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Mike Delfino
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Michael Delfino
Portrayed by
James Denton
Duration
2004–12
First appearance
"Pilot"
1x01, October 3, 2004
Last appearance
"Finishing the Hat"
8x23, May 13, 2012
Created by
Marc Cherry
Profile
Other names
Mike (commonly used throughout the series)
Occupation
Former
Plumber
Hitman
Residence
Los Angeles, California - before season 1
4356 Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State - season 1 to 3 and briefly in 5
4353 Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State - season 4, 6 and 8
4352 Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State - season 5
Apartment located in Fairview, Eagle State (season 7)
Alaska (several episodes of season 7)
showFamily
Parents
Adele Delfino (mother)[1]
Nick Delfino (father)[2]
Siblings
Laura Delfino (sister)[3]
Spouse
Amy Delfino[4] (wife; deceased)
Susan Mayer (widow)
Katherine Mayfair (ex-fiancée)
Children
Zach Young (son; via Deirdre)
Maynard James "M.J." Delfino (son; via Susan)
Stepchildren
Julie Mayer (via Susan)
Grandchildren
Sophie Mayer-Scavo (step-granddaughter; Julie via Porter)
Other relatives
Maynard (maternal grandfather; deceased)
James Delfino (paternal grandfather)
James Delfino (cousin)
Sophie Bremmer Flickman (mother-in-law)
Addison Prudy (father-in-law)[5]
Morty Flickman (step-father-in-law)[6]
Carol Prudy (step-mother-in-law)[7]
Three Unnamed Former Stepfather-in-laws
Unnamed Half Sibling-in-laws
Claire Bremmer (aunt-in-law)
Frank Bremmer (uncle-in-law)
Ella Bremmer (aunt-in-law)
Regina Bremmer (aunt-in-law; deceased)
Tim Bremmer (cousin-in-law)[8]
Michael “Mike” Delfino is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was played by actor James Denton from the show's inception, until the eighth and final season of the show.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Season 1
1.2 Season 2
1.3 Season 3
1.4 Season 4
1.4.1 5-year leap
1.5 Season 5
1.6 Season 6
1.7 Season 7
1.8 Season 8
2 References
History[edit]
Season 1[edit]
Mike Delfino lives at 4356 Wisteria Lane, renting the Simms’s house, and poses as the friendly neighborhood plumber. He was quietly searching for his missing ex-girlfriend (Deirdre Taylor). Her father, Noah, wanted to know what had happened to her before he died. Deirdre's remains are inside Zach’s toy chest, and are buried under the family pool. After Mary Alice kills herself, Paul Young excavates the toy chest out of the pool, wraps it, and tapes it up, and drives away with it to throw it in a body of water. The toy chest later comes up and is only mentioned once more when it appears on a local News channel. Paul is shown in his living room, while Zach sleeps on the couch, and the story comes on the News, making Paul quickly turn off the tv, and storm out of the room. Zach is seen opening his eyes, and realizes something is not right.
Paul Young murdered Martha Huber after she admitted blackmailing his late wife. He tried framing Mike for the murder. Susan Meyer discovers that Mike had been in prison for manslaughter, and drug dealing. Devastated, she ends their relationship, disappointed that he didn't tell her the truth. However, she visited Kendra and Noah, looking for more answers. Kendra explains that Mike and Deirdre were drug addicts. Mike was defending Deirdre from an undercover policeman, and he tried stopping the policeman who had caught them together. Mike and the policeman got into a fight, and they went over a balcony. Mike survived, but the cop didn't.
Mike discovers that Paul Young was involved in Deirdre's murder. He took Paul hostage and planned to shoot him until Paul told him that he, and his late wife, Mary Alice, lived in Salt Lake City years ago. Mary Alice Young worked at a rehab center and met Deirdre. One night, wanting drugs, Deirdre tried to sell them her watch, claiming the baby needed food, but Mary Alice knew Deirdre would buy drugs, so she refused. Deirdre then offered them her baby son, Dana. Mary Alice agreed since she couldn’t conceive, and they moved to Fairview with the baby, now renamed Zach. Four years later, Deirdre found them and demanded her baby back, but they refused. Deirdre went to take Zach, but Mary Alice stabbed her in the process. They cut up her body, and put it inside Zach’s toy chest, and buried it underneath the pool they were about to have installed. Mike let Paul go, realizing Zach was his son. Meanwhile, Zach was holding Susan hostage because he had just found out Mike kidnapped Paul and intended to kill him.
Season 2[edit]
When Mike got home, he and Susan fought off Zach and he fled because Zach was keeping Susan so Mike would come home and Zach intended to kill him. Susan was stunned to discover that Zach is Mike's son. Susan was wary of Zach because his behaviour towards Julie was worrying, particularly when she asked him not to see Julie as much. She encouraged Zach to go to Utah, looking for Paul and gave him money. When Mike found out, he ended their relationship.
Mike tried getting to know him, on his return from Utah, and Zach was initially interested. Paul, however, told Zach that he was getting tired of his obsession with two people who hadn't loved him enough to keep him. After that, Zach made it clear that he felt Paul was his father.
After Edie Britt set Susan's house on fire, Mike got Susan a wire to record Edie's confession. Susan moved into a caravan. Later, they made up and he planned to propose in the season finale but was run over by Orson Hodge.
Season 3[edit]
Mike survived the accident but spent 6 months in the Fairview hospital. When he woke up, he was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, causing him to forget the last 2 years. Edie Britt took advantage, telling him that Susan had treated him like dirt to make Mike fall in love with her. They had a brief relationship which she ended when he was arrested for Monique Polier's murder. Susan pursued her new boyfriend, Ian, to hire the best lawyer to get Mike out of jail. In prison, Paul tried befriending Mike so Zach would help him find Felicia Tilman( Mrs. Hughes' sister), who had accused Paul murdering her sister. Later, he visited a hypnotherapist to try to make sense of some memories. He realized Orson Hodge(who married Bree Van De Kamp) was responsible. He and Mike had a fight on the hospital roof and Orson fell off. Mike was cleared when the police found Alma and Monique's teeth and suicide note Alma wrote when she pretended to die.
Mike was saddened when Ian and Susan got engaged but discovered that Ian proposed, knowing that Mike had intended to propose the night of his accident. Mike challenged Ian at a poker game and they did a deal: if Mike won, he could tell Susan but if Ian won, he couldn't. Ian won and Mike kept his distance but Ian had to thank Mike when he rescued him from drowning. Following an argument with Ian, Mike consoled Susan and they kissed, renewing Mike's hope that they would reconcile. Despite his deal with Ian, he told Susan what happened at the poker game. Susan was furious, refusing to see either of them but eventually decided to marry Ian. With broken Heart, Mike left her a message, saying goodbye and left Wisteria Lane, unaware that Ian had ended things with Susan. Mike went camping so Susan went after him but offended by her guide's suggestion that she invited in too much drama, Susan went to find Mike alone. Back at the campground, she was reported lost, and Mike recognized Susan from the description. Susan left Mike a message, promising if they reconciled, they would be a normal couple. Mike found Susan and they went home. Exactly a year to the day after Mike's accident, they went out to dinner and on returning to Wisteria Lane, the trailer Susan decorated a year before, was waiting on her driveway. They lived the experience they were meant to have that night and Mike proposed.
They married in the woods in the middle of the night. Susan surprised him with a small wedding because she didn't want to put pressure on him for a big, expensive wedding.
Season 4[edit]
In Season Four, Mike and Susan discovered that she was pregnant (result of WB). Mike told Susan that he had never been happier but problems arose when Julie asked for permission to go to a party. Susan agreed but Mike said no as he'd seen some crazy parties at the house in question. Susan agreed with Mike but later told Julie she could go but asked her not to tell Mike, wanting him to feel part of the decision-making process, and Julie went. Later that night, after Mike said he had driven past the house and seen topless girls, drunken people and music blaring, Susan claimed she needed something from the store and went to get Julie. However, at the party, she was mistaken for a stripper but brought Julie and Dylan home and a friend of Julie's phoned to check she'd got home all right, alerting Mike. He told Susan that he respected her decisions about how to raise Julie but expected her to consult him on how they raised their child.
