasons have never been clear. The change remained in place until 1998, when "Misfits" was put back in.
_Many fans ask, "What makes the girl doll that cries on the Island of Misfit Toys a misfit?" Nothing in the script by Romeo Muller gives any indication, but co-producer Arthur Rankin Jr. recently offered this explanation: "She was cast off by her mistress and clinically depressed, and they didn't have Prozac back then."
_The 1964 edition of the special did not show Santa going back to the Island of Misfit toys to pick up the toys. Viewers wanted to see that and wrote letters, according to Rankin's producing partner Jules Bass, so the ending we see now with the toys being dropped off Santa's sleigh with little umbrellas was animated and added in 1965.
_Johnny Marks, who wrote the original song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," was Arthur Rankin Jr.'s neighbor in New York.
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Source: Rick Goldschmidt, author of "The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.'"
Photograph by Josh Goldschmidt (Columbus, OH)
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