On this day, December 18, 1966, the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" TV special aired for the first time.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special)



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Original release
Network: CBS
Release: December 18, 1966

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (also known as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!) is a 1966 American animated television special, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones. It is based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, and tells the story of the Grinch, who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and animation divisions of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, where Jones was under contract at the time. The special required 11 to 14 months of production time to complete. Originally telecast in the United States on CBS on Sunday, December 18, 1966, it has gone on to become a perennial holiday special. The special features the voice of Boris Karloff as the Grinch and the narrator.

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Production

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Music

The score consists of 60 musicians playing a 34-piece orchestra with a 12-voice choir. They worked for a total of eight hours. It included three songs: "Trim Up the Tree", "Welcome Christmas", and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". Jones questioned how to make a Christmas special without the typical elements (orthodox religion, Santa, etc.). Jones' answer: "Write our new carols in Seussian Latin. After all, 'Fahoofores, Dahoodores' seems to have as much authenticity as 'Adeste Fideles' to those unauthored in Latin." The song "Trim Up the Tree" was written in a Polka square-dance type form by Albert Hague.

Because Thurl Ravenscroft was not credited in the closing credits of the 1966 television special as the singer of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", it is sometimes attributed to Boris Karloff. In his interview in TNT's In the Making Of: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1994), Ravenscroft revealed that Ted Geisel neglected his screen credit. After becoming aware of this oversight, Seuss himself called Ravenscroft to apologize, and later wrote letters to columnists nationwide telling them that it was Ravenscroft who provided vocals for the musical number.

Soundtrack

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On December 18, 1966, MGM released a soundtrack LP in conjunction with the television special. In the recorded version, Boris Karloff does all voices including Cindy Lou Who. The song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", which comically describes the level of the Grinch's despicable nature, includes all verses with their original rhyming lyrics and the isolated song tracks have different durations due to being re-recorded. On October 3, 1995, Mercury Nashville released the soundtrack on CD for the first time.

On October 5, 1999, Rhino Entertainment released a new CD soundtrack (which included the soundtrack for another Dr. Seuss cartoon, Horton Hears a Who!). Both story collections contain selected dialogue and music numbers. The "isolated music tracks" in this edition are taken directly from the television soundtrack and are not the re-recorded tracks from earlier versions. The dialogues are the originals, being voiced by Boris Karloff for "Grinch" and Hans Conried for "Horton".

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[Delphinus]

1. I wonder

when I first watched it! Not sure we had a TV at that time ...

[revmclaren]

2. I was 7 and thought it was one of the

greatest things I had ever seen.

Have watched it almost every Christmas since. Missed it a few times while working in Yosemite.

Have it on DVD.

[EYESORE 9001]

3. I was 9

Pretty sure I saw it the first time around - in color, no less!

[Aristus]

4. I still cry when the Grinch's heart grows three sizes.

That beaming look in his eyes illustrates that his heart grows because, for the first time in his life, he is truly happy.

Tears.

Every time.

[ChazInAz]

5. It's the only Christmas show that I like.

Never cared for the genre, but I was eagerly awaiting this one's premier. That Summer I had met and talked at length with Karloff...chiefly about being physically handicapped (As we both were.) and having a theatre career. He mentioned that he'd recently finished doing the voice work for this.
The kindness and patience this wonderful old player had for a gawky teenage fan boy is one of my fondest memories. My entire career as an actor was the result of that chance encounter.
That man was a mensch!

[AllaN01Bear]

6. i flt sorry for max the dog. but he came back for unconditinal love.