Robert L. May adaptation of Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas". In 1941, May married another Ward employee, Virginia, and had five children with her. She was a devout Catholic, and he converted to Catholicism during the marriage. May wrote two sequels to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". The first is mostly in prose (except that Rudolph
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys is a 2001 American-Canadian Christmas computer-animated adventure musical film directed by Bill Kowalchuk for GoodTimes Entertainment. It was released on video and DVD on October 30, 2001. The film uses the characters from the 1964 Rankin/Bass TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and takes place several years after the events of that special (despite Rudolph and Clarice appearing younger in this film than they did at the end of the original special). The film thus revisits classic characters like Hermey