Every Christmas I still enjoy watching Rudolph, anyone else want to chime in that they do as well? It has been a part of Christmas memories from the time that I was little and it continues on. I had heard the true story behind Rudolph before and it makes the story all the more sweeter. I had forgotten it though, until my Mom emailed it to me again last week. Wanted to share it for those who never heard it, or for those like me that had forgotten. It is a story that will make you smile and you just may find yourself singing the song throughout the day. Enjoy!
How Rudolph came to be
Rudolph came to life in 1939 when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company asked one of their copywriters, 34-year-old Robert L. May, to come up with a Christmas story they could give away in booklet form to shoppers as a promotional gimmick — the Montgomery Ward stores had been buying and distributing coloring books to customers at Christmastime every year, and May’s department head saw creating a giveaway booklet of their own as a way to save money. Robert May, who had a penchant for writing children’s stories and limericks, was tapped to create the booklet.
May, drawing in part on the tale of The Ugly Duckling and his own background (he was often taunted as a child for being shy, small, and slight), settled on the idea of an underdog ostracized by the reindeer community because of his physical abnormality: a glowing red nose. Looking for an alliterative name, May considered and rejected Rollo (too cheerful and carefree a name for the story of a misfit) and Reginald (too British) before deciding on Rudolph. He then proceeded to write Rudolph’s story in verse as a series of rhyming couplets, testing it out on his 4-year-old daughter, Barbara, as he went along. Although Barbara was thrilled with Rudolph’s story, May’s boss was worried that a story featuring a red nose — an image associated with drinking and drunkards — was unsuitable for a Christmas tale. May responded by taking Denver Gillen, a friend from Montgomery Ward’s art department, to the Lincoln Park Zoo to sketch some deer. Gillen’s illustrations of a red-nosed reindeer overcame the hesitancy of May’s superiors, and the Rudolph story was approved. Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph booklet in 1939, and although wartime paper shortages curtailed printing for the next several years, a total of 6 million copies had been distributed by the end of 1946.
The post-war demand for licensing the Rudolph character was tremendous, but since May had created the story on a “work made for hire” basis as an employee of Montgomery Ward, that company held the copyright to Rudolph, and May received no royalties for his creation. Deeply in debt from the medical bills resulting from his wife’s terminal illness (she died about the time May created Rudolph), May persuaded Montgomery Ward’s corporate president, Sewell Avery, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, and with the rights to his creation in hand, May’s financial security was assured. (Unlike Santa Claus and other familiar Christmas figures of the time, the Rudolph character was a protected trademark that required licensing and the payment of royalties for commercial use.)
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was reprinted commercially beginning in 1947 and shown in theaters as a nine-minute cartoon the following year, but the Rudolph phenomenon really took off when May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, developed the lyrics and melody for a Rudolph song. Marks’ musical version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (turned down by many in the music industry who didn’t want to meddle with the established Santa legend) was recorded by cowboy crooner Gene Autry in 1949, sold two million copies that year, and went on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time (second only to “White Christmas”). A stop-action television special about Rudolph produced by Rankin/Bass and narrated by Burl Ives was first aired in 1964 and remains a popular perennial holiday favorite in the U.S.
May quit his copywriting job in 1951 and spent seven years managing the Rudolph franchise his creation had spawned before returning to Montgomery Ward, where he worked until his retirement in 1971. May died in 1976, comfortable in the life his reindeer creation had provided for him.
I remember reading some of that many years ago…. and it was nice to revisit the origins of Rudolph!
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Okay Colin, here is question for you. Jodi said how her hubby doesn’t watch Rudolph with her, he laughs at her and Brad does the same to me. Do you watch Rudolph? I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but couldn’t resist.
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You are right. You probably shouldn’t ask! 🙂
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Ha Ha! Yeah, just seal your lips 🙂
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Rudolph is a favorite around here. 🙂
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So do you all watch it when it comes on? 🙂
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I watched it with the little guys this year before the college kids came home. 🙂
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Very interesting! I did not know this. Very sad that May’s wife died at the time he created, Rudolph! Thanks for sharing this story.
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Glad you liked the story and yes that was sad about his wife dying.
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As HUGE of a Rudolph fan that I am, I had never considered how it came about. Isn’t that odd now that I think about it? Thanks for sharing C! A great story of my beloved Rudolph! ❤
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You are welcome! I still love the part where Rudolph says, “She likes me!” and he jumps so far 😉 So does your hubby watch it with you?
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that’s my fave too!!!!! No – he goes in the other room and laughs at me or reads. 🙂
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Mine does the same… Men just don’t get it 🙂
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Like others, I’d never really thought about where the story originated – I guess I just figured he’d always been with Santa! 🙂 Very interesting story – I was particularly happy to read that the company handed over the rights without some big battle; that would likely never happen these days. Thanks for sharing!
We always watched the movie each year as a family – my dad and brother still watch it with me every year without complaint, so there’s some hope for the guys’ tastes I guess 😉
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Glad you enjoyed reading about it and YAY for your Dad and brother! Yeah that gives a little hope. LOL!
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Rudolph’s story always reminded me of the little engine that could. I had never heard the story behind Rudolph so thank you for that. Amazing history, and based upon the numbers I guess we all like a story about the little guy winning. 🙂
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You are welcome! Yes, Rudolph’s story is so heartwarming 🙂 and I always liked the story of The Little Engine that Could as well!
Definitely nice when the little guy wins and shows people what they are made of 🙂
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Very neat JR. Thank you for sharing!
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