Yesterday marked the anniversary of the 1964 debut of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on NBC. (It was later moved to CBS.) The holiday special produced by Rankin/Bass is the longest running show of its type. It is a personal favorite of mine and one of the few programs I've purchased in both VHS and DVD formats.
Two of its stars, Santa and the titular Rudolph, were recently restored to their original glory. It seems that the puppets were saved from the Japanese animation studio's dumpster by a Rankin/Bass employee and gifted to a family with young children. The two were used as toys for several years before becoming holiday decorations. Rudolf was actually kept in a candy dish near the end of his decorating tenure. Due to the abuse these two took over the years, they were retired to the attic for being unattractive.
In 2005, the two puppets were purchased by a toy collector. The collector hired an artist to restore the pair. The above photo was taken after a recent unveiling. One would be hard pressed to find evidence of the stain on Santa's face, the mold under his beard, or his two broken legs. The poor guy was even missing half his mustache. Rudolf fared no better better than his jolly friend. The cloven-hooved wonder had a broken neck and couldn't hold his head up. His trademark nose had been lost and replaced with Play-Doh and candle wax.
The restorer commented that the job was very rewarding and stressful. She felt she was holding her own childhood in her hands as she worked. The worst part for her was having to behead Ruddy in order to replace a control wire in his neck.
By the looks of it, she's done a wonderful job. My inner 5-year-old approves.
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