1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: a show that dares to touch history without the aid 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: of a thirty nine and a half foot poll. I'm 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: Gabe Bluesier, and today we're talking about the time when 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: the Grinch tried to stop Christmas from coming and forever 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: linked himself with the holiday in the process. The day 8 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: was December nineteen sixty six. Dr Seuss How the Grinch 9 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: Stole Christmas aired for the very first time on CBS. 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: The special, directed by Chuck Jones and Ben Washam, is 11 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: fondly remembered for its expressive animation and clever songwriting, as 12 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: well as for its message of kindness over commercialism. It 13 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: tells the story of a grumpy mountain dwelling hermit known 14 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: simply as the Grinch. Annoyed by his Christmas loving neighbors 15 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 1: in the town below, the Grinch decides to ruin their 16 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: holiday so that he can mope around in peace. His 17 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: plan is nearly thwarted along the way by a surprise 18 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: encounter with the adorable Cindy lou Who, but the Grinch 19 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: recovers and manages to steal all the trappings of Christmas. However, 20 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: the Grinch later has a change of heart, or more precisely, 21 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 1: a growth of heart, when he sees proof that the 22 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: holiday wasn't as hollow as it had looked from a distance. 23 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: Softened by this realization, he returns all the stolen goods 24 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: and joins the residents of Whoville for a grand holiday feast. 25 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: The How the Grinch Stole Christmas TV special was based 26 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: on the nine and story of the same name by 27 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: Theodore Ted Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss. In an 28 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: interview with Red Book Magazine upon the book's release, the 29 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: author revealed that the character of the Grinch was actually 30 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: based on himself, As he explained, quote, I was brushing 31 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: my teeth on the morning of the six of last 32 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: December when I noted a very grinch ish countenance in 33 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: the mirror. It was SEUs. Something had gone wrong with Christmas, 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: I realized, or more likely with me. So I wrote 35 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: the story about my sour friend the Grinch, to see 36 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I lost. 37 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: It took the author just a few weeks to sort 38 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: out the problem and the story, with Geissel later describing 39 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: it as the easiest book to write of his whole career. 40 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: How the Grinch Stole Christmas was well received upon relief, 41 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: and the book continues to be a top seller over 42 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: sixty years later. But it was the TV special in 43 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties that gave the story a wider audience 44 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,239 Speaker 1: and made the Grinch a true icon of Christmas, right 45 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: up there with Frosty and Rudolph. NBC had launched the 46 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: trend of animated holiday specials when they aired Mr. Magoose 47 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: Christmas Carol in nineteen sixty two. The network followed it 48 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: two years later with the stop motion classic Rudolph the 49 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: Red Nosed Reindeer, and that's when things really started to 50 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: heat up. In nineteen sixty five, CBS jumped on the 51 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: holiday special bandwagon with a Charlie Brown Christmas, and a 52 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: year later it was the Grinches turn. The project began 53 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: not with the MGM Studio or the CBS network, but 54 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: with legendary cartoon animator and director Chuck Jones. He felt 55 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: The Grinchest Worry was perfectly suited for its own animated special, 56 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: a project he took on while under contract with MGM. 57 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: Jones had actually worked with Ted Geisel. Years earlier, during 58 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 1: World War Two, Geissl had served as commander of the 59 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: animation department for the Army's first motion picture unit. In 60 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: that role, he worked closely with Jones, who was still 61 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: under contracted Warner Brothers, on a humorous instructional cartoon series 62 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: called Private Snaff Foo. The black and white shorts featured 63 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 1: the bumbling title character trying and often failing, to demonstrate 64 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: the dues and don't of Army safety and security protocol. 65 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: The shorts were originally classified for military personnel only, but 66 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: they've since been released to the public and are definitely 67 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: worth a look for fans of either artists. It was 68 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: because of this prior working relationship that Geisel ultimately a 69 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: read to grant Jones the rights to make an animated 70 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: Grinch special for television. The author had been burned by 71 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: adaptations of his work before, including one production that had 72 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: left his name out of the credits. The experiences had 73 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: soured his view of Hollywood and made him reluctant to 74 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: part with the screen rights for his books. But in 75 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: the end, Geisel couldn't refuse a personal request from an 76 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: old collaborator, and with Jones at the Helm, he knew 77 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: his story would be in good hands. However, getting Geisel 78 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: on board was only half the battle for Jones. He 79 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: still needed to convince CBS to air the special, and 80 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: to do that he would first have to find a 81 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: sponsor to cover the production costs. At the time, television 82 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 1: specials weren't funded by studios and production companies like they 83 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: are today. Instead, the projects were paid for by company sponsors, 84 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: like when Coca Cola sponsored the Peanut It's Christmas Special. 85 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: Jones made storyboards to show his intentions for the special 86 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: and pitched them to over two dozen companies, none of 87 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: whom we're willing to pony up the cash. Finally, at 88 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: the eleventh hour, Jones found a sponsor in of all things, 89 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: the Foundation for Commercial Banks. The director later remarked on 90 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: the irony of the endorsement, saying, quote, I thought that 91 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: was very odd because one of the great lines in 92 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: there is that the Grinch says, perhaps Christmas doesn't come 93 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: from a store. I never thought of a banker endorsing 94 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: that kind of a line, but they overlooked it, so 95 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: we went ahead and made the picture. It was no 96 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: small investment either. All told, the twenty six minutes special 97 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: costs more than three hundred thousand dollars to make, which 98 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: would be nearly two and a half million dollars today. 