How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) Director Chuck Jones and children's-book author Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had worked together on the "Private Snafu" training cartoons at Warner Bros. Cartoons during World War II. Jones was interested in adapting one of Geisel's books into a television special and approached him to turn "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" into one in time for the holiday season. Although Geisel was initially reluctant due to his unpleasant experiences making the film "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.", he eventually agreed. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) and later wrote letters to columnists nationwide telling them that it was Ravenscroft who provided vocals for the musical number. Karloff received a Grammy Award in the Spoken Word category—the only major performing award of his career—for the album. A television special called "Halloween Is Grinch Night", created by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, aired on ABC in 1977, eleven years after the Christmas special. This special involved a tale of the Grinch coming down to scare the Whos every Halloween. Though less successful than the original, it was awarded an Emmy. A later cartoon, "The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat"