Autographed Miser Brothers Postcards Back In Stock!

			We once again have Miser Brothers postcards available for purchase in our online store!
	Be sure to get your Miser Brothers postcard featuring art by Rankin/Bass character designer Paul Coker! These great postcards are printed in two colors and are individually hand signed by Paul himself! A rankinbass.com exclusive ~ you won't find these anywhere else! Order yours today! CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR SHOP!

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: Behind The Scenes Update!
	It has been a few years since I wrote the first two parts of my TV PARTY articles and I thought it was time for an update. In fact, the TV PARTY articles prompted the release of my book THE MAKING OF THE RANKIN/BASS HOLIDAY CLASSIC: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (MISER BROS PRESS) in 2001 and this article is even an update to my book. In the last few years there have been photos that have been found, ANIMAGIC figures discovered and RUDOLPH even celebrated his 40th TV Birthday. There have been many bad things related to the classic RANKIN/BASS RUDOLPH TV Special and many good things as well, let's start with the bad things and end with the good!
	In 1998 CLASSIC MEDIA and then President ALEXANDER DROSIN asked ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. to do an introduction for the DVD release of both RUDOLPH and FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. Arthur Rankin graciously agreed to participate in exchange for the RANKIN/BASS name to be carried on the DVD front cover (Which it was). ARTHUR could be seen in this introduction holding my book THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO discussing the story of RUDOLPH complete with BEHIND THE SCENES photos provided by myself at no charge to see this type of extra reach the DVD for the fans of RANKIN/BASS and RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. I also provided the front cover image for the DVD release for little cost and a photo credit on the back cover of the DVD.
	While the 1998 release of the DVD was not completely loaded with extras, it did have a re-mastered FAME & FORTUNE, an NBC TV Promo from1966 and the ARTHUR RANKIN Introduction, which made for a nice package. In 2003, ARTHUR RANKIN was honored with a night in his honor at the NEW YORK MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO. Mr. Rankin graciously had me fly out and participate in this GREAT event in RANKIN/BASS history. When I arrived in New York, we both learned that the DVD covers no longer had the RANKIN/BASS name on the front covers. It seemed odd and Mr. Rankin was told it was a mistake that would be corrected the following year. Meanwhile, ALEXANDER DROSIN had left the company and new people moved in....none showed up to the MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO event. In 2004, not only was the mistake on the front DVD cover not corrected BUT a DESTINY'S CHILD DVD and CD were added to the RUDOLPH DVD and the special even aired a second time on CBS with the DESTINY'S CHILD video over the ending of the classic special!?!? I will never forget MAURY LAWS' reaction of disbelief to this mess. Needless to say, the 2005 release of the RANKIN/BASS RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER DVD no longer has the ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. introduction on the single DVD or the Box set (Which is in a book type packaging). This is a shame for RANKIN/BASS collector's that didn't already have the DVD and makes no sense what so ever to try to get people to re-buy the DVD. Some fans are e-mailing me and telling me that scenes have been deleted from the 2005 DVD release and when it was broadcast on CBS this year, as so called "HIGH DEFINITION," the soundtrack to the song "WE'RE A COUPLE OF MISFITS" was put with the animation sequence of "FAME & FORTUNE" and it didn't match up. The musical section of "WE ARE SANTA'S ELVES" was missing again too? Obviously this restoration was done by people who don't care and have no knowledge of the classic special. It doesn't even sound like they had my book. The PEPPERMINT MINE sequence has still not aired on CBS. It hasn't been seen on the networks since 1964 and I am not even sure if it is on the 2005 release of the DVD.
	There is also a backstory to this. In 2001, I heard from BERNARD COWAN's son Elliot. BERNARD COWAN was the voice actor Supervisor for the early RANKIN/BASS Specials and series and even assembled the staff of these GREAT actors in CANADA. Ellie is a film maker and has many RARE photos that his dad took at the RUDOLPH sessions and even unused dialogue and DEMOS of the songs. The SAM THE SNOWMAN songs were originally recorded by LARRY D. MANN (Yukon Cornelius) and he also Provided the dialogue for SAM.
	Elliot made a valiant effort at trying to get CLASSIC MEDIA to do a MAKING OF special for the DVD release and even possibly for CBS. He is based in CANADA and could interview the surviving actors and assemble the whole thing. As you know, this never happened. It fell on deaf ears at CLASSIC MEDIA. They and SONY felt the DESTINY'S CHILD thing served this classic special much better than a DOCUMENTARY of the original Creators and the cast that has made it last for 40 + years! Now on to some of the good news! BILLIE MAE RICHARDS and I became GREAT friends shortly after the MAKING OF RUDOLPH book was released. She loved the book and even tried to get her neighbor PAUL SOLES (Hermey the elf) to come around to enjoying his RUDOLPH fame. BILLIE MAE and I appeared on many Radio shows together in 2002-2004 and she could still do the voice. She was also featured in the CHICAGO TRIBUNE and TV GUIDE. In late 2005, Billie Mae suffered a stroke and is in the process of rehabilitation at age 85. Our prayers are with her. I am hopeful we will be talking about RUDOLPH again in 2006 together! Many of the photos you see here in this PART 3 are new and recently discovered shots that did not make my book. A few even came from an old NBC TV executive who sold slides on EBAY. We also found an extremely RARE 45 single release of BURL IVES "Holly Jolly Christmas" from DECCA RECORDS. This cover is even better than the LP cover. The biggest piece of good news comes in the form of the discovery and purchase of the original ANIMAGIC figures of RUDOLPH and SANTA in November, 2005 by www.timeandspacetoys.com. KEVIN KREISS, owner of TIMEANDSPACETOYS.COM purchased the original figures from a private seller who had an aunt that worked as ARTHUR RANKIN's secretary for some years. She brought home the cast of characters from the office during one of the moves they made in New York. The figures were put out at CHRISTMAS around the family tree and even played with by the children. They were also stored in an attic and the other characters like SAM THE SNOWMAN and YUKON CORNELIUS were melted together and disgarded. At least RUDOLPH and SANTA survived and are well on their way to restoration. I have contacted some of the original ANIMAGIC technicians mto get parts made for these weathered guys and we'll see if we can get them back to 1964 shape. There is a possibility that they may be used for replications that may be sold at some point. They will also be traveling around to various shows at the TIMEANDSPACETOYS.COM booth for all RANKIN/BASS fans to enjoy, such as WIZARD WORLD in Chicago. They made their debut at a convention in PA a few weeks ago.
	The future of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER is not exactly guided by a red lit nose these days BUT I will make sure that people don't forget about the creators ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. and JULES BASS and all the GREAT people that made the special last like ROMEO MULLER, MAURY LAWS, JOHNNY MARKS, TONY PETERS, BILLIE MAE RICHARDS, PAUL SOLES, LARRY D. MANN, BILL GILES, KYOKO KITA, BARNARD COWAN, ALFIE SCOPP, PAUL KLIGMAN, HOROSHI TABATA, TAD MOCHINAGA, ICHIRO KOMURO, ROBERT MAY, JANIS ORENSTEIN, CARL BANAS, PEG DIXON, CORRINE CONLEY, LARRY ROEMER and the many Japanese Animators at MOM Studios. These are the people responsible for the longest running, highest rated TV Special of all-time! I have done about 100 radio and TV interviews for the Holidays of 2005 and these people are the ones I talk about. The Heart and the Warmth that makes this show a part of many families' lives, generation after generation comes from this group of people and no one can take that away from them! No one! Rick Goldschmidt RANKIN/BASS Historian/Biographer
	To read this article and Part 4 at tvparty.com with more rare photos as well as some Q & A... CLICK HERE! (Along with RICK's PART 3 ARTICLE on RUDOLPH at TVPARTY.COM, he is also updating his articles on GARFIELD GOOSE & FRIENDS, BOZO'S CIRCUS, BJ & DIRTY DRAGON and RAY RAYNER in preparation for a book on CHICAGO KID'S TV.)

Return To Oz and Festival of Family Classics on DVD!

			Rankin/Bass' RETURN TO OZ and two episodes of FESTIVAL OF FAMILY CLASSICS have finally been released on disc! The FOFC episodes are 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Around The World In 80 Days! Click the pics for more info or to order at Deep Discount DVD!