Rankin/Bass’ ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ Makes a Triumphant Return to NBC for 60th Anniversary

On December 6th, 1964, Rankin/Bass Productions’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the longest-running, highest-rated television special of all time, premiered in the late afternoon during the General Electric Fantasy Hour. But how did Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass get their landmark TV special on NBC?

After producer Arthur Rankin, Jr. produced the syndicated series, The New Adventures of Pinocchio (shot in Animagic like Rudolph) and The Tales of the Wizard of Oz (shot in traditional cel animation), he was looking for a different way of conducting business. He had financed the two series with bank loans and borrowed money from friends, and wasn’t seeing much of a return.