The doctor suggested Susan and Mike go for genetic counselling and Mike admitted his father, Nick, was alive and in prison for first degree murder. They visited and Susan was shocked by how cold Nick was and needing to know that Nick felt remorse for his actions, visited him alone the next day. Nick told Susan that he regretted what his actions did to Mike as he became very unpopular, claiming that one never truly overcame that, and told Susan to watch Mike carefully. While at Bree's house, Mike dropped a painkiller. Bree found it and wondering what it was, researched it. On discovering that it was highly addictive, she told Susan who only believed it when she found pills hidden in Mike's flashlight. She confronted him and he threw the pills down the sink, telling her that he wasn't addicted but later retrieved them. Mike's drug dealer hassled him for money so he blackmailed Adam and Orson into prescribing him more. Mike's drug dealer came to the house and Susan, unaware he was a drug dealer, tried fixing him up with Julie until Mike told her that he was a drug dealer and she threw him out. He confessed that he had bought drugs illegally from the dealer so he could keep working, worried about the cost of raising a child. Susan thought that he had stopped taking them but found pills in the car. She confronted Mike and he accidentally pushed her down the stairs. They went to the hospital — worried about the baby — but punched a hospital worker so Mike was handcuffed to a seat. Luckily she and the baby were fine and Susan's ankle was only sprained. She was prescribed painkillers and when Mike asked for one, she told him if he didn't go to rehab, she would leave him and refuse him access to the baby. Mike agreed and went for thirty days.
Mike didn't go to the first Lamaze class, as he received his 30-day chip (30 days without drugs) but was there for the second. Mike told Susan that Bree Hodge's husband, Orson, had run him over, Susan furiously told Orson to stay away from her family and told Bree what happened. Orson and Bree grew apart because of this, and Susan apologized for it. After Mike's mother visited, Mike scolded his mother for her attitude towards Susan — asking personal questions and unable to believe that Susan couldn't cook. She apologized just before Susan gave birth to their baby boy. Mike wanted to name him Maynard after his grandfather (who was a father figure for him) but Susan preferred Connor. Mike convinced her to name their son Maynard James Delfino (he's known as M.J.).
5-year leap[edit]
As the plot fast forwards 5 years in the future, Susan is seen coming home to a man who is not Mike.
Season 5[edit]
The fifth season premiered on U.S. television on Sunday September 28, 2008 with the episode "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow". As previously stated, season five takes place five years after the events of season four. In the new timeline, it is revealed that Susan is having a secret relationship with her painter/decorator Jackson Braddock. When Jackson asked why they couldn't go public, she replies, "Maybe I don’t deserve to be happy," which led to flashbacks revealing why Susan and Mike divorced: they were involved in a crash with another car. They survived but the occupants of the other car — Lila Dash and her daughter, Paige — died. Susan and Mike weren't responsible (the other car pulled out in front of them), but Susan blamed herself and Mike and the trauma took its toll on their marriage. When Mike arrives to collect their son ("M.J.") for the weekend, Susan tells Mike that she is seeing someone.
While Susan is now with Jackson, Mike started dating Katherine Mayfair, Susan's older friend. Mike and Katherine bonded over after bad dates and realize they are attracted to each other. When Susan finds out that they are dating and that Bree knew, it is clear that she still has feelings for Mike, whom she refers to as her. This bad feeling spills over into Mike and Susan's son, M.J., when he attacks Katherine (he threw chewed chewing gum on Katherine's head). It emerges that this is a result of what Susan told M.J. when she and Mike first split up; that they would get back together eventually.
Worried about her and Mike's relationship, Katherine tells him that her daughter wants her to move to Maryland, but isn't sure if she should go. Mike was non-committal but realized, thanks to Dave Williams (AKA David Dash), that he was falling in love with Katherine and left her a basket of roses with a note saying "Don't go". When Katherine found them, she was thrilled — unaware that Dave had an agenda of his own, thinking Mike was responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Dave planned his revenge — he, Mike and Katherine would go camping and he would shoot Katherine dead. Fortunately, Dave's wife, Edie, sent him a text, telling him to come home. Edie confronts him — during the confrontation, Edie is about to call Mike when Dave nearly strangles her. Edie rushed out and was killed after being electrocuted when she crashed her car into an electricity pole after swerving to avoid Orson. Dave later learns that he nearly killed the wrong person. Susan confessed she was driving the night that Lila and Paige died and realized he should have been targeting her. Dave decides to kill Susan and Mike's six-year-old son, M.J. Delfino, in revenge.
Mike later struggled with his feelings for Susan and Katherine, and proposes to Katherine, who gladly accepts. In the finale, Dave gives Mike a videotape which he says is rehearsal footage of their band; it is actually Dave's confession which Mike wasn't supposed to see until after M.J. is dead. Needing a videotape to use at the wedding, Katherine puts it in her camera. Katherine and Mike are waiting to fly to Vegas and Katherine takes her wallet to buy cappuccinos and knocked the camera so Mike heard Dave's voice from her purse. Watching it, he sees Dave confess to killing M.J.. Mike runs to save him, and asks a passenger to inform Katherine that he left due to an emergency. Unfortunately, it is misinterpreted. Mike phones Susan and told her that Dave is the man whose wife and daughter that died in the accident. He speaks to Dave, offering himself in Susan and M.J.'s place. Dave agrees and tells Mike to meet them at the site of the accident. Unknown to Mike, Dave plans to have Mike crash into his car and kill M.J., just as Susan did when she killed Lila and Paige. Susan manages to escape and tried to warn Mike, but he crashed into Dave's car anyway. Susan was relieved to find M.J. alive as Dave had told him to get out of the car. Susan, Mike, and M.J. share a hug, and Mike kisses Susan.
At the end of the finale, Mike is seen marrying someone whose face is not shown.
Season 6[edit]
It is revealed that Mike broke up with Katherine and asked Susan to marry him, again. She accepts and they plan their wedding. Her daughter, Julie, then returns to Wisteria Lane. Though Susan is happy and in love with Mike, Katherine is devastated and jealous. Their friendship is deeply scarred by this. At the ceremony, Katherine approaches Susan and explains how she feels and asks for her to make a public apology during the ceremony or she will make a huge scene. Susan then locks Katherine in a closet, she breaks out and a scene ensues after Mike and Susan are wed. Susan then apologizes publicly. However, Katherine tells her it doesn't matter because as of this moment, they are at war and she begins to plot revenge. When Katherine tells M.J. how Susan stole Mike away and takes the child from school, Mike verbally blasts her, saying he never loved Katherine and was thinking of Susan the whole time they were together. When a hurt Katherine says it'd be less painful for Mike to stab her with a knife, he retorts that he doesn't care enough about Katherine to kill her. After he leaves, Katherine calls 911 to say she's losing blood and then stabs herself. Katherine tells the police that Mike stabbed her and he's arrested. Trying to help him, Susan calls on Katherine's daughter Dylan, who's believed Katherine's tales that she's married to Mike. After talking to Mike in jail, Dylan realizes her mother has been lying and confronts her, causing Katherine to have a full breakdown that presumably exonerates Mike. Mike is currently having financial problems, but while he refuses any help coming from Susan, he takes a loan from Carlos. Susan eventually learns of their financial ruin and, after going over their finances she and Mike realize they need to cut back. This includes them moving to an apartment across town and, renting out their home. Though Mike knows it will help them get back on their feet, Susan becomes very angry with him as she is forced to leave the house where she raised her children. Though they make up and leave Wisteria Lane, they quickly find a renter for their house. The renter is an old resident of Wisteria Lane, Paul Young.
Season 7[edit]
When Susan tells Mike about her lingerie job on the Internet and Paul Young's plan to buy their house, Mike decides to take an oil rig job in Alaska in order to earn more money. He has also been communicating with Felicia Tilman. When Susan develops kidney problems Mike surprises her at the hospital. They both fear the prospect of Susan succumbing to her disease and so they decide to have an early anniversary which turns into a sham. After everything backfires Mike admits he's not ready to lose Susan and tells her that she'll find a kidney donor. After Paul recovers from the gunshot wound he asks for Mike's help in finding Zach. Mike rejects but later changes his mind when he realizes that Zach is on drugs. Both Mike and Paul visit Zach and ask him to go to rehab. When Susan gets a kidney, courtesy of Beth, they both cannot wait for their sex drought to end with Susan dreaming of having sex but cannot recall her male counterpart.
