Restored ‘Rudolph’ figures making the rounds

updated 5:54 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - They look terrific for a duo whose holiday act debuted 43 years ago.

Though one still carries around a spare tire of belly fat, it doesn't seem to have aged him, and the other is still a bright, shining guy despite some rough times.

Rediscovered and restored puppets of Santa Claus and Rudolph that were animated for TV's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" are making holiday appearances, delighting fans of the special that has been a perennial favorite since its first airing in 1964. CBS plans to show it again Tuesday.

In the animated feature, inspired by the Johnny Marks song, Rudolph is laughed at and excluded from reindeer games over his glowing red nose. He finds acceptance at the Island of Misfit Toys before reuniting with Santa one foggy Christmas Eve.

"It's like meeting a celebrity, like meeting Clint Eastwood, or ('Batman' stars) Adam West and Burt Ward. These are icons," said Rick Goldschmidt, historian of the Rankin/Bass animation studio, who accompanied the 8-inch-high red-suited Santa and 4-inch-high yearling Rudolph with antler nubs to a comic book convention over Thanksgiving weekend.

Two years ago, the figures were acquired by current owner Kevin Kriess. Santa's face was stained, there was mold under his beard and half his mustache was gone. Rudolph was missing the red light bulb from his nose, said Kriess, a longtime fan of the special whose Harmony, Pa.-based business TimeandSpaceToys.com sells action figures and other collectibles based on movies and TV shows.

Kriess, 44, said he bought his two treasures from a person whose family had received them years ago from a relative who worked for Rankin/Bass. For many years, the delicate wood, wire and fabric puppets had been treated casually: first as toys and later as holiday decorations.

"They had Rudolph in a candy dish with candy all around him, just on a coffee table, and people would just reach in around Rudolph's body and pull out a candy cane or something," Kriess said. In the family's holiday photos, you could spot Santa slumped under a tree in a corner, he said.

Arthur Rankin Jr., who with producing partner Jules Bass created the "Rudolph" special for original sponsor General Electric, said the figures were just going to be thrown out, so his secretary took them home and gave them to family. No effort was made to preserve them, because no one imagined the show would become a hallowed classic.

"You make a film and you don't know whether it's going to work or not, whether it will have an audience," said Rankin, 83, reached by phone in Bermuda, where he is now retired. "In the case of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' it went beyond any expectations."

‘Rudolph’ trivia Things you may not have known about the Rankin/Bass TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which first aired in 1964: — “Rudolph” was worked on simultaneously in New York, Japan, Britain and Canada. The concept for the show was developed in New York, the animation was done in Japan, the music was recorded in England and the voice actors were in Canada. — Rudolph’s voice was provided by a woman, Billie Mae Richards. — Each Rankin/Bass “animagic” figure cost $5,000 to make in 1964. The production took 18 months to complete. — The song “We’re a Couple of Misfits” was replaced by “Fame and Fortune” when the special reaired in 1965. An executive with original sponsor General Electric Co. made the decision, though his reasons have never been clear. The change remained in place until 1998, when “Misfits” was put back in. — Many fans ask, “What makes the girl doll that cries on the Island of Misfit Toys a misfit?” Nothing in the script by Romeo Muller gives any indication, but co-producer Arthur Rankin Jr. recently offered this explanation: “She was cast off by her mistress and clinically depressed, and they didn’t have Prozac back then.” — The 1964 edition of the special did not show Santa going back to the Island of Misfit toys to pick up the toys. Viewers wanted to see that and wrote letters, according to Rankin’s producing partner Jules Bass, so the ending we see now with the toys being dropped off Santa’s sleigh with little umbrellas was animated and added in 1965. — Johnny Marks, who wrote the original song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” was Arthur Rankin Jr.’s neighbor in New York.

The firm in Japan that animated the figures likely had a half-dozen replicas of each figure, Rankin said. But he believes any other red-suit Santas and yearling Rudolphs were probably discarded, because the puppets tended to get worn out by the animators.

The firm used the "stop-motion" method — starting and stopping a camera while arms and other parts are moved in tiny increments that appear as fluid movement in the final film.

Kriess bought his pair after he shared photos of them and what he knew about their history with Rankin, who confirmed they had been used in the filming. The sale contract requires that the purchase price and the seller's identity not be revealed, Kriess said.

He took the figures to Los Angeles stop-motion animation studio Screen Novelties International, which restored them. Animal hair was found to match the surviving half of Santa's mustache, and Rudolph's red nose was rewired and now lights again. Kriess said the company did the work mostly as a labor of love and charged only $4,000 for expenses.

A few puppets of other characters are still in the possession of people who worked on the film, said historian Goldschmidt, whose books include "The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Kriess has scheduled more pre-Christmas appearances: in the Chicago area at the Brookfield Zoo and a Borders book store Dec. 8-9, and at Kriess' new brick-and-mortar store at the Monroeville Mall near Pittsburgh the following weekend.

He hopes to make a holiday tradition out of an annual tour, though he acknowledges receiving sometimes-tempting offers for his puppets ranging up to tens of thousands of dollars.

Even if he ever sold them, Kriess said, he would require the buyer to allow him to continue exhibiting the puppets occasionally.

MORE FROM TELEVISION

Television Section Front

TV tours a big attraction for N.Y. tourists Sykes, Lopez set out to fill late-night TV void Surprise birthday party is a disaster on ‘Grey’s Ask Ausiello: Will Chase exit ‘House’? Letterman case inspires ‘Law & Order’ episode Suicide prevention groups protest ‘The Office’ Onion, Comedy Central team on TV pilot Oprah Winfrey pulls BeBe Winans from show John Lithgow’s serial killer soars on ‘Dexter’ ‘Sesame Street’ still Big Bird’s nest after 40 years Television Section Front   Add Television headlines to your news reader: