(Originally
published 12/21/20)
Once upon
a time, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, holiday specials on the small
screen were must-see TV. Adults and children alike dutifully noted the day,
time, and channel that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie
Brown Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman would air on network
television. After all, it was not Christmas until Burl Ives—in his Rankin/Bass
snowman incarnation—plowed through the powdery white, banjo in hand, and
crooned, “Holly, Jolly Christmas.” It likewise was not Christmas until Jimmy
Durante, schnozzola—in vivid 1960s animation—gravelly croaked, “Frosty
the Snowman.” All these years later, the lyrics linger: “Thumpity, thump,
thump, thumpity, thump, thump. Look at Frosty go. Over the hills of snow.”
I would be
remiss here not to mention
How the Grinch Stole Christmas with the peculiar-looking
but harmonious folks of Whoville, who knew the true meaning of the day. And
worth mentioning, too, is
The Little Drummer Boy narrated by the forbidding
“Miss Greer Garson.” She was indeed “Our Storyteller.” In somber tones we
learned that the boy with the omnipresent drum, Aaron, “hated all people,” but his
accrued rancor vanished when he laid eyes on the luminescent Christ Child.
Was
this luminescent aspect recorded in the New Testament?
Anyway,
Aaron witnessed his little lamb, Baba, get hit by a reckless chariot driver.
The African king—among the diverse Three Kings of Orient, which also included
an Asian and an obese Caucasian—informed the grieving boy that the lamb was
near death and that he could do nothing for Baba. “But you are a king,” Aaron
said. “A mortal king only…but there is a king among kings,” his majesty replied
while gesturing to the glowing infant in the manger. “But I do not understand,”
Aaron responded. “It is not necessary that you understand!” the king answered. Not
understanding is the foundation of religion, I guess.
Flesh and
blood folks like Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Andy Williams did annual
Christmas shows as well and we awaited with bated breath for them to sing their
signature yuletide songs: “White Christmas,” “Ave Maria,” and “It’s the Most
Wonderful Time of the Year,” respectively. Even Dean Martin Christmas specials
appeared for a spell. Nobody sung “Marshmallow World” like old Dino at his
campy best. Comedian Bob Hope’s holiday specials regularly included—for some
unknown reason—introducing the AP All-American college football team with a
procession of painfully unfunny jokes like: “Leslie is so wide. When he plays
he has to wear a number and a license plate.” The recurring spectacles reminded
me of high school pep rallies, and I could never quite establish the Christmas
connection. But Bob would eventually sing “Silver Bells” and all was forgiven.
There were
also the variety show flavors of the day back in the 1970s. Groups and
individuals who hosted shows include The Carpenters, The Osmond Family, and
Julie Andrews. While the music holds up well in them, the sketch comedy is
excruciating to watch. Guest stars on
The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait,
1978, were Gene Kelly, Georgia Engel, Kristy McNichol, and Jimmy McNichol. Only
on a TV Christmas special in the 1970s could you see a sister and brother,
Kristy and Jimmy, sing “Fum Fum Fum.” I would also say that the busiest guest
on holiday variety shows from that era was impressionist Rich Little, who got
to do Jack Benny as Ebenezer Scrooge on
The Perry Como Christmas Show,
1974. Harvey Korman performed a frenetic one-man Christmas Carol on
The
Carpenters at Christmas, 1977, which also included Kristy McNichol as a
guest star. She must have been big back then to appear in two successive
Carpenters’ Christmas specials. They were simpler times indeed.
(Photos
from the personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)
