Jerome Coopersmith also wrote screenplays for TV movies and specials which aired on the major networks in the 1970s and 80s. His first feature film of this era, ""Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside"", was originally planned as a series pilot, and was produced by Philip D'Antoni (""The French Connection"") in 1973. The movie starred Tony LoBianco and Hal Linden as cops thwarting a gang of diamond smugglers. In 1973, Coopersmith wrote the screenplay for ""'Twas The Night Before Christmas"" an animated adaptation of Clement Moore's classic poem ""A Visit From Saint Nicholas"". The Rankin/Bass production featured voices by Joel Grey, George Gobel, Tammy Grimes,
A Visit from St. Nicholas drop the first unstressed syllable. Likewise, lines 9 and 10 drop the first unstressed syllable; they also add an extra unstressed syllable to the end. According to legend, "A Visit" was composed by Clement Clarke Moore on a snowy winter's day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas. Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today while borrowing other aspects, such as the use of reindeer. The poem was first published anonymously in the