Season 8[edit]
Making the fatal mistake of crossing Donny, an unruly and vengeful loan shark who harasses Renee, Mike is killed in a drive-by shooting by Donny himself in front of his home on Wisteria Lane, just seconds after expressing his love toward Susan. He pushes Susan down to the ground in order to save her while he is shot in the chest. He is then remembered by the housewives at his funeral. The fate of Mike's killer is never shown afterwards, but Bree is later told that an arrest had been made. When Susan was cleaning out Mike's closet, she finds papers indicating that Mike was writing checks to a woman. Susan visits the address she finds in Mike's things and discovers that Mike had a sister, Laura, whom he only learned about eight years before. Mike's mother did not want to be "inconvenienced" by their special needs child. In the final moments of the series, as Susan leaves Wisteria Lane, Mike is among the spirits watching her go.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Season 4 episode 15
Jump up ^ Season 4 episode 6
Jump up ^ Season 8 episode 19
Jump up ^ Julie mentioned her in season 1, episode 1, her first name is given in the pilot script in Behind Closed Doors
Jump up ^ Season 2 episode 8 - 10
Jump up ^ Season 1 episode 18, 21 and season 2 episode 8
Jump up ^ Season 2 episode 9 - 10
Jump up ^ Season 4 episode 11
show
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Desperate Housewives
Episodes
Season 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Characters
Betty Applewhite
Angie Bolen
Edie Britt
Mike Delfino
Orson Hodge
Bob Hunter and Lee McDermott
Julie Mayer
Karl Mayer
Susan Mayer
Katherine Mayfair
Karen McCluskey
Renee Perry
John Rowland
Lynette Scavo
Tom Scavo
Carlos Solis
Gabrielle Solis
Andrew Van de Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp
Rex Van de Kamp
Dave Williams
Mary Alice Young
Paul Young
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Amas de Casa Desesperadas
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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
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Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Official 2014 88th Annual Parade poster
Presented by
Present:
Savannah Guthrie (2012–present)
Al Roker (1995–present)
Previous:
Dave Garroway (1952–1961)
Betty White (1962–1970)
Lorne Greene (1962–1970)
Ed McMahon (1971–1981)
Bryant Gumbel (1982–1986)
Willard Scott (1987–1997)
Deborah Norville (1989–1990)
Katie Couric (1991–2005)
Matt Lauer (1998–2017)
Meredith Vieira (2006–2010)
Ann Curry (2011)
Starring
Parade Executive Producer:
Jean McFaddin (1977–2000)
Robin Hall (2001–2010)
Amy Kule (2010–present)
Composer(s)
Macy's
NBC
Brad Lachman Productions[1]
Country of origin
United States
Original language(s)
English
No. of episodes
91 (as of November 23, 2017)
Production
Location(s)
Central Park to Macy's Herald Square,
New York City, New York
Camera setup
Videotape; multi-camera
Running time
3 hours
(with commercials)
Release
Original network
NBC
Picture format
480i (SDTV),
1080i (HDTV)
Original release
November 24, 1924 (1924-11-24) – November 22, 1951 (1951-11-22) (radio)
November 25, 1948 (1948-11-25)–present (television)
Chronology
Related shows
Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks
Macy's Ballonfest
My Macy's Holiday Parade
Lighting of the Macy's Great Tree
Christmas in Rockefeller Center[1]
External links
Website
social.macys.com/parade/
Santa Claus' arrival at the parade's finale marks the start of the Christmas season.
A balloon being inflated by the Steven's Inflation Crew during training at Giants Stadium.
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the world's largest parade,[2] is presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The tradition started in 1924,[3] tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit (with both parades being four years younger than Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade). The three-hour Macy's event is held in Manhattan starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952. Employees at Macy's department stores have the option of marching in the parade.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Balloon introductions
2.1 Falloon
2.2 Balloonicle
3 Float introductions
4 Performers and acts
4.1 Featured performers
4.2 Broadway shows
4.3 Marching bands
4.4 Special guests
5 Television coverage
6 Parade route
7 Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's
8 Injuries
9 In popular culture
10 References
11 External links
History
The former Macy's Parade logo (used until 2005, with a special edition variant being used in the 2006 Parade).
The Macy's Parade logo used in 2006. Balloons, from left: Uncle Sam, Tom Turkey, Macy's Star, Gnome, Toy Soldier, Chloe the Clown.
In 1924, the annual Thanksgiving parade started in Newark, New Jersey by Louis Bamberger at the Bamberger's store was transferred to New York City by Macy's. In New York, the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, Santa was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies." With an audience of over 250,000 people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.
Anthony "Tony" Frederick Sarg loved to work with marionettes from an early age. After moving to London to start his own marionette business, Sarg moved to New York City to perform with his puppets on the street. Macy's heard about Sarg's talents and asked him to design a window display of a parade for the store.[4] Sarg's large animal-shaped balloons, produced by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio, replaced the live animals in 1927. A popular belief was that a balloon version Felix the Cat balloon was the first ever character balloon in the parade back in 1927, with Macy's also claiming that too, but Felix actually made his first appearance in 1931.
At the finale of the 1928 parade, the balloons were released into the sky, where they unexpectedly burst. The following year, they were redesigned with safety valves to allow them to float for a few days.[5] Address labels were sewn into them, so that whoever found and mailed back the discarded balloon received a gift from Macy's.[5]
Through the 1930s, the Parade continued to grow, with crowds of over one million people lining the parade route in 1933. The first Mickey Mouse balloon entered the parade in 1934. The annual festivities were broadcast on local radio stations in New York City from 1932 to 1941,[6] and resumed in 1945, running through 1951.[7]
The parade was suspended from 1942 to 1944 as a result of World War II, owing to the need for rubber and helium in the war effort.[8][9] The parade resumed in 1945 using the route that it followed until 2008. The parade became known nationwide after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities. The event was first broadcast on network television in 1948 (see below). By this point the event, and Macy's sponsorship of it, were sufficiently well-known to give rise to the colloquialism "Macy's Day Parade". Since 1984, the balloons have been made by Raven Aerostar (a division of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Raven Industries).[10]
Macy's also sponsored the smaller Celebrate the Season Parade in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is held two days after the main event, from 2006 to 2013. Other American cities also have parades held on Thanksgiving, none of which are run by Macy's. The nation's oldest Thanksgiving parade (the Gimbels parade, which has had many sponsors over the years, and is now known as the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade) was first held in Philadelphia in 1920. Other cities with parades on the holiday include the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago, Illinois and parades in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; and Fountain Hills, Arizona. A parade is also held at the two Disney theme parks, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. There is also a second Thanksgiving balloon parade within the New York metropolitan area, the UBS balloon parade in Stamford, Connecticut, located 30 miles (48 km) away; that parade is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so as to not compete with the parade in New York City and usually does not duplicate any balloon characters.
The classic "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" logo (seen below) was, with one exception, last used in 2005. For 2006, a special variant of the logo was used. Every year since then, a new logo has been used for each parade. The logos however are seen rarely, if at all, on television as NBC has used its own logo with the word "Macy's" in a script typeface and "Thanksgiving Day Parade" in a bold font. The logos are assumed to be for use by Macy's only, such as on the Grandstand tickets and the ID badges worn by parade staff. The Jackets worn by parade staff still bear the original classic parade logo, this being the only place where that logo can be found.
New safety measures were incorporated in 2006 to prevent accidents and balloon-related injuries. One measure taken was the installation of wind measurement devices to alert parade organizers to any unsafe conditions that could cause the balloons to behave erratically. In addition, parade officials implemented a measure to keep the balloons closer to the ground during windy conditions. If wind speeds are forecast to be higher than 34 miles per hour (55 km/h), all balloons are removed from the parade.
Balloon introductions
Since 2013, the balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade have come in two varieties. The first (and older of the two) is the novelty balloon class, consisting of smaller balloons; the novelty balloons range widely in size and are handled by between one and thirty people (the smallest novelty balloons are shaped like human heads and fit on the actual heads of the handlers). The second and more widely known is the full-size balloon class, primarily consisting of licensed pop-culture characters; each of these is handled by exactly 90 people. From 2005 to 2012, a third balloon class, the "Blue Sky Gallery," transformed the works of contemporary artists into full-size balloons.
The following is a list of balloons that have, over the years, been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, sorted by their first year in the lineup. Underlined items indicate entries in the Blue Sky Gallery.
