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Hello friends, Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a great new year. Hard to believe that the Christmas season is over (except for our Orthodox friends). Wrapping things up for another year here on the old blog. Hope...
Merry Christmas everyone! Thought I would start the day by bringing you my favorite Christmas Carol. Do You Hear What I Hear was inspired by the events during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Husband and wife team of Gloria Shayne Baker and Noel Regney...
Beginning in November of 1969, The Children's Television Workshop began producing the show on PBS. It featured Actors and kids along with Jim Henson's muppets (Jim is a Mississippi native like me) and was a general education show that tackled reading, arithmetic,...
Here is a clip of an Osmond family Christmas special featuring Mr. Andy Williams sometime in the early to mid '70s which is when I came on the scene, Ha. Enjoy...
I have a new poll for this year. Do you prefer Traditional or Modern Christmas music? Now, I suppose we should define that by traditional, I mean everything from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to Bing Crosby. And by modern, I mean everything from Mannheim Steamroller...
Here is everyone's favorite Cat and Mouse team as they celebrate the holidays in their usual manner - at WAR. This MGM short was created by William Hannah and Joseph Barbera who brought us such characters as The Flinstones and The Jetsons. This short is titled...
Paramount acquired Fleischer studios in 1941 and in 1943 began producing the Popeye series in Technicolor. There were three Christmas episodes from the Popeye series and here is a great one. From 1955, here is Mister and Mistletoe...
Here is a rarely remembered cartoon. In 1979, NBC broadcasted an animated Little Rascals cartoon during the Christmas season. I only saw it once and never knew if anyone remembered it. But, I've found it. It's hardly a "classic", but it's funny...
Today is November 11th, the day we honor our Military Veterans. So to honor them, here is a rendition of White Christmas sung on a front line in Europe during WWII........
MGM pictures have always been a bit saccharine. It was Louis B. Mayer's intention to make "feel good" movies for the public to take them away from the problems in the everyday world. Their 1938 production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is...
Well, it's already November and the leaves are turning. Soon, it'll be time for Turkey and the Macy's parade. In honor of the upcoming holiday, here's a cartoon from MGM ...
I updated the video on the Andy Williams Show post to a much better one. I think you'll like ...
Before we get started, I'd just like to thank my international visitors for coming to this site. I hope it gives a glimpse of how we celebrate Christmas in America and we would love to hear how you celebrate in your perspective countries. Happy Days is...
This is one of my favorites. The Andy Griffith show with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts. In this episode, Ben Weaver has a local man hauled in for moonshining. After Andy, Barney and the gang bring Christmas into the jailhouse for the family, Ben...
After Jack Benny left radio he moved right into the new medium of television. The Jack Benny Show ran from October of 1950 to September of 1964. Here is a clip from the Christmas show featuring Mel Blanc in one of Jack's greatest holiday bits. En...
One thing we all looked forward to every year was the Christmas episode of our favorite TV shows. From my childhood, it was everything from M*A*S*H to Diff'rent Strokes. When you watch these now, Christmas wasn't callous or considered "cheesy" but...
Originally called the Santa Claus Lane parade, The Hollywood Christmas parade takes place on the weekend after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, California. The parade began in 1928 as a way to boost shopping during the holiday season and was created by the chamber...
I love Christmas commercials. More than specials or movies they are a window into Christmas past like nothing else. They bring to mind memories long forgotten of a time gone by. The Norelco commercials are no different and here is I believe the original. *Below...
Born Pierino Ronald Como in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Perry Como is a well-loved Italian-American crooner with a string of hits in the 40's and 50's. Perry joined a list of crooners who became synonymous with Christmas such as Bing Crosby and Andy Williams....
It may not be considered by some to be a classic, but I believe The Fat Albert Christmas Special deserves to be put up with the rest. First airing on December 18, 1977, the show features Fat Albert and the gang as they try to keep a stingy old land owner from...
Pop singer Eddie Fisher, whose clear voice brought him a devoted following of teenage girls in the early 1950's before marriage scandals over-shadowed his fame, has died at age 82. Click here to read m...
Here, Dick Van Dyke does an ad for Kodak Instamatic Camera. This was way before digital photography but was popular because of the easy loading of film. My mom had one of these when I was a kid and it lasted forever. Enjoy...
This was part of a series of specials Judy did for CBS television.This particular special features Jack Jones and Mel Torme'. It also features Judy's children - Liza Minelli and Lorna and Joseph Luft. This is pretty cool business as it was I think broadcast...
In 1976, Rankin/Bass made a sequel to The Little Drummer Boy. They subtitled it "Book II" in a biblical style reference.The story follows Aaron right after the birth of Christ as he helps one of the wise men, Melchior, recover silver bells that were cast to ring...
Rankin/Bass were never a group to shy away from the true meaning of Christmas. They tried to present it in a way to kids that would not confuse them, but show that even someone like Santa Claus had a reason beyond himself for doing what he does. One such special...
Billie May Richards, the voice of Rankin Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has passed away in her sleep at the age of 89. Click here for the rest of the story.Thanks to Matthew for the heads up on this story. She will be missed in our wor...
This blog is mostly about the television/movie medium at Christmas time, but I wanted to share a few musical treasures that you should look into getting this year.First on the list:The Many Moods of Christmas featuring The Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra. This...
Thought I would share this with you.Most of us have used internet radio like Pandora, etc. I use slacker. I like it better because it's easier to create a station. They have premade stations and they have a lot of holiday channels. My favorite of course is...
Had to share this.Many of you may be from the Boston area while many of us are not.All of us are familiar with the holiday tunes presented by the Boston Pops Orchestra and late conductor Arthur Fiedler. Every year, the Orchestra puts on Holiday at Pops and it...
Holiday Inn is a film based on composer Irving Berlin's idea of an Inn that only opened on holidays. Berlin signed an exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures to write songs expressly for that project.The film stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire with support...
Now that Summer is almost here, I felt it was time for me to start up the blog again. I thought I might start off a little light considering the kids are still in school for another week or two.How about some Christmas commercials?Here's one from 7up.And another...
