Here is a news program I did an interview for in New York 🎅

https://cbs6albany.com/community/positively-upstate/rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-turns-60#

Rarest of the rare!

Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

General Electric Holiday Appliances

 Antony Peters designed this and it is pictured in my book, The making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday classic:  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Videocraft International (Later known as Rankin/Bass Productions) did many commercials, both live action and Animagic (See my book The Arthur Rankin, Jr. Scrapbook:  The Birth of Animagic).  Tony was always involved with these commercials and his designs were used through 1965.  Maury Laws told me, he developed his Rankin/Bass Christmas music, through these 1962 General Electric commercials.  He said he borrowed some from the Nutcracker, but it turned into his own unique style.  This is Maury's music with the session voice people that were also used in the 1964 Rudolph GE Commercials.  The same actors also appeared in the soundtracks for Willy McBean and his Magic Machine and The Daydreamer.

116 days until Christmas eve 🎅 #Christmasinjuly #thingswillbeachangingbythen

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GE Magoo

Saturday fun

It has been twenty years since the release of my Rudolph book! I wanted to re-clarify some things about the Rudolph and Santa Animagic figures!

 My book has been out for twenty years now!   All of my updates on Rudolph have either been in my other 5 Rankin/Bass hardcover books or in my articles in RetroFan magazine (Big Rudolph article last Christmas and a Mad Monster Party article in October 2021 with Rudolph update).   I assisted with both the auction of the Rudolph and Santa Animagic figures in November of 2020 and the display of the figures at the Center for Puppetry arts November 2021.   I have seen some clips from Antiques Roadshow and their Podcast which are very misleading.   They interviewed me for both, but failed to disclose that these figures are NOT the ones used in the actual animation of the TV Special.    They are the publicity used Animagic figures for photos and the NBC Display at the Rockefeller Plaza in NY.   Tad Mochinaga and his staff hung onto the puppets used in the actual animation and you can see pictures in both my book on The Making of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town and The Daydreamer, and also Rankin/Bass' Frosty the Snowman 50th Anniversary scrapbook.   You can clearly see Santa's beard is shorter and decaying in the lines in the beard where Santa's mouth moved in the special, unlike the Santa beard on the one in the Center for Puppetry arts (Which is larger and rounder as in the publicity photos).   I made this discovery last Christmas and wrote about it and also did interviews about it, but apparently "Production used" or "Screen used" sounds better to some producers, so they mislead a bit.

GE

Broken Arrow

Looking forward to the Holiday season of 2020 and our December magazine articles in Retrofan and Remind magazines!

GE TV tubes

I got my 1964 General Electric Rankin/Bass Return to Oz bracelet, many years ago. It was one of the few collecribles Arthur Rankin hung on to. I helped Susan Morse (the singing voice for Dorothy) obtain one, before she passed away. I also became great friends with Susan Conway Mitchell, Dorothy's speaking voice, and she signed a bunch of the GE ads for me. #returntooz #rankinbassproductions #generalelectric #thewizardofoz

I always enjoy my 1960s Christmas store displays! I have them up year round, but really enjoy now!

A CBS interview I did Monday for WFMY in Central North Carolina...more to come!

https://www.wfmynews2.com/video/news/local/rankin-bass-behind-the-scenes-four-2-five-rudoloph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/83-e161c5a9-c9d4-40b3-a7b2-5dfdf31c434c

Many, many Radio DJs have been asking me, who created the Island of Misfit toys, Hermey the Elf, Yukon Cornelius, etc. ?

 

The answer is always easy:   Romeo Muller, Jr., with an assist by Tony Peters.  Romeo added all of the characters we know and love and wrote the story that has lasted over fifty four years now!  He and Antony deserve all the credit for the television version by Rankin/Bass Productions.   If it were not for them, it would never have been as successful as it has become!

They used Antony's art in the 1964 and 1965 GE TV Guide ads

 

Regarding Tony's art in the ad, you will notice that Sam doesn't have a mustache or beard, as when Tony originally did the designs, Burl wasn't cast yet as Sam and Larry D. Mann performed the dialogue and songs.   Many people ask about Hermey's normal ears and long, blond curl....this was to differentiate him from all the other elves, as he was a misfit and unique.  Many people ask me about the bulb shaped noses of the regular elves.   Yes, this was to reflect a GE Light bulb shape.  Tony designed three Rankin/Bass Christmas carolers in Animagic for a GE Commercial that Rankin/Bass did a few years earlier (Photograph can be seen in my book The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic:  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer available at www.miserbros.com 
) and you can clearly see they all have light bulb shape noses.  He continued this look for the 1964 productions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Romeo Muller came up with the concept of all the additional characters and my late friend Antony Peters designed them.

Rudolph's nose lit up on it's own tonight from the vibration of the music! No joke, hasn't lit in a few years! Shining bright too! #november #rankinbass #rudolphtherednosedreindeer

 

I think it is an omen for the good season that is coming! 

🎅