from Chris
It was fifty-eight years ago, in 1957, that one of modern literature’s favorite holiday characters made his first appearance.
The idea came one December 26th when Theodore Geisel—better known as Dr. Seuss—looked in the mirror. “Something had gone wrong with Christmas,” Seuss later wrote. “or, more likely with me. So I wrote the story about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that I’d obviously lost.”
The result, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, has become an enduring holiday favorite.
“The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!/Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.”
But the central question at the heart of the book is, “What does Christmas really mean?”
The Grinch thinks it’s about presents and food, so he steals them all to prevent Christmas from coming to the little town of Whoville. But just as he’s about to dump everything off a mountaintop, he hears the residents of Whoville singing in celebration that Christmas has arrived—Grinch or not.
In the end, the Grinch discovers the true meaning of Christmas, he brings back all the toys, and he joins the Whos for their Christmas feast of “roast beast.”
The book turned out to be one of Dr. Seuss’s most popular.
In 1966, on December 18, CBS premiered the Grinch TV special. Dr. Seuss collaborated with acclaimed animator Chuck Jones to bring the Grinch to life. It was there that the Grinch took on his green hue for the first time.
Boris Karloff, best known as the actor who played Frankenstein’s monster back in the 1930s, narrated the special and provided the Grinch’s voice.
The deep voice that sings “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” was provided by Thurl Ravenscroft—who also did the voice for Tony the Tiger in Frosted Flakes commercials.
The Grinch later went on to appear in two other TV specials—winning Emmy and Peabody Awards—and he’s even appeared on the silver screen. But it will always be Dr. Seuss’s original book that will charm and delight Grinch fans the most.