50 Fun Facts About Frosty the Snowman

Which pair of songwriters wrote 'Frosty the Snowman'?

The same duo had written 'Here Comes Peter Cottontail' the year before, and Nelson's first hit was 'Bouquet of Roses' for Eddy Arnold.

Which 'Singing Cowboy' made the first recording of the song in 1950?

He was chasing another seasonal hit after 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' the year before, and later owned the California Angels.

In the song, what brings the snowman to life?

The children find the hat and Frosty begins to dance around.

Which of these is NOT true of the original 1950 lyrics?

Christmas is never mentioned in the original lyrics; the Jimmy Durante version and TV special added 'I'll be back on Christmas Day'.

Which New York town holds an annual parade dedicated to Frosty and is a supposed setting for the song?

White Plains is the other candidate for the action's setting.

Which comedian's 1950 recording of the song later became the basis for the 1969 TV special's narration?

The special was his final film role; he re-recorded the song for it.

Which girl group's 1963 Phil Spector-produced cover made Rolling Stone's list of greatest rock Christmas songs?

It appeared on A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, released the day President Kennedy was assassinated.

Besides Durante's, which two other early covers of the song reached the American charts?

The Jackson 5, the Cocteau Twins and Conway Twitty are among the many later artists to record it.

Which children's book series published Frosty the Snow Man in 1950, adapted by Annie North Bedford?

The series had launched in 1942 at 25 cents a copy and produced the best-selling children's book in US history, The Poky Little Puppy.

A 1950 UPA Frosty cartoon has been a Christmas tradition on which Chicago station?

It airs alongside Suzy Snowflake and Hardrock, Coco and Joe, and has run every year since 1955.

Which production company made the 1969 Frosty the Snowman television special?

Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass produced and directed it; it was the first TV special featuring the character.

The 1969 special first aired on December 7, 1969 on which network?

It followed the fifth showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas and stayed on the network for 55 years before NBC took over in 2024.

Which network acquired the special in 2024 after its 55-year run elsewhere?

NBCUniversal owns the pre-1974 Rankin/Bass catalogue and moved Rudolph over at the same time.

Who voiced Frosty in the 1969 special and its first two sequels?

The deadpan comedian kept the role until his death; Bill Fagerbakke, the voice of Patrick Star, took over for the 2005 film.

What is the name of the inept magician who wants his hat back in the 1969 special?

He blames the hat when his school-party act flops, then realises it is magic and tries to cash in.

What is the name of the magician's rabbit, who keeps stealing the hat back for the children?

He swaps the hat with a lamppost wreath and later rounds up forest animals to build Karen a campfire.

What is the name of the little girl who rides north with Frosty in the 1969 special?

June Foray voiced her in the first airing; Suzanne Davidson took over in later broadcasts.

How do Frosty, Karen and the rabbit try to reach the North Pole?

They have no money for tickets, and Hinkle secretly follows them aboard.

Where does Frosty melt after the magician locks him and Karen inside?

Santa explains he is made of magical Christmas snow and lets the winter wind rebuild him.

How does Santa finally get the magician to give up on the hat?

Hinkle runs home to write out his apologies, and turns up reformed in the closing parade with a new hat.

Which magazine's artist, Paul Coker Jr., designed the characters to look like a Christmas card?

Coker went on to design most of the studio's later specials, from Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town to The Year Without a Santa Claus.

The 1969 special was animated in Tokyo by which studio, founded by the creator of Astro Boy?

Osamu Tezuka's studio pioneered Japanese TV animation; a young Osamu Dezaki worked on Frosty uncredited.

Which writer, who also expanded Rudolph for TV, adapted the Frosty song into a story?

Maury Laws was the musical director and Don Duga the continuity designer.

The special's premiere ranked as the No. 1 program for its week with what Nielsen rating?

That came with a 45 share for the week of December 1-7, 1969.

Which voice actor played the rabbit, the traffic cop and Santa Claus in the 1969 special?

June Foray, best known as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, voiced Karen and the teacher.

TV Guide ranked the 1969 special where on its list of the 10 Best Family Holiday Specials?

Reviews at the time were more modest than for its contemporaries; it holds 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Who narrated the 1976 sequel Frosty's Winter Wonderland, replacing a stroke-stricken Durante?

The Mayberry star closes by promising that 'that first snowflake will fall' again.