99 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,559 Speaker 1: For reference, Charlie Brown Christmas had a budget of about 100 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: nine six thousand dollars. Spending three times that amount on 101 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 1: a special of the same length was unprecedented, but the 102 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: money was put to good use. The substantial budget allowed 103 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: for more detailed animation and higher production values than other 104 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: TV cartoons of the era apologies to Peanuts. The extra 105 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: money came in handy because Jones and his fellow animators 106 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: had to fill in a lot of missing details when 107 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: adapting The Grinch for television. The original book had been 108 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: illustrated with simple line drawings and a limited color palette 109 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: consisting mostly of black and white, with occasional splashes of 110 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: light pink and red. Jones knew the two tone style 111 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't fly for a TV special, so one of the 112 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: first changes he made was to color The Grinch green. 113 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: He reportedly chose the now iconic shade because all of 114 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: his rental cars in Washington State had been same ugly 115 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: green color. Geisel approved of the change, but when Jones 116 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: first showed him the new design, the author exclaimed, that 117 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: doesn't look like the Grinch. That looks like you. Jones, 118 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: who had often used his own gestures and expressions as 119 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: models for his characters, replied, well it happens. Aside from 120 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,679 Speaker 1: fleshing out the illustrated world of the story, Chuck Jones 121 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: also had to supply new story details in order to 122 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: fill out the twenty six minute runtime. The entire text 123 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: of the book was incorporated in the special, with a 124 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: few minor tweaks here and there, but it only takes 125 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: about twelve minutes to read the whole book out loud. 126 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: Jones came up with a few solutions for extending the story. 127 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: The first was to beef up the role of Max. 128 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: The grinch is long suffering dog and only companion. Jones 129 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: viewed Max as the stand in for the audience, a 130 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: disapproving observer who is powerless to stop the Grinch's scheme, 131 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: but hoped it would fail all the same. The other 132 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: additions to the story were three songs featuring lyrics penned 133 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: by Dr Seuss himself. One of those songs, titled Welcome Christmas, 134 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: was written in what Jones referred to as Susian Latin. 135 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: This was an attempt to write a new secular carol 136 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: that mimic the sounds of a classical religious carol, such 137 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: as Oddiste fidelis, or, as it's known in English, Oh 138 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:39,719 Speaker 1: Come all ye faithful. Jones didn't think it mattered that 139 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: their carol was composed of nonsense words, because, as he 140 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: put it, quote fa who for as dahu doores seems 141 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: to have as much authenticity as adeste fidelis to those 142 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: unauthored in Latin. The director was later proven right on 143 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: the matter because after the special aired, numerous viewers wrote 144 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: to CBS requesting translations of the quote unquote Latin lyrics. 145 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: Another of the special's original songs is Trim Up the 146 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: Tree with Christmas Stuff, a jaunty square dance style number 147 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: written by German composer Albert Hague. It's a delightful, tongue 148 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,559 Speaker 1: twisting ode to the excesses of Christmas celebration and probably 149 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: the only song ever written that encourages the listener to 150 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,599 Speaker 1: quote hang dang danglars on the bathtub and trim the 151 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: occupant with fluke. There's not a bad track in the special, 152 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: but the standout is, of course, you're a mean one. 153 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: Mr Grinch, while the other two songs were sung by 154 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 1: an uncredited chorus representing the who's of Whoville. You're a 155 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: Mean One was sung by Thorough ravens Croft. You may 156 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: not know the name, but you certainly know his booming voice, 157 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 1: which he lent to the Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the 158 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: Tiger for more than fifty years. Thurle was also a 159 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: frequent voiceover artist for many classic attractions at Disneyland, including 160 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,679 Speaker 1: The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and my personal favorite, 161 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. Thurle didn't receive an on 162 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: screen credit for singing You're a Mean One, and as 163 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: a result, most viewers mistakenly thought it was sung by 164 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: the special's narrator, Boris Karloff. Geissl, who had gone through 165 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: the experience of not getting a credit, tried to correct 166 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:44,199 Speaker 1: the oversight. He encouraged columnists to credit Thurle in their publications, 167 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: But going off of the continued misattribution, I'm guessing the 168 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: effort to get the word out wasn't very effective. It 169 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: likely didn't help that many critics of the time gave 170 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: the special a lukewarm review for in stants. One critic 171 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: could only muster enough enthusiasm to say it was quote 172 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 1: probably as good as most of the other holiday cartoons. 173 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: I can't see why anybody would dislike it. Others said 174 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: the specials themes were two on the nose and that 175 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: a lot of the magic had been lost in the 176 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: stories translation from page to screen. The New York Times 177 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: was especially protective of the Sacred Susian text, calling it 178 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: quote a creation that should be left undisturbed on the 179 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: printed page. In the end, it didn't really matter what 180 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 1: the critics thought. The special's premiere was watched by thirty 181 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: eight million viewers and has since gone on to become 182 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: required holiday viewing for millions of families worldwide. The Grinch 183 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: proved so popular that CBS eventually commissioned two more specials 184 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: featuring the character. The first, a prequel called Halloween Is 185 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: Inch Night, premiered in nineteen seventy seven, and the second 186 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: a crossover called The Grinch Grinches, the Cat and the 187 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 1: Hat in two. Both specials went on to win Emmy Awards, 188 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: but neither became a perennial classic. Like the original, The 189 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: Grinch may have failed to steal Christmas, but he succeeded 190 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: in stealing the public's heart, something he seems destined to 191 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: hold onto for years and years to come. I'm Gabe 192 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: Louisier and hopefully you now know a little more about 193 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to 194 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 195 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t D I HC Show. You can 196 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: also write to us at this day at I heart 197 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: media dot com. I'd love to know what kind of 198 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,559 Speaker 1: Christmas stuff you trim up your tree with. I'm partial 199 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,160 Speaker 1: to whiffer blufs myself, but I'd never say no to 200 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: a good Pantucca. Thanks to Chandler Mace for producing the show, 201 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 202 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another Day in History class. For more 203 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 204 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.