Year
Balloons
1931 Felix the Cat, Mama, Papa and Baby
1934 Mickey Mouse, Eddie Cantor (the only full-size balloon to be based on a living person)[11]
1935 The Marx Brothers (after Zeppo Marx's departure), Donald Duck
1937 Dragon, Christmas Stocking
1938 Uncle Sam
1939 The Tin Man, Pinocchio, Santa Claus
1940 Hippo, Superman
1941 The Football Player (Redesigned version of Superman Balloon)
1945 Bobo the Hobo (Clown), Acrobat, Teddy Bear, Pumpkin, Ice Cream Cone
1946 The Baseball Player (Redesigned version of Bobo the Hobo), Panda Bear (Redesigned version of Teddy Bear balloon), Pilgrim Father
1947 Pirate, The Police officer (Redesigned version of The Baseball Player), Elf Gnome (Redesigned version of Ice Cream Cone balloon)
1948 The Fireman (Redesigned version of The Police Officer)
1949 Toy soldier
1950 The Dachshund
1951 Lucky Pup, Mighty Mouse, Flying fish
1954 Spaceman
1957 Popeye
1960 Happy Dragon
1961 Bullwinkle J. Moose
1962 Donald Duck (2nd version)
1963 Dino, Elsie the Cow
1964 Linus the Lionhearted
1965 Underdog
1966 Smokey Bear, Superman (2nd version)
1968 Aviator Snoopy
1969 Astronaut Snoopy (2nd version, a tribute to Apollo 11)
1972 Smile (Happy Face), Mickey Mouse (2nd version)
1975 Weeble
1977 Kermit the Frog
1980 Superman (3rd version, largest balloon to appear in parade)
1982 Olive Oyl, Woody Woodpecker
1983 Yogi Bear
1984 Garfield, Raggedy Ann
1985 Betty Boop, Ornament Novelty Balloons
1986 Humpty Dumpty (Redesigned version of Weeble balloon, and the 100th Balloon in the Parade's history), Olive Oyl with Swee'Pea (Alteration to existing Olive Oyl Balloon), Baby Shamu
1987 Ice Cream Cone Novelty Balloon, Spider-Man,[12] Ronald McDonald, Ice Skating Snoopy (3rd version), Snuggle Bear
1988 Big Bird, Quik Bunny, Pink Panther, Winter Snoopy (4th version) and Woodstock
1989 Bugs Bunny
1990 Clifford the Big Red Dog, Bart Simpson
1991 Babar the Elephant
1992 Novelty Pumpkins (Recreation of 1945 Pumpkin), Santa Goofy
1993 Beethoven (dog), Sonic the Hedgehog (first video game character in parade history), Rex, Izzy, Wiggle Worm
1994 Cloe the Holiday Clown, Barney the Dinosaur, The Cat in the Hat
1995 Dudley the Dragon, FujiFilm's Blimp, SkyDancer, Eben Bear (Redesigned version of Snuggle Bear Balloon)
1996 Rocky and Bullwinkle (2nd version for Bullwinkle, first animated helium balloon in the parade's history), Harold the Fireman (Re-Creation of 1948 "The Fireman" balloon), Flying fish (Re-creation of 1950 "Flying Fish" balloon), Peter Rabbit
1997 Arthur, Rugrats, Bumpe the Cow, Ms. Petula Pig
1998 Babe the Pig, Wild Thing, Dexter
1999 Millennium Snoopy (5th version), Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, Blue
2000 Bandleader Mickey Mouse (3rd version), Beret Tommy Pickles (minor alteration to existing Rugrats Balloon), Jeeves, Ronald McDonald (2nd version), Dragon Tales' Cassie, Charlie the Blue Elf Gnome (Recreation of 1940's Elf balloon)
2001 Toy Soldier (Recreation of 1950's Toy Soldier), Yellow 75th Parade Stars, Curious George, Pikachu, 75th Parade Snoopy (Alteration to existing Millennium Snoopy Balloon), Big Bird (2nd version), Happy Hippo (Re-Creation of 40's Hippo Balloon), Jimmy Neutron, Cheesasaurus Rex, 60th Anniversary Tuxedo Honey Nut Cheerios Bee (Alteration to existing Honey Nut Cheerios Bee Balloon)
2002 Uncle Sam (Recreation of 1930's Uncle Sam balloon), Yellow Parade Logo Stars, Charlie Brown and the Allusive Football, Little Bill (First African-American character to appear in the parade), Mr. Monopoly, Kermit the Frog (2nd version), Macy's Red Stars
2003 Gorgeous Gobbler (Recreation of 1940's Turkey balloon), Novelty Pumpkins (Second Version), Strike up the Band Barney (2nd version), Freda The Dachshund (Recreation of 1950s Dachshund balloon), Super Grover, Garfield (2nd version)
2004 Chicken Little, M&M's Red and Yellow Brighten the Holidays, Wiggle Worm (Second Version), Jeeves with a new suit (alteration of existing Jeeves Balloon), SpongeBob SquarePants, Red Candy Cane. Kit and C.J. Elf Gnomes
2005 Cloe the Holiday Clown (2nd Version), Scooby-Doo, Tom Otterness's "Humpty Dumpty", Dora the Explorer (First Latino character to appear in parade), Healthy Mr. Potato Head, JoJo
2006 80th Anniversary Hot Air Balloon, Macy's Yellow Stars, Snoopy as the Flying Ace (6th version), Pikachu with Poké Ball (2nd version, first balloon with light up features, In Pikachu's case, to light up his cheeks), Green Candy Cane
2007 Abby Cadabby, Supercute Hello Kitty, Shrek, Jeff Koons's "Rabbit", Artie the Pirate (Recreation of 1940s Pirate balloon), Planet Earth, Soccer Ball
2008 Smurf, Keith Haring's "Figure with Heart", Buzz Lightyear, 150 Years Golden TriStar, Horton the Elephant, Green Believe Star
2009 Spider-Man (2nd version),[12] Ronald McDonald (third Version), Basketball, Sailor Mickey (fourth version), Pillsbury Doughboy, Big Man Santa, Red Believe Stars
2010 Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Takashi Murakami's "Kaikai and Kiki", Po from Kung Fu Panda, Virginia O'Hanlon
2011 Sonic the Hedgehog (second version), Harold the Police Officer (recreation of 1940's "The Police Officer" balloon) Paul Frank's "Julius The Sock Monkey", Tim Burton's "B", Gazor Elf (Winner of the Design an Elf contest that was held on the Macy's website)
2012 Hello Kitty (second version), Novelty pumpkins (third version), Happy Dragon (Recreation of older Happy Dragon balloon) Papa Smurf, Kaws's "Companion", The Elf on the Shelf
2013 Snoopy and Woodstock (seventh version for Snoopy, second version for Woodstock), Happy Hippo (New version of 2001 Happy Hippo balloon), SpongeBob SquarePants (second version), How to Train Your Dragon's Toothless, The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Hot Air Balloon, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake
2014 Thomas the Tank Engine; Paddington Bear (2nd Time, first time as a Balloon); Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, Skylanders' Eruptor, Pikachu (third version); Pillsbury Doughboy (Second Version, Identical to first version)
2015 Scrat and his Acorn, Ronald McDonald (fourth version); Angry Birds Red;[13] Dino (second version)
2016 Charlie Brown (Second version), Trixie the Dog, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (second version), Trolls, Felix the Cat (Second Version)
2017 Olaf, Macy's Blue Stars, Jett from Super Wings, PAW Patrol's Chase, Harold the Baseball Player (Re-creation of 1946 "The Baseball Player" Balloon), The Grinch (2nd Version, first time as a Balloon), Gold Starflake
Falloon
A falloon, a portmanteau of "float" and "balloon", is a float-based balloon. They were introduced in 1990.
Year
Falloon
1990 Paddington Bear
1991 Humpty Dumpty, Giant Baseball and Glove
1993 Little Drummer Boy, Jester
1994 Sea Venture
1995 M&M's Chocolate Factory
1996 The Family Channel (Later Fox Family) Snow Family
1997 The Grinch, Jello
1998 M&M's Network, Heimlich from A Bug's Life, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
1999 Pets.com sock puppet
2000 Green Dog
2001 Green Dog with Doghouse (2nd Version), Percy the Penguin
2004 Universal Orlando Resort Holiday Beat (2nd Version of Little Drummer Boy)
2005 Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
2008 The Smurfs Mushroom House, Bolt
2011 Universal Orlando Resort PB Polar Bear
Balloonicle
A balloonicle, a portmanteau of "balloon" and "vehicle", is a self-powered balloon vehicle. They were introduced in 2004.
