Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV Special) - Cast of Characters

Cast of Characters

The character Rudolph was voiced by Billie Mae Richards, later credited as Billy Richards. The story, by Romeo Muller, introduced several new characters inspired by the song's lyrics. Muller told an interviewer shortly before his death that he would have preferred to base the teleplay on May's original book, but could not find a copy. The show features Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis) and the eight reindeer mentioned in the song. Of them, Donner is identified as Rudolph's father, and Comet is presented as the coach of the reindeer team. A third, Dasher, is mentioned as a father of one of the yearling bucks during take-off practice. Mrs. Claus is also incorporated into the story.

The show also introduces:

• Sam the Snowman - The narrator, voiced by and styled to resemble folk singer Burl Ives, who contributes several tunes throughout the program. Among the more well-known songs from the special is Johnny Marks' "A Holly Jolly Christmas," which became a Christmas standard in its own right.
• Hermey the Misfit Elf (voiced by Paul Soles) - who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Quitting Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." Towards the end of the program, he finally gets his wish to open a dentist's office at the North Pole. One of many memorable songs, "Fame and Fortune" was added to the 1965 airing as a replacement for the reprise of a number called "We're A Couple Of Misfits", sung by Hermey and Rudolph soon after their initial meeting. The special's 1998 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to its original film context, while the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame and Fortune" as a separate number.
• Clarice the Doe (voiced and sung by Janis Orenstein) - A pretty doe Rudolph meets at take-off practice; she immediately develops a crush on him. In fact, it is Clarice who is part of the reason why Rudolph knows how to fly in the special: she tells Rudolph he is cute and that gives him encouragement, resulting in a giant leap through the air. Even when the cap pops off Rudolph's nose, Clarice remains faithful to him and follows him into the woods, where she performs one of the special's musical numbers "There's Always Tomorrow." She disobeys her father when she befriends Rudolph, even to the point of running off into the woods with Rudolph's parents to go looking for him. The trio is captured by the monster, but Rudolph rescues them in time. Despite the fact that, in reality, reindeer of both sexes grow antlers, neither Clarice nor any other doe in the special has antlers; the female reindeer (including Clarice) also have much lighter fur than their male counterparts.
• Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) - a prospector who leads the audience to believe that he is searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behavior inspires the song "Silver and Gold," sung by Ives. Yukon is a blustery but benign character who ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but also the Abominable Snow Monster, which he nicknames "Bumble." Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pickax into the air, sniffing, then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.
• Tall Elf is a minor character who appears in the "We Are Santa's Elves" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" scenes. Tall, thin and bespectacled, this character was an integral part of the stop-motion commercial and subsequent print ads produced for General Electric for the inaugural broadcast.
• Head Elf (voiced by Carl Banas) is Hermey's immediate supervisor, a portly and ill-tempered foreman and songleader of Santa's workshop. He wears a goatee styled to resemble popular songleader Mitch Miller and begins by using Lawrence Welk's famous introduction, "Ah one, and ah two". He is outraged at Hermey's persistent disruption of the assembly line with his dentistry studies. He also conducts the elves in their song for Santa, "We Are Santa's Elves," a tune which Santa finds annoying. Towards the end of the special, he finally grants Hermey's wish and allows him to open a dentist's office. In one of the show's bloopers, the head elf is voiced by a different (and unidentified) voice actor in the musical scene as he begins conducting the group.
• The Abominable Snow Monster of the North (a.k.a. Bumble) - A large, ferocious ape-like mammal of unspecified species, possibly a yeti. As the main antagonist, he pursues Hermey and Rudolph throughout their adventure. The sight of Rudolph's glowing red nose drives Bumble into a rage. Sam the Snowman also explains that the monster hates everything to do with Christmas. Later, the Abominable Snow Monster captures Rudolph and his family at his cave. Yukon and Hermey come to the rescue by knocking the monster unconscious and extracting all his teeth. Near the end of the film he has a change of heart, and he is seen putting the star on top of the Christmas tree and becoming a part of Christmastown.

Several new members of Santa Claus's herd of reindeer include Fireball, a young buck with a distinctive shock of blond hair who befriends shy Rudolph at the "Reindeer Games", supervised and coached by one of Santa's eight reindeer, Comet. The Reindeer Games are the annual contest where Santa Claus evaluates the flight skills of his youngest reindeer. It is Fireball who encourages Rudolph to meet Clarice. Clarice informs Rudolph that she finds him cute. Inspired by Clarice's affection, Rudolph spontaneously launches into flight, impressing all the reindeer assembled. After a playful scuffle with Fireball ensues, the clay/mud cap Rudolph has been wearing to hide his glowing nose comes loose. Fireball is the first to witness Rudolph's true appearance and is terrified by the sight. After the initial shock wears off, the young reindeer and coach Comet mock Rudolph's nose, telling him he can no longer take part in the annual "Reindeer Games".

Most of the adult male reindeer, including Donner, Comet, and Clarice's father, were voiced by Paul Kligman.