TV Trivia - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Grinch is a favorite Christmas character for many and thankfully it is shown in its original 1966 version every year. Although in 2000 Ron Howard directed his successful movie starring Jim Carey, the television special cannot be replaced.

Synopsis

The Grinch learns the meaning of Christmas after attempting to steal the holiday away from the Whovilles

History

The book had been in circulation since the mid-fifties when Chuck Jones finally convinced his good friend Theodore Giesel or Dr. Seuss to allow the Grinch to make his screen debut.

• Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss met when they were both a part of the Armed Forces Motion Picture Unit in World War II under Frank Capra who made his own Christmas movie a year after the war. It's a wonderful life (1946).
• Theodore Giesel was part of the animation division and he worked on bringing the character Private Snafu into reality.
• Series of movies made with Private Snafu- a character who was supposed to show the recruits how not to go things with his mistakes was directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Bob Clamplet of Bugs Bunny, "Tweety and Slyvestor"; and "Yosemite Sam" fame respectively.
• Voice sounded a bit like Bunny Bugs because it's the same voice

Movie trivia

• Christmas song was fake Latin and people actually wrote to Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones to inquire what it meant
• Dr Seuss was particular about color of his illustrations.
• The Grinch was changed from black to green
• The face was changed. Dr. Seuss claimed it looked a lot like Chuck Jones.
• The story might have been a piece of German immigrants in America and how they were mistreated.

The participants

The Narrator
Boris Karloff- Born in England as William Pratt he was destined to be a diplomat but he ended up acting on stage in Canada where his stage name became Boris Karloff.

• Known for his horror movies including Frankenstein and Scarface
• Has the same birthday as his only child Sarah
• Dr. Seuss thought he would be too scary but Chuck Jones loved his voice and thought it had a depth and warmth to it

Thurl Ravenstock originally from Nebraska, sang the song "You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch."

• He didn't get credit for it and the credits read "sounds of Mr Grinch- Boris Karloff" so Dr. Seuss made sure that he mentioned his name as the singer to various newspapers.
• Sang the theme song for the 1950 show Zorro, was a voice in the 1971 movie version of the Cat in the Hat.
• He was Tony the Tiger's voice in the commercial.

Co-Director
Ben Washam

• Worked on a number of bugs bunny shows with Chuck Jones
• Worked on another of Dr. Seuss's adaptations-"Horton hears a Who".
• Died in 1984

Composer
Author Hague

• He was an actor and composer. In his last movie, he played a doctor in The Story of Us with Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis in 1999.
• He wrote "Young and Foolish" for the Broadway Show "Plain and Fancy". The song was recorded by people such as Nancy Wilson and Tony Bennett

Cindy Lou Who
June Foray

• Best known as the voice of the Rocket J Squirrel in Boris and Natasha
• She did another project of Dr Seuss work adapted into animations. She was Jane Kangaroo on "Horton hears a Who," a 1970's special where she was reunited with Chuck Jones (the director) and Thurl ravenstock (Wickershams brother)
• She played grandma in Tweety and Sylvestor. She has done parts in the Powerpuff Girls, Rugrats and the Flintstones. She was Grandma Fa in the legend of Mulan.
• Worked with Jonny Carson on a variety show before he did The Tonite Show
• She tours talking to people about the business

Chuck Jones

• Chuck Jones worked with Bill Mendelez (director producer on A Charlie Brown Christmas special a year earlier 1965)
• Director, producer, writer, actor among other things. Worked on over four hundred projects in his lifetime before he died in 2002
• Played a part in Steven Spielberg's Gremlins
• He was a part of Walt Disney initially but moved onto Warner brothers
• Daffy duck's voice was inspired by his boss Leon Schlesinger

Dr. Seuss

The creator of the Grinch was born in Massachusetts in 1904.

- Name Theodore Geisel. His middle name and his mothers name is Seuss.
• Credits his mother for his style of rhyming. His mother was a daughter of a baker and she used rhymes to remember orders.
• Father's side came from a long line of German brew masters. During the prohibition, times were rough and being a German immigrant was also an added burden.
• The name Seuss became his pen name when in college the role of editor in chief of the newspaper was taken away because he and some friends threw a drink party during prohibition and against school policy. He wrote under the name of Seuss.
• A very politically conscious person. Many things he wrote and drew were about something. After working in advertising he spent some time making cartoons for a liberal newspaper in New York urging for participation in the War in Europe.
• Worked in the war under Frank Capra in the animation unit -created the character Private Snafu.
• "Horton Hears a Who" is meant to be an allegory about post war Japan and lending a helping hand.
• A Cat in a Hat was a response to a literacy campaign.
• Died in 1991 and is survived by his wife Audrey Geisel.

More information can be found at:

http://www.seussville.com/