Year
balloonicle
2004 Weebles' Tibbey, Tooey and Bumpus
2005 SnowBo
2006 Energizer Bunny
2010 Kool-Aid Man, Holiday Ornament, Blue Holiday Ornament
2011 Sledding Aflac Duck
2013 Dreidel, Gelt the Snowman (Universal Orlando Only)
2014 Ice Skating Aflac Duck (2nd Version), Cloe the Holiday Clown (3rd Version)
2015 Tom Turkey (Universal Orlando Only)
2016 Mother Ginger
2017 Aflac Duck (3rd Version)
Float introductions
Year
Floats
1924 Little Miss Muffet, Santa's Sleigh
1965 Santa's Sleigh (2nd Version)
1971 Tom Turkey (later sponsored by The E. W. Scripps Company)
1974 Sesame Street
1978 Santa's Sleigh (3rd Version)
1979 The Magic Mayhem Bus, Sesame Street
1981 New York Daily News Big Apple
1984 Fraggle Rock, Care Bears.
1985 Masters of the Universe, Rainbow Brite.
1986 SeaWorld
1987 Marvel Comics
1988 Santa's Sleigh with a Goose (4th Version)
1991 Rock-A-Doodle
1994 Sesame Street reading and writing
1995 Macy's Santaland Express, Sega's Pico Bus
1996 101 Dalmatians, Barney's Westward Ho! Wagon, Animal Planet
1998 Barney's Gingerbread House, Sesame Street Pop-up Book
1999 Barney's Night Before Christmas (2nd float)
2000 102 Dalmatians, Santa's Sleigh with the Goose (2nd Edition), Delta Airlines, Ronald's Big Red Shoe Car
2001 PokeMobile, Kitty Car, 75th Parade All Stars, World Wrestling Federation Get Real, Bob the Builder, Hallmark Entertainment's Dinotopia
2002 Barney's Playtime in The Park (3rd float), The Hershey Company's Kids Candy Creation Lab, Macy's Marion-Carole "Showboat", Lego's Carousel Of Imagination, Angelina Ballerina, Build-a-Bear Workshop Teddy Bear's Workshop, Sesame Street International.
2003 Hess Corporation Bridge to the Future, Eckō Unltd.'s Expedition To Rhino Mountain, Big Comfy Couch, Amica Mutual Insurance American Classic Malt Shop, United States Postal Service's Spirit Of America/American Eagle
2004 123 Sesame Street, Tutenstein, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, Royal Caribbean International Voyage to Adventure, Georgia-Pacific Krazy Kritters, Fisher-Price The Magic of Childhood, Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, NFL Classic, Spirit of America Pep Rally.
2005 The Polar Express, Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary of Disney Park Magic, Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Pillsbury Company, Animal Planet (2nd Edition).
2006 Barbie & the 12 Dancing Princesses, Doodlebug, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Mother Goose, Greendog's Space Station Discovery, Snoopy's Doghouse, Charlotte's Web, History Channel's New York Tin Toy.
2007 The Care Bears Winter Fun-Derland, International Cele-Bear-Ation Clock Tower, M&M's Chocolate Candies on Broadway, Music Bigger than Life, Barbie as the Island Princess.
2008 My Princess Academy Castle of Dreams, Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers, Oneida Indian Nation True Spirit of Thanksgiving, Musical Innovation|Bigger Than Life, Jimmy Dean Shine On, Ocean Spray Woodland Family Gathering, Delta Airlines Winter Wonderland in Central Park.
2009 Hamburger Helper Local Heroes Helping Everyday, Yo Gabba Gabba! There's a Party in My City, Santa's Sleigh (5th Version),
2010 South Dakota Great Faces Great Places Mount Rushmore's American Pride, Morton Salt Home Baked Goodness, Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure, Homewood Suites On the Roll Again, Office Max Elves Raise the Roof, Despicable Me, Pokémon Black and White's Reshiram and Zekrom,
2011 Universal Orlando Resort's P.B. Polar Bear, Zhuniverse, National Hockey League Frozen Fall Fun, Macy's Gift of Freedom (Statue of Liberty), Planters' Nut Mobile (second Edition), 85th Parade All Stars
2012 Sprout Daytime, Play Time, Night Time Too; Goldfish on Parade, Gibson Guitar Corporation Music Is Our Life, 75th Anniversary of March Madness, Domino Sugar Stirrin’ Up Sweet Sensations, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2013 The Enchanting World of Lindt Chocolate, Royal Caribbean International Windows to the World at Sea, Uncle Sam's Top Hat by Drake's, SeaWorld Sea of Surprises, Viking Confetti Catapult, Despicable Me 2 Delicious Yet Despicable, Cirque du Soleil's Dreamseeker
2014 Cracker Jack at the Ball Game, Goldieblox Girl Powered Spinning Machine, Dora and Friends Aventuras Fantásticas, Pirate's Booty Treasure Hunt, Sino-American Friendship Association's Beauty of Beijing
2015 Spirit of America's Big City Cheer, National Hockey League, Sino-American Friend Association's Stone Forest of Kunming, KFC The Colonel's Trip to NYC, Avocados from Mexico Casa Fresca Café, Sprout Free to Play, Build-A-Bear Workshop Discover Adventure, Ocean Spray The Cranberry Co-Operative, Snoopy's Doghouse (2nd version), Hallmark Channel Heartwarming Holiday Countdown
2016 Balsam Hill Oh Christmas Tree, King's Hawaiian The Aloha Spirit, Krazy Glue Fun House, Girl Scouts of the USA Building a Better World, Sino-American Friend Association China's Chengdu
2017 Shimmer and Shine, Green Giant's Harvest, Celebrate with Entenmann's, Sour Patch Kids' Parade Day Mischief, Sprout's Universal Playground, Delta Airlines Human Christmas Tree
Performers and acts
In addition to the well-known balloons and floats, the Parade also features live music and other performances. College and high school marching bands from across the country participate in the parade, and the television broadcasts feature performances by established and up-and-coming singers and bands. The Rockettes of Radio City Music Hall are a classic performance as well (having performed annually since 1957 as the last pre-parade act to perform and their performance was followed by a commercial break), as are cheerleaders and dancers chosen by the National Cheerleaders Association from various high schools across the country. The parade always concludes with the arrival of Santa Claus to ring in the Christmas and holiday season.
On the NBC telecast from in front of the flagship Macy's store on Broadway and 34th Street, the marching bands perform live music. Most "live" performances by musicals and individual artists lip sync to the studio, soundtrack or cast recordings of their songs,[14] due to the technical difficulties of attempting to sing into a wireless microphone while in a moving vehicle (performers typically perform on the floats themselves); the NBC-flagged microphones used by performers on floats are almost always non-functioning props. Although rare, recent parade broadcasts have featured at least one live performance with no use of recorded vocals.
