Robert May would later confess that he was influenced by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling, and by his own childhood experiences (he was shy and not well-liked as a schoolboy), when he created his Christmas story. He decided his story would be about an underdog who eventually triumphed, but how he ended up deciding upon a physically deformed reindeer remains a mystery. [1]
The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer originated in a poem written in 1939 by 34-year-old Robert L. May, who was Jewish. May was a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago, and he was given the task of creating a Christmas story that could be used as a promotional giveaway for the store’s customers.
Nearly a year beforehand, the department store, in preparation for Christmas 1939, assigned the task of crafting an original holiday story for marketing purposes to May. Despite facing personal challenges, such as his wife’s battle with cancer and her eventual passing in July 1939, May persevered with the assignment. Given the option to abandon the project, he found comfort in the narrative, inspired by his young daughter’s love for reindeer at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
May’s poem tells the story of a young reindeer who is born with a bright red nose that glows. He considered naming the reindeer “Rollo” or “Reginald” before deciding on the name “Rudolph” and the poem was completed by August 1939. Montgomery Ward transformed it into a 32-page booklet illustrated by Denver Gillen and distributed it for free to children—a meaningful gesture during a time when the country was still grappling with the aftermath of the Great Depression. The company generously gave away over 2.4 million copies that season.
The character gained further popularity when May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, adapted the story into a song in 1949. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and became a massive hit. Subsequently, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has become a beloved Christmas character, inspiring various adaptations, including animated TV specials and movies.
Read The Original Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
See the original sketches and layout for Robert May’s Christmas story featuring the now-iconic red-nosed reindeer. Click the audio button on this page to hear May’s daughter, Barbara May Lewis, read from the original publication of the famous book.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Theatrical cartoon short
Rudolph made his first screen appearance in 1948, in a cartoon short produced by Max Fleischer for the Jam Handy Corporation that was more faithful to May’s original story than Marks’ song, which had not yet been written. It was reissued in 1951 with the song added.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Song
May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, adapted the story of Rudolph into a song. Gene Autry’s recording of the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949. Autry’s recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year, eventually selling a total of 25 million, and it remained the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s.
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