Circa
By Connie Swaim
In December of 1966 I was 6 years old. Did I tune in to the first airing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!? I have no idea. I called Mom, but she can’t remember either. It is hard to believe the TV show turns 40 this year and next year, Dr. Seuss’ beloved book about the true meaning of Christmas turns 50. In honor of these birthdays the 26-minute special has been remastered for the first time and is available in a 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition DVD. I can’t remember a time when the Grinch wasn’t around, so even if I didn’t watch it that first year in 1966, I saw it enough times over the years for it to become etched in my memory. I loved the television version so much, that I never went to see the theatrical release starring Jim Carrey which came out a few years ago. For me, Boris Karloff will always be the sound of the Grinch. USA Today had an article about the Grinch anniversaries last week. The article said the animated special averages 6.4 million viewers each airing. Now, that’s a lot of people who hopefully are learning that maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Seuss was 53 years old when he wrote the Grinch. He chose Chuck Jones, the animator behind Bugs Bunny and the Roadrunner to bring the story to television. According to a story which aired on NPR in December of 2002, Jones and Seuss first met during World War II when they collaborated on a series of military training films. We have Jones to thank for making the Grinch green. In the book he was drawn only in black and white. In a 1996 NPR interview, Jones said the Grinch in the cartoon did not quite look like the Grinch Seuss had drawn. Jones said he put some of his own facial features in the television version. The television version also had songs, whose lyrics were written by Seuss as well as the addition of some text, which Seuss wrote. When I decided to box up my Dr. Seuss collection, several of my Grinches remained out. I just have a special fondness for the fellow. Before we put up our Christmas tree last weekend, I had my 4ft tall Grinch that was a Hallmark exclusive peaking out the front window. Now, he stands beside the tree. I have several other Grinches under and around the tree, plus I keep one in my office. I may not actively collect Seuss anymore, but I still love both the Grinch and the Lorax. I decided to see how the Grinch was faring this season on eBay. There were hundreds and hundreds of listings in completed auctions, but most of them were for newer items. T-shirts with the Grinch and Grinch slippers from Universal Studios were all selling well and consistently. The Grinch slippers were averaging $50 a set and various T-shirts were selling from $9.99 to $25. My 4ft tall Grinch, which was only available via a drawing at Hallmark stores in 2000 sold recently for $165.08, plus $38 in shipping. I lucked out and happened upon a Hallmark store the day after Christmas which had its Grinch for sale and it was half off. I think I ended up paying $50 for it, or maybe $75, I’ll have to dig out the column I originally wrote about it and find out. Anyway, I know it was less than $200. The most expensive item which drew an actual winning bid to sell recently was a first edition of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It sold for $1,500. I think I had better find a copy of the book First Editions of Dr. Seuss Books: A Guide to Identification and go through my box full of Seuss books. I have some early printings, but I have no idea if I have any first editions. The Grinch pictured with this column was a 1997 or ’98 Macy’s exclusive and a kind reader sent me one. A Macy’s example sold on eBay for $9.99, plus $10 shipping. Unfortunately, the heart on my example no longer lights up and I took the mini book off his hand so it wouldn’t get damaged. As I was decorating our Christmas tree this year I came upon two boxed sets of Grinch Hallmark ornaments. One from 1999 is the Hallmark Keepsake Merry Grinchmas and is a set of three miniature ornaments. It originally sold for $19.95, and one sold on eBay a few weeks ago for $11.03, plus $4.50 shipping. I didn’t put mine on the tree this year as the ornaments are tiny and I always worry I’ll forget to take them off and throw them away with the tree. The other Hallmark Grinch ornament I have is from 1998 and shows the Grinch with his dog Max. It was selling online for $20.50, plus $4.05 shipping. One of the most interesting things I found in my Internet search of Grinch trivia is that there is now a play based on the book at the Hilton Theater in New York City. A set of eight tickets sold on eBay for $660. If you can’t get enough Grinch trivia, here is some more. June Foray is the voice of Cindy Lou Who. While Foray may not be as well-known as Mel Blanc, she is just as famous as a voice artist. Her most recognized voice is that of Rocky the Flying Squirrel from Rocky and Bullwinkle. According to the Internet Movie Database, www.imbd.com, her most recent work includes Disney’s animated Mulan films (1998 and 2004) as Grandma Fa, and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle in 2000. While many people think the song You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch was sung by Boris Karloff, it was really done by voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft is most well known as the voice of Tony the Tiger. The book has rarely been translated to other languages because of its demanding meter, according to the Grinch listing on Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org. However, a Latin translation was prepared by Jennifer Morrish Tunberg with the help of Terence Tunberg.
"Fortasse," inquit "Laetitia diei festi ex ipsis muneribus non proficiscitur..." "Fortasse," inquit Grinchus, "Laetitia diei festi non est res empticia, non est res quaestuosa!" or in English: "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store." "Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"
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