Featured performers
Year
Performers
2002 Ashanti, LeeAnn Womack, Josh Groban, Baha Men, Michael Feinstein, Mario, No Secrets, Natural, Play, Jill Hennessy, F. Murray Abraham, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Vince McMahon, Good Morning, Miami cast, Justin Guarini, Joe Lawrence, Matt Gallant, Jeff Corwin, Patty Duke, Judy Kaye, Joe from Blue's Clues, Eric Martsolf, and The Wiggles
2003 Hilary Duff, Chicago, Aaron Carter, Mýa, Kool and the Gang, Stacie Orrico, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Judy Collins, Simple Plan, Peter Nero, Ann Hampton Callaway, Peter Cincotti, Old Crow Medicine Show, A Christmas Carol cast, Harry Connick Jr., Bernie Williams, and Harvey Fierstein
2004 Kelsey Grammer, Brooke Shields, Jimmy Smits, Andrea Bocelli, Fantasia Barrino, Tony Shalhoub, Joe Namath, Tony Dorsett, Passions cast, Deborah Voigt, Steve Irwin, Nikki Cox, Jennifer Finnigan, Josh Cooke, Barenaked Ladies, Gavin DeGraw, Peter Cetera, José Feliciano, Ryan Cabrera, Nina Sky, Hi-5, Raven-Symoné, Jeff Timmons, Hayley Westenra, and Bering Strait
2005 Harry Connick Jr., Adrien Brody, Amy Grant, Christina Applegate, LeAnn Rimes, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Aaron Neville, Brian McKnight, Peter Reckell, Carrie Underwood, Kristin Chenoweth, Tommy Tune, The Beach Boys, Jai Rodriguez, Jeff Corwin, Keegan-Michael Key, Aly & AJ, B5, Natasha Bedingfield, The Cheetah Girls, Rita Coolidge, The Click Five, Tiffany Evans, Michael Feinstein, Brie Larson, Puffy AmiYumi, and Rihanna
2006 Julie Andrews, Laurie Berkner, Chris Brown, RBD, Cheyenne, Ciara, Miley Cyrus, Diana DeGarmo, Gloria Estefan, Renee Fleming, Big Apple Circus, Natalie Grant, Hall & Oates, High School Musical cast, Jonas Brothers, Josh Kelley, Darlene Love, Barry Manilow, Sarah McLachlan, Tara Conner, Sandi Patty, John Tartaglia, Ali Larter, Denise Van Outen, and Connie Britton
2007 Ashley Tisdale, Bindi Irwin, Terri Irwin, Corbin Bleu, Dolly Parton, Good Charlotte, Jonas Brothers, Lifehouse, Menudo, Ne-Yo, Nikki Blonsky, Sarah Brightman, Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, Wynonna Judd, and Jordin Sparks
2008 Kristin Chenoweth, Darius Rucker, James Taylor, Charice Pempengco, Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, David Archuleta, Shontelle, Idina Menzel, Rick Astley (as part of a Rickroll during the parade), Ashanti, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Faith Hill, Push Play, and The Clique Girlz
2009 Tiffany Thornton, Kermit the Frog, Keke Palmer, Andrea Bocelli, Bello Nock, Big Apple Circus, Boys Like Girls, Alan Cumming, Billy Currington, Yo Gabba Gabba! cast, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), Gloria Gaynor, Emily Hughes, Jane Krakowski, Katharine McPhee, Sesame Street cast, Mitchel Musso, Pizzarelli Quartet, Jay Sean, Ziggy Marley, and Carly Simon
2010 Kylie Minogue, Carrie Underwood, Kanye West, Jessica Simpson, Gladys Knight, India.Arie, Big Time Rush, Big Apple Circus, Arlo Guthrie, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, Miranda Cosgrove, Isabella Collins, Gloriana, Michael Grimm, Juanes, Keri Hilson, Eric Hutchinson, Victoria Justice, Mannheim Steamroller, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), Sesame Street cast and Muppets, Kyle Swann, Rima Fakih, the cast of Power Rangers Samurai, Crystal Shawanda, Joan Rivers, and Melissa Rivers
2011 The Cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Rodney Atkins, Big Apple Circus, Mary J. Blige, Cobra Starship, Neil Diamond, Michael Feinstein, The Fresh Beat Band, Cee Lo Green, Avril Lavigne, Shelby Lynne, Mannheim Steamroller, China Anne McClain, Scotty McCreery, Ingrid Michaelson, Sesame Street cast and Muppets, Savannah Outen, the cast of Power Rangers Samurai, Daniel Radcliffe, Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, Willard Scott, Sarah Smithson, Straight No Chaser, United States Naval Academy Glee Club, Johnny Weir, Zendaya and the Nickelodeon Queens
2012 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Trace Adkins, Flo Rida, the Big Apple Circus, Colbie Caillat, Teresa Castillo, Rachel Crow, Thirza Defoe, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Isaak, Carly Rae Jepsen, Karmin, Christian Laettner, Sandra Lee, Mannheim Steamroller, Jennette McCurdy, Don McLean, Megan & Liz, Olivia Culpo, the cast of Sesame Street, Neon Trees, the cast of Power Rangers Megaforce, Cody Simpson, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber, PS22 Chorus, The Wanted, Geoffrey Zakarian, and The Kidz Bop Kids.
2013 The cast of NBC's The Sound of Music Live!, Debby Ryan, Big Apple Circus, Cherokee National Youth Choir, the cast of The Sunny Side Up Show, Cirque du Soleil, Gavin DeGraw, Brett Eldredge, Fall Out Boy, The Summer Set, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon), the cast of Sesame Street, Fifth Harmony, Florida Georgia Line, Goo Goo Dolls, Ariana Grande, Jack Hanna, Megan Hilty, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Sandra Lee, Cher Lloyd, Austin Mahone, Richard Simmons, Mannheim Steamroller, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, Bart Oates, Amani Toomer and Hines Ward; Cam Neely and Mike Richter, Kristin Chenoweth, Kellie Pickler, and the cast of Duck Dynasty
2014 The cast of NBC's Peter Pan Live!, Renee Fleming, William Blake, Idina Menzel, Before You Exit, Becky G, MKTO, Needtobreathe, Sabrina Carpenter, Lucy Hale, KISS, Cole Swindell, Nick Jonas, The Madden Brothers, Quvenzhané Wallis, The Vamps, Meghan Trainor, Nia Sanchez, Romeo Santos and Pentatonix.
2015 The cast of NBC's The Wiz Live!, Jordin Sparks, the cast of Sesame Street with Questlove, Trey Songz, Jake Owen, Andy Grammer, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, Shawn Mendes, Cirque du Soleil's Dreamseeker, Mipso, Daughtry, Sprout cast, Andra Day, Big Apple Circus, Sofia Carson, Rachel Platten, Prince Royce, the cast of School of Rock, MercyMe, Jennifer Nettles, Train, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo and Mariah Carey
2016 The cast of NBC's Hairspray Live! Brett Eldredge, Chloe and Halle, Daya, De La Soul, Easton Corbin, Fitz and The Tantrums, Jacob Whitesides, Kelsea Ballerini, 2016 Olympic Medalist Laurie Hernandez, Mikey Brannigan, Gianfranco Iannotta, Hannah McFadden, Tatyana McFadden, & Claressa Shields, Maddie and Tae, Aloe Blacc, Ben Rector, Regina Spektor, Lunchmoney Lewis, The Muppets, Grace VanderWaal, Tony Bennett, Timeflies, Michelle Carter, Sarah McLachlan, Diamante Electrico, and Johnnyswim
Broadway shows
Every year, cast members from a number of Broadway shows (usually shows that debuted that year) perform either in the parade, or immediately preceding the parade in front of Macy's and before The Rockettes' performance (since NBC broadcasts the parade's start, the performances are shown during the wait for the parade itself). The 2007 parade was notable as it took place during a strike by the I.A.T.S.E. (a stagehands' union), and as such, Legally Blonde, the one performing musical affected by the strike, performed in show logo shirts, with makeshift props and no sets. The other three shows that year performed in theaters that were not affected by the strike.