In Frosty's Winter Wonderland, the children build Frosty a wife. What is her name?

Shelley Winters voiced her; a bouquet of frost flowers brings her to life.

Which jealous character tries to steal Frosty's hat in the 1976 sequel, then is his best man?

Paul Frees voiced him, and Parson Brown brings a snow parson to life with his Bible to perform the ceremony.

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) was unusual for depicting Frosty in what form?

It was the last Rankin/Bass production with Jackie Vernon as Frosty and Billie Mae Richards as Rudolph, and ran only a week in cinemas in Lexington, Kentucky.

Who voices Frosty in the 1992 special Frosty Returns?

Jonathan Winters narrated, and Peanuts director Bill Melendez co-directed for Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video rather than Rankin/Bass.

In Frosty Returns, villain Mr. Twitchell markets a snow-removing spray called what?

The town of Beansboro embraces it until Frosty persuades everyone snow is worth keeping and is crowned Winter Carnival King.

Which future Mad Men star voiced young magician Holly DeCarlo in Frosty Returns?

The wind blows Holly's own hat onto the snowman, revealing it to be the famous old silk hat.

Who narrates The Legend of Frosty the Snowman (2005)?

Bill Fagerbakke, the voice of SpongeBob's Patrick Star, voices Frosty in this fifth and last special to date.

In The Legend of Frosty the Snowman, Frosty arrives in a town ruled by which strict official?

It turns out the mayor himself created Frosty as a boy with his magician father's hat, before Principal Pankley stole it.

Which actor was announced in 2020 as the voice of Frosty in a planned live-action Warner Bros. film?

Momoa later said the announcement was made without his permission to distract from Ray Fisher's Justice League allegations.

The Singing Cowboy who first recorded Frosty has stars in all five categories of what?

Film, television, music, radio and live performance; there is even a town in Oklahoma named after him.

The 1969 special's narrator famously nicknamed his own prominent nose what?

His theme song was 'Inka Dinka Doo', and a 1972 stroke ended his performing career.

The 122-foot 'snowwoman' built in Bethel, Maine in 2008 was named after whom?

The previous record holder, also from Bethel, was 'Angus, King of the Mountain', named for the governor.

Which Renaissance master was commissioned by Piero de' Medici to build a snowman in 1494?

The earliest known snowman image is a marginal drawing in a 1380 Book of Hours in The Hague.

Which 1932 Ted Eshbaugh colour cartoon is among the oldest depictions of a snow figure in media?

The earliest known photograph of a snowman was taken around 1853 by Welsh photographer Mary Dillwyn.

Which 1949 Gene Autry hit inspired Rollins and Nelson to write 'Frosty the Snowman'?

Rollins and Nelson shopped their new song to Autry, who was looking for another seasonal hit after his Rudolph success.

Which Scottish dream-pop band covered 'Frosty the Snowman' on their 1993 EP Snow?

The Jackson 5 and Conway Twitty also recorded it, and the Canadian Brass play an instrumental in which Frosty gets 'hot' and starts to melt.

Which Finnish singer led her album Dark Christmas with a single of 'Frosty the Snowman'?

Dark Christmas was her third Christmas album and ninth studio album overall.

Which comic actor voiced Professor Hinkle in the 1969 special?

Jimmy Durante narrated in his final film role, and Jackie Vernon voiced Frosty.

How does Hocus Pocus first get the magic hat back from Professor Hinkle in the 1969 special?

Hinkle had thrown the hat away after his school party act flopped, then grabbed it back once he saw it was magic.

Which legendary voice actress played Karen and the schoolteacher in the special's first airing?

Suzanne Davidson voiced Karen in later airings, while Paul Frees handled the traffic cop, Hocus Pocus and Santa Claus.

Which Japanese studio animated the 1976 sequel Frosty's Winter Wonderland?

Unlike the original, the sequel is set later in the winter and built around the 1934 song 'Winter Wonderland'.

How long is Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979), the feature-length stop-motion sequel?

It is the only Frosty special without a narrator and, despite its Fourth of July setting, the only one to mention Christmas.

In which town is the 1992 special Frosty Returns set?

Jonathan Winters narrates and Brian Doyle-Murray voices villain Mr. Twitchell; the animation was by Bill Melendez, not Rankin/Bass.