(Jim Hill’s article appeared in the Huffington Post, 12/10; via Pam Green.)
Here's a challenge for all of you Christmas trivia buffs out there: Name the first-ever animated holiday special produced especially for television.
If you were thinking Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you'd be wrong. That much-beloved Rankin-Bass production didn't debut on NBC until December 6, 1964. Likewise A Charlie Brown Christmas (That Peabody Award-winning program didn't premiere on CBS 'til December 9, 1965) and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (This Chuck Jones-directed holiday favorite didn't bow on the Tiffany Network until December 18, 1966).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/mr-magoos-christmas-carol_b_6305378.html