Year
Performances
1980 Brigadoon, The Pirates of Penzance, A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
1981 Sophisticated Ladies, Camelot
1983 Cats, My One and Only
1984 The Tap Dance Kid
1986 Me and My Girl, Sweet Charity, Big River
1988 Godspell, Forbidden Broadway, Into the Woods
1989 Meet Me in St. Louis
1991 Grand Hotel, The Secret Garden, Miss Saigon, The Will Rogers Follies
1992 Annie Warbucks, Jelly's Last Jam, Guys and Dolls, Falsettos
1993 Raffi on Broadway, My Fair Lady, The Who's Tommy, Kiss of the Spider Woman
1994 Beauty and the Beast, Grease, Show Boat, Damn Yankees
1995 Hello, Dolly!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Smokey Joe's Cafe
1996 The King and I, Rent, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Chicago
1997 Titanic, Side Show, Street Corner Symphony, The Sound of Music
1998 Cabaret, Footloose, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Annie Get Your Gun, Peter Pan
1999 Saturday Night Fever, Fosse, Swing, Kiss Me, Kate
2000 The Music Man, Seussical, Swing, Annie Get Your Gun
2001 Mamma Mia!, 42nd Street, Thou Shalt Not, Contact
2002 Hairspray, Oklahoma!, The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie
2003 Wicked, The Boy From Oz, Little Shop of Horrors, Never Gonna Dance
2004 Bombay Dreams, All Shook Up, La Cage aux Folles, Wonderful Town, Good Vibrations
2005 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Jersey Boys, Sweet Charity
2006 A Chorus Line, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Color Purple, Spamalot
2007 Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein, Xanadu
2008 White Christmas, In the Heights, South Pacific, The Little Mermaid
2009 Billy Elliot, Bye, Bye Birdie, Hair, Shrek
2010 Memphis, American Idiot, Elf, Million Dollar Quartet
2011 Turn Off the Dark, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Sister Act, Newsies
2012 Annie, Bring It On, Elf, Cinderella, Nice Work If You Can Get It
2013 Matilda, Motown, Pippin, Kinky Boots
2014 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Last Ship, On the Town, Side Show
2015 On Your Feet!, The King and I, Finding Neverland, Something Rotten!, Fiddler on the Roof, School of Rock
2016 Holiday Inn, Waitress, Cats, Paramour
2017 Anastasia, Spongebob SquarePants, Once on This Island, Dear Evan Hansen
Marching bands
Year
Performances
2013 Concord High School Marching Band, Elkhart, Indiana; Lakota West High School Marching Band, West Chester, Ohio; Macy's Great American Marching Band; James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes, Harrisonburg, Virginia; Marian Catholic High School Marching Band, Chicago Heights, Illinois; Mountain View High School Marching Band, Mesa, Arizona; New York City Police Department Marching Band, New York; Ooltewah High School Marching Band, Tennessee; Tarpon Springs High School Marching Band, Florida; Union High School Marching Band, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Quantico Marine Corps Band, Quantico, Virginia; University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band, Amherst, Massachusetts
2014 American Fork High School Marching Band, Utah; Bahamas All Stars Marching Band, Nassau, Bahamas; Baldwinsville High School Marching Band, Baldwinsville, New York; Center Grove High School Marching Band, Greenwood, Indiana; Winston Churchill High School Marching Band, San Antonio, Texas; Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Marching Band, Lexington, Kentucky; Foothill High School Marching Band, Henderson, Nevada; Georgia State University Marching Band, Atlanta, Georgia; Macy's Great American Marching Band; Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps Anniversary Corps, Madison, Wisconsin; New York City Police Department Marching Band, New York; Western Carolina University Marching Band, Cullowhee, North Carolina
2015 Macy's Great American Marching Band; Stephen F. Austin State University Marching Band, Nacogdoches, Texas; Cavalier Marching Band (University of Virginia), Charlottesville, Virginia; New York City Police Department Marching Band, New York; Gulf Coast High School Marching Band, Naples, Florida; Walled Lake Central High School Viking Marching Band, Walled Lake, Michigan; Munford High School Marching Band, Munford, Tennessee; Nogales High School Noble Regiment Marching Band, La Puente, California; Lewis Cass High School Marching Band, Walton, Indiana; New York City Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, New York; North Hardin High School Marching Band, Radcliff, Kentucky; West Chester University Marching Band, West Chester, Pennsylvania; Marching Illini (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign), Champaign, Illinois
2016 Cary Senior High School marching band, Cary, North Carolina; Grain Valley High School Marching Eagles, Grain Valley, Missouri; Greendale High School Marching Band, Greendale, Wisconsin; Harrison High School marching band, Kennesaw, Georgia; Hawaii All State Marching Band; Hendrickson High School Hawk Band, Pflugerville, Texas; Newsome High School Marching Band, Lithia, Florida; Prospect High School Marching Knights, Mt. Prospect, Illinois; West Point Band, West Point, New York; West Virginia University Mountaineer Marching Band, Morgantown, West Virginia; Macy's Great American Marching Band; New York City Police Department Marching Band, New York
Special guests
For the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in 2011, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade invited family members from Tuesday's Children, a family service organization that has made a long-term commitment to those directly impacted by the attacks and terrorism around the world, to cut the ribbon at the start of the parade with NBC's Al Roker and led the parade with Amy Kule, the Parade's executive producer.
Television coverage
Tom the Turkey and Underdog arriving at Macy's Herald Square during the 1979 edition of the parade.
More than 44 million people watch the parade on television on an annual basis. It was first televised locally in New York City in 1939 as an experimental broadcast on NBC's W2XBS (forerunner of today's WNBC).[15] No television stations broadcast the parade in 1940 or 1941, but when the parade returned in 1945 after the wartime suspension, local broadcasts also resumed.[16][17] The parade began its network television appearances on CBS in 1948, the year that major, regular television network programming began.[18][19] NBC has been the official broadcaster of the event since 1952, though CBS (which has a studio in Times Square) also carries unauthorized coverage under the title The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS.[20] Since the parade takes place in public, the parade committee can endorse an official broadcaster, but they cannot award exclusive rights as other events (such as sporting events, which take place inside restricted-access stadiums) have the authority to do. The rerouting of the parade that was implemented for the 2012 event (see below) moved the parade out of the view of CBS's cameras and thus made it significantly more difficult for the network to cover the parade (though the route now passes along the west side of the network's Black Rock headquarters building along Sixth Avenue, and the hosts are stationed on a temporary tower platform at the Sixth/W. 53rd St. corner of the building); CBS nevertheless continues to cover the parade to the same extent as in previous years.
Since 2003, the parade has been broadcast simultaneously in Spanish on the sister network of NBCUniversal (Telemundo) host by María Celeste Arrarás from 2003-2006. The parade won nine Emmy Awards for outstanding achievements in special event coverage since 1979.
At first, the telecasts were only an hour long. In 1961, the telecast expanded to two hours,[21] and was then reduced to 90 minutes in 1962, before reverting to a two-hour telecast in 1965; all three hours of the parade were televised by 1969.[22] The event began to be broadcast in color in 1960.[23] NBC airs the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live in the Eastern Time Zone, but tape delays the telecast elsewhere in the continental U.S. and territories from the Central Time Zone westward to allow the program to air in the same 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. timeslot across its owned-and-operated and affiliated stations; since the morning program's expansion to three hours in 2000 and eventually to four hours, NBC's Today only airs for two hours Thanksgiving morning as a result, pre-empting the latter two talk-focused hours of the show for the day. NBC began airing a same-day afternoon rebroadcast of the parade in 2009 (replacing the annual broadcast of Miracle on 34th Street, which NBC had lost the broadcast television rights to that year). CBS's unauthorized coverage airs live in most time zones, allowing viewers to see the parade as many as two hours before the official NBC coverage airs in their area; CBS still broadcasts the parade on delay on the West Coast, immediately after the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game in years when CBS carries it, or at 9 a.m. local time in years they carry the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game.[20]
From 1962 to 1970, NBC's coverage was hosted by Lorne Greene (who was then appearing on NBC's Bonanza) and Betty White. Ed McMahon co-hosted in 1971, then hosted until 1981. Since 1982, NBC has appointed at least one of the hosts of Today to emcee the television broadcast, starting with Bryant Gumbel, who hosted the parade until 1986. From 1987 to 1996, NBC's coverage was hosted by longtime Today weather anchor Willard Scott. During that period, their co-hosts included Mary Hart, Sandy Duncan, and Today colleagues Deborah Norville and Katie Couric. In recent years, NBC's coverage has been hosted by Today anchors Matt Lauer (from 1998 to 2017), Meredith Vieira (from 2006 to 2010), Ann Curry (2011) and Savannah Guthrie (since 2012) as well as Today weather anchor Al Roker who usually joins the producers of the parade and special guests in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
From the early 1980s until circa 1994, the television broadcast was produced and directed by Dick Schneider; since circa 1994, it has been executive produced by Brad Lachman (who has otherwise been known for producing reality television series), produced by Bill Bracken and directed by veteran sitcom director Gary Halvorson. Announcements during the telecast were first provided by Don Pardo, followed by Lynda Lopez, the telecast's only female announcer, who served during the decade wherein Willard Scott was the parade's host; from circa 1994 to 2010, announcer duties were helmed by Joel Godard (who also served as the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien for much of that period), and then were assumed by Today announcer Les Marshak with the 2011 telecast. The musical director for the television coverage is veteran composer/arranger Milton DeLugg.
CBS's coverage was originally part of the "All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade," a broadcast that included footage from multiple parades across North America, including parades at Detroit, Philadelphia and Disneyland (the latter was later replaced by Opryland USA in 1997 and after that Miami Beach), and taped footage of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade (taped usually the second or third weekend of November) and the Aloha Floral Parade in Honolulu (which usually took place in September). Beginning in 2004, however, CBS has focused exclusively on the Macy's parade, but avoids using the Macy's name due to the lack of an official license. To compensate for the fact that the Broadway and music performances can only appear on NBC, CBS adds their own pre-recorded performances (also including Broadway shows, although different from the ones that are part of the official parade and recorded off-site) to fill out the special.[24]
For the 1997 parade, MTV guest reporters, Beavis and Butt-head, with host Kurt Loder, provided their usual style of commentary on aspects of the parade, and of their take on Thanksgiving in general. The special, titled Beavis and Butt-head Do Thanksgiving, included a balloon of Beavis and Butt-head spectating from their couch. The balloon was not participating in the parade, but stationed on top of a building alongside the parade route.
