Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Celebrates 75th Anniversary

Aired November 18, 2001 - 08:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: We mentioned the cold snap heading down for much of the nation. There is another reminder that Christmas and the holidays are in the air, and that's when all eyes turn skyward to Macy's high-flying Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event has become such a seasonal staple that in New York, the store is offering its own glimpse of the parades through the years.

Here are some of the sights and sounds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN HALL, MACY'S PARADE DIRECTOR: The first parade was called Macy's Christmas Parade. It later became -- evolved into Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. These windows compress two decades into each window. So the highlights of the '20s and '30s are in this first window. And actually, a lot of what we see here are elements of the very first parade, which was 1924.

These balloons are actually balloons from the very first parade. We have Santa, we have the elf, we have the toy soldier and we have this wonderful Felix balloon.

These are all balloons from the '40s. You'll see Harold the Fireman behind us. And this year, we will have a New York Fire Department helmet on as a special tribute to the heroes of September 11.

The gentleman who played Santa Claus in "The Miracle on 34th Street," which is the movie that sort of planted the seed in America's brain about the Thanksgiving Day Parade forever, because that movie actually occurred before this thing was broadcast nationally. Edmund Gwenn is actually in this window.

These are the '50s and the '60s. We have Cinderella, we have Roy Rogers, we have the wonderful aviator, Snoopy, in the window.

This is a Times Square setting, and this is the '70s and the '80s. And this is really the era when the parade was -- when the modern parade emerged.

This window represents the 1990s to 2001, which is this year. It actually features a lot of the elements of this year. But a lot of these elements are linked to the other decades of the parade. Tony Bennett was in the parade in the '60s. Well, he's coming back this year because he's part of our homecoming for the 75th anniversary.

There's the wonderful new Big Bird balloon, and Curious George is going to be at the head of the balloons -- the parade this year.

This window is about the biggest star in every Macy's parade. He's been there since the first year, he's here today. He is the real, the genuine, the absolutely positively identified Chris Kringle.

Everybody has their favorite balloons. Everybody has their favorite float. Everybody has a favorite memory of the parade. They will find them somewhere along this wonderful parade route that we've created in front of Harold Square here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com