PBS story

https://www.nextavenue.org/the-year-without-a-santa-claus-turns-50/

I am told there was some really bad info given out about these Animagic figures on Antiques Roadshow, in regards to value. I am not surprised at all. several people also told me they relied heavily on my book with no credit, not surprised there either. They really goofed on the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer puppets. Then they interviewed me several times about them and chose to relay none of the accurate info. Giving a false impression of what they were. Sadly, this is all so typical today. Act like your an expert and supply a false narrative. It gets more hits on social media and more views.

 

As I stated above, PBS' Antiques Roadshow chooses a narrative over factual information.   This is a problem when focusing on historical objects.   Pulling a willy nilly value out of a hat is not right.   I remember the very first time they aired Santa Claus and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, they said the pair were worth $5000-6000.   They updated it several times since then and of course, that was way under the market price.   What is disturbing, is that they still haven't disclosed all of the information I gave them over several interviews.   I have been the Rankin/Bass Historian for over thirty years now, but they don't want to relay the truth.   They want social media hits and views.   Unfortunately, this is the world we live in now.   I know what The Daydreamer Animagic figures have sold for.   Screen-Novelties owns The Little Mermaid and The Sea Witch.  The film is not very well known, even with all of my work on the book, blu ray, DVD, and CD Soundtrack releases.   The more popular TV Specials and films would command a high price and the lesser known, command a low price.   This isn't how Antiques Roadshow appraises things.  In fact, they did the opposite on both Rudolph and The Daydreamer set.   I owned figures from The First (White) Christmas, so I know what they sold for.  Yet, AR buys my book (This is the only one they bought from me) and wings it.   

PBS' ANTIQUES ROADSHOW was Very Disappointing!

I am so sorry I told Rankin/Bass Productions fans to tune into PBS' ANTIQUES ROADSHOW tonight, because the piece that I saw, created a false narrative to what the Producers wanted you to believe.   I did multiple interviews for this show over the past year, so they can't say "We didn't know."  They even asked me to clarify on a few occasions, which I did.  In fact, they went out of their way to take the facts I relayed to them out of this segment.  At one point I got an email from someone that worked there, asking to order my book The Making of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town and The Daydreamer directly from me, instead of our website?   They never ended up ordering?!

 

In the segment, they called them "Production puppets" and "Screen used puppets" and they are neither.  I explain in my RetroFan Magazine article in issue #17 out October 13th, 2021 and I explained to Antiques Roadshow, the screen used puppets, more correctly called Animagic figures, stayed in Japan and many remained in the collection of head animator Tad Mochinaga.   You can see these photos in my book on Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and our Frosty the Snowman 50th Anniversary Scrapbook.   The Animagic figure of Santa in the TV Special had a smaller beard and lines in the beard that moved as his mouth did (Which you can clearly see in my book photos).  The publicity photo Santa has a much bigger and rounder beard, with no allowances for mouth movement.

 

The Animagic figures that appeared on Antiques Roadshow and were so badly appraised right from the start, were the Publicity only figures.   They were used for Publicity photos in New York and then they were put on display at NBC-TV in the Rockefeller Plaza for a short number of years.

 

While this host talked about his personal connection to the Animagic figures, I heard from the seller before Antiques Roadshow.   Then I appeared with the figures, after my friend Kevin Kriess bought them at many conventions and on television (2006-2009).  I helped coordinate the restoral with my friends Mark Caballero and Seamus and Robin Walsh at Screen-Novelties prior.  Kevin sold them to another friend of mine, Peter Lutrario.   I worked on the catalog for the 2020 auction,

through Profiles In History and I also worked on the exhibit at the Center For Puppetry Arts for this Holiday season.  This is the 20th Anniversary for my book The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic:  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

    It was really disappointing to see this sort of fluff piece, after giving PBS, Antiques Roadshow and Detours so much of my time and the history of the figures!   I would never do an interview for them again... and again, I am sorry I promoted it originally!

Monday 8 pm Central time

 

Correction:  8 pm Central time:  I haven't seen the segment yet, but I am assuming they are using my updated information I relayed to them a few times now.   I also did a Zoom interview for the show last Fall!  They did a rotten job!   See my article above for information. 

Monday night at 7 pm Central on PBS

It looks like the Antiques Roadshow update I was interviewed for, airs Monday night:  https://fb.watch/8nHtNo7ugi/

 

The Daydreamer WSunday movie

Big Bird put his last star on the Christmas tree! Carroll Spinney R.I.P.

Today is Ernie Kovacs Centennial! Gone but not forgotten!

The Centennial set by SHOUT is awesome!  I watched the entire thing.   I went back and watched my The Best of Ernie Kovacs too from PBS and that was wonderful too!  The Medicine Man pilot was Awesome!

Mail call

Thanksgiving week!