Radio coverage is provided by Entercom's WINS (1010 AM) in New York City. It is one of the few times throughout the year in which that station breaks away from its all-news radio format.
In 2016, Verizon produced a 360-degree virtual reality live telecast of the parade, with minimal commentary, made available through YouTube.[25]
Parade route
The Parade has always taken place in Manhattan. The parade originally started from 145th Street in Harlem and ended at Herald Square, making a 6-mile (9.7 km) route.
In the 1930s, the balloons were inflated in the area of 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue near St. John the Divine Cathedral. The parade proceeded South on Amsterdam Avenue to 106th Street and turned east. At Columbus Avenue, the balloons had to be lowered to go under the Ninth Avenue El. Past the El tracks, the parade proceeded through 106th Street to Central Park West and turned south to terminate at Macy's Department Store.
A new route was established for the 2009 parade. From 77th Street and Central Park West, the route went south along Central Park to Columbus Circle, then east along Central Park South. The parade would then make a right turn at 7th Avenue and go south to Times Square. At 42nd Street, the parade turned left and went east, then at 6th Avenue turned right again at Bryant Park. Heading south on 6th Avenue, the parade turned right at 34th Street (at Herald Square) and proceeded west to the terminating point at 7th Avenue where the floats are taken down.[citation needed][26] The 2009 route change eliminated Broadway completely, where the parade has traveled down for decades. The City of New York said that the new route would provide more space for the parade, and more viewing space for spectators. Another reason for implementing the route change is the city's plan to turn Broadway into a pedestrian-only zone at Times Square.
Another new route was introduced with the 2012 parade. This change is similar to the 2009 route, but eliminated Times Square altogether.
It is not advised to view the parade from Columbus Circle, as balloon teams race through it due to higher winds in this flat area. New York City officials preview the parade route and try to eliminate as many potential obstacles as possible, including rotating overhead traffic signals out of the way.
Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's
Since 2001, Macy's Studios has partnered with the Universal Orlando Resort (owned by NBC parent NBCUniversal) to bring balloons and floats from New York City to the theme park in Florida every holiday season in an event known as the Macy's Holiday Parade. The parade is performed daily and includes the iconic Santa Claus float. Performers from the Orlando area are cast as various clowns, and the park used to invite guests to be "balloon handlers" for the parade.[27]
In 2017, the Macy's Holiday Parade was renamed to Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's.
Injuries
In 1993, the Sonic the Hedgehog balloon crashed into a lamppost at Columbus Circle and injured a child and an off-duty police officer.[28]
In 1997, very high winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost.[29] The falling debris struck a parade-goer, fracturing her skull and leaving her in a coma for a month. Three other people were also injured from the lamp post. Size rules were implemented the next year, eliminating larger balloons like the Cat in the Hat.[30]
In 2005, the M&M's balloon caught on a streetlight in Times Square and dropped parts of the light onto two sisters were struck by the falling debris, suffering minor injuries. As a result, new safety rules were introduced.[31] The M&M's balloon was retired after 2006.
In popular culture
The 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, begins with the parade, as do most of its remakes. The film centers around the real Santa Claus being hired to work at Macy's after its own Santa impersonator gets drunk during the parade. NBC, in its telecasts of the parade, often showed the original 1947 film on Thanksgiving afternoon, following its coverage of the parade and the National Dog Show.
In the Seinfeld episode "The Mom and Pop Store", Elaine wins a spot on the parade route for her boss, Mr. Pitt, to hold the Woody Woodpecker balloon.
The first Thanksgiving-themed episode of Friends centered on the accidental release of the (unused at the time) "Underdog" balloon.
"Macy's Day Parade" is a song by Green Day.
In 2008, a Coca-Cola CGI ad aired in the United States during Super Bowl XLII. The commercial's plot centered around Underdog and fictional Stewie Griffin balloons chasing a Coke bottle-shaped balloon through New York City. The spot ended with a Charlie Brown balloon holding the Coke balloon. The advertisement won a Silver Lion Award at the annual Lions International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France that year, and the clip of the commercial with the Griffin balloon was featured in a Macy's commercial in October 2008 (along with clips from Miracle on 34th Street, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld and other media where the Macy's department store was mentioned). The commercial was also referenced in an episode of Family Guy. Stewie, who is one of the main characters in the show, is seen watching the parade only to see the balloon of himself in the parade.
In the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, the new team of Ghostbusters fights a haunted balloon parade including several Macy's balloons from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
References
Notes
^ Jump up to: a b "Portfolio of Brad Lachman-produced programs". Retrieved 22 November 2012.
Jump up ^ "Millions Of Revelers Marvel Over Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". CBS Broadcasting Inc. November 24, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
Jump up ^ Grippo, Robert (2004). Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. San Francisco, CA: Arcadia Publishing. p. 9.
Jump up ^ Sweet, Melissa. Balloons Over Broadway; The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. Print
^ Jump up to: a b http://www1.macys.com/campaign/parade/index.jsp?keyword=parade
Jump up ^ WOR schedule, "Today on the Radio", The New York Times November 24, 1932, p. 40. "R adio Today", The New York Times, November 20, 1999, p. 54.
Jump up ^ "Radio Today", The New York Times, November 22, 1945, p. 36. "On the Radio", The New York Times, November 22, 1957, p. 58.
Jump up ^ "Mayor Plays Role of Dragon Slayer", The New York Times, November 14, 1942, p. 17.
Jump up ^ "Get Set, Children, and Your Parents, Too; Genii Are Coming in Thanksgiving Parade", The New York Times, November 14, 2010, p. 27.
Jump up ^ Firm Flying High With Order for 4 Giant Macy's Parade Balloons – Los Angeles Times. Articles.latimes.com (1987-11-25). Retrieved on 2013-12-06.
Jump up ^ New York Daily News (2008-11-28). "Floating back in time with Macy's balloons". Retrieved 2008-11-28.
^ Jump up to: a b "Spider-Man Returning to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Paradede", Associated Press via WCBS (AM), 17 August 2009 Archived November 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Snider, Mike (October 1, 2015). "Angry Bird balloon to take flight in annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". USA Today. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
Jump up ^ Jensen, Elizabeth (November 25, 2012). At ‘Sesame Street,’ a Void in a Close-Knit Troupe. The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2012. "The puppet was featured on a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float, with another puppeteer acting to Mr. Clash's taped voice."
Jump up ^ "Television" section of "Today on the Radio", The New York Times, November 23, 1939, p. 40.
Jump up ^ "Radio Today" (with television listings), The New York Times, November 20, 1941, p. 54.
Jump up ^ "Radio Today" (with television listings), The New York Times, November 22, 1945, p. 36.
Jump up ^ "Radio and Television", The New York Times, November 15, 1948, p. 44.
Jump up ^ "Radio and Television", The New York Times, November 21, 1949, p. 44.
^ Jump up to: a b "The Thanksgiving Day Parade on CBS" will be anchored live by "The Early Show's" Dave Price and Maggie Rodriguez from New York's Times Square, Thursday, November 27 on the CBS Television Network Archived February 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.. CBS press release (2008-11-13). Retrieved 2010-06-21.
Jump up ^ "Television", The New York Times, November 23, 1961, p. 71.
Jump up ^ "Television", The New York Times, November 27, 1969, p. 75.
Jump up ^ "Television", The New York Times, November 24, 1960, p. 67.
Jump up ^ Gioia, Michael (November 26, 2015). What Was It Like to Perform on the Macy's Parade? Over 20 Broadway Actors Remember a Dream Come True! Playbill. Retrieved November 26, 2015. "We pre-recorded the opening number of the show for the CBS broadcast, down on South Ferry."—Carly Hughes
Jump up ^ "Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade will be live-streamed on YouTube in 360-degree video".
Jump up ^ "City to Change Route of Thanksgiving Day Parade". NY1 News. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2009. [permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ Universal Studios, Orlando: Theme Parks, Attractions, Accommodations Archived December 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ Chan, Sewell (2005-11-27). "Site of Balloon Accident Is Known for Its Crosswinds". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
Jump up ^ Martin, Douglas (1997-11-28). "Macy's Parade of Balloons Gets One Thing It Doesn't Need: Wind". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
Jump up ^ "Macy's presents safer parade". CNN. 1998-11-26. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
Jump up ^ "New safety rules for NYC Thanksgiving parade after balloon crash". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
Further reading
William L. Bird, Jr. Holidays on Display. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History in Association with Princeton Architectural Press, 2007.
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