Red-Nosed Reindeer 'Rudolph' at 47 years and running

 
My wife and I sat down in front of the TV with one of our grandchildren Tuesday evening to watch the old Christmas season television classic, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” on NewsChannel 15.
And Thursday evening we let her watch “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” which was aired on WPTA, Channel 21, both on prime time local TV.
If you check your local listings, you'll find lots of animated holiday programs between Thanksgiving and Christmas. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” was shown on Thanksgiving. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be aired on Monday at 8 p.m. on Channel 21.
I wonder if my granddaughter was as enthralled with this week's programs as I was? After all, the stop-motion animation isn't exactly as smooth as today's computerized techniques. And the programs are old — truly vintage classics.
In stop-motion animation, an object or figure is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames. This kind of animation when using clay is called clay animation or clay-mation.
“Rudolph” came out in 1964, if you can believe it. It is TV's longest-running Christmas special. It is reportedly one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast along with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965), “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1966) and “Frosty the Snowman” (1969).
Actually, not counting the 1950 marionette special “The Spirit of Christmas,” the first animated holiday program ever produced specifically for television was “Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol,” which first aired in 1962. Jim Backus was the voice of Magoo.
As in most animated movies, the characters are brought to life through the voices of well-known entertainers. “Rudolph” was narrated by Sam the Snowman, who was the beloved folk singer Burl Ives.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the animated version of Dr. Seuss' classic children's story, featured former horror movie star Boris Karloff as both the narrator and the voice of the Grinch. “Frosty the Snowman” was narrated by Jimmy Durante, and Frosty was voiced by comedian Jackie Vernon.
In 1970's “Santa Claus is Comin' to Town,” Fred Astaire was the mailman narrator, complete with song and dance, while Mickey Rooney was the voice of Kris Kringle.
Other made-for-TV specials of note include “The Little Drummer Boy” (1968) and “The Year Without a Santa Claus” (1974).
Check our TV listings: I see on WANE Friday, Dec. 9, beginning at 8 are “Frosty the Snowman,” “Frosty Returns,” “Yes, Virginia” and “The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story.” And the following evening at 8 is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” followed by “The Flight Before Christmas.”