“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” airs tonight on CBS!  And here are some things you might not know about this perennial classic about a pair of “misfits”:

-The special originally aired on NBC, not CBS.  In fact, “Rudolph” hopped networks in the early 70s.

-“Rudolph” was originally an episode of “The General Electric Fantasy Hour”, a family anthology series that offered a variety of live action and animated programs for all ages.

-The ending of the show, where Rudolph and Santa rescue the Misfit Toys, was not in the first broadcast of “Rudolph”!  Viewers wrote the sponsor and the network, demanding to see a happy ending for the Cowboy Who Rides An Ostrich, the Charlie-In-A-Box, etc.  A new ending was written and animated for the show’s second broadcast in 1965, and that’s the ending we’ve seen every year since.

-In its first airing, Santa’s elves pulled double duty–as toymakers and commercial pitchmen!  You’ll see for yourself in this clip, which recreates what that very first broadcast would have looked like, starting with a promo that aired leading up to the show.