Which Surprising Actor Was Replaced by Burl Ives in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’?
What To Know
- Larry D. Mann, originally the voice of Sam the Snowman in the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special, was replaced late in production by Burl Ives at the request of NBC and sponsor General Electric.
- The Canadian voice actors, including Mann, were paid a modest two-year buyout for their work, while Burl Ives received ongoing residuals due to a different contract.
- The replacement and contract terms left Mann and other Canadian actors feeling bitter, as none anticipated the special would become a beloved annual classic for decades.
Though most viewers can’t imagine the classic 1964 Rankin/Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special being any different than the version they know and love, at one point, there was a major difference: the character of Sam the Snowman, made famous by Burl Ives, was originally portrayed by Larry D. Mann, the voice actor who played Yukon Cornelius in the final special.
At the time they were making Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, producers Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass (then working under the name Videocraft International) worked with a cast of Canadian voice actors that they often used in their early productions. In addition to Rudolph, they hired Bernard Cowan and his group of voice actors for their early syndicated series, The New Adventures of Pinocchio, The Tales of the Wizard of Oz, Return to Oz, and their first feature film, Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965)
This arrangement was very beneficial to the Canadian actors at the time, and the productions received the Canadian seal of approval. But the Canadian actors agreed to contracts they would eventually regret.
Courtesy of Rick Goldschmidt Archives
Who was the original voice of Sam the Snowman?
In this group, there was a versatile actor named Larry D. Mann. He could do outrageous voices such as the Witch in the Tales of Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz, Foxy Q. Fibble in The New Adventures of Pinocchio and Professor Von Rotten in Willy McBean and His Magic Machine. But his most famous voice work would be the boisterous Yukon Cornelius, the greatest prospector of the North! (I was the one who discovered his famous Peppermint Mine sequence and revealed the fact that he was looking for peppermint, not silver and gold.)
Initially, Larry also recorded all of the dialogue for Sam the Snowman, too, as well as the roars of Bumble. Bill Giles, the recording engineer on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer explains, “Larry was a super talented voice actor and could do anything. He was our go-to actor for unusual sounds and that is why we went to him for the roars and growls of the Bumble. He nailed Yukon and was a great Sam. I had no idea he was replaced by Burl Ives, until I saw it air on the network. It was a surprise. Burl Ives was brought into the project very late in the game.”
Why did Burl Ives replace the original Sam the Snowman?
Adding Burl Ives was a decision made by NBC and General Electric, who sponsored the special. Sam was created and written by Romeo Muller (with character designer Antony Peters) to be similar to Nicely-Nicely Johnson from Guys and Dolls, hence the derby, vest, umbrella and the pocket watch. Arthur Rankin explained, “Burl fit that character perfectly and was America’s greatest folk balladeer at the time.”
What happened to the Canadian voice actors?
The Canadian voice actor union agreed to a two-year buyout on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This meant each actor was paid about $2,000 for their work for the two years it was supposed to air, with no residuals past that. Burl Ives had a much different deal and his residuals kept getting paid. Arthur Rankin told me, “GE paid for the special to be made and the deal was for a two year network airing and that would be it. No one, including me knew it would be an annual special that would go on for decades.”
Everett Collection
After Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Willy McBean and His Magic Machine, Larry D. Mann left Canada for Hollywood and got a good agent, who immediately got him guest spots on Hogan’s Heroes, Bewitched and The Green Hornet. He was somewhat bitter over what happened with Rudolph, as were some of the other Canadian actors.
He told my friend Tim Lawson, author of The Magic Behind the Voices, “We were the mice that took the cheese,” when asked about Rudolph. As Arthur Rankin stated, no one knew that Rudolph would go down in history for 61 years and counting!
Rick Goldschmidt is an official historian and biographer at Rankin/Bass Productions and a pop culture collector with a vast collection that has been featured on various television shows. He has written several books on Rankin/Bass Productions (Miser Bros. Press). The most recent release is Rankin/Bass’ The Year Without a Santa Claus and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas 50th Anniversary Scrapbook. New for 2026, fans can purchase the 13-month limited editon wall Calendar. Fans can also contact Rick at [email protected].
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December 2022
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