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The 36th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1962) | The 37th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1963) | The 38th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1964) | 
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The 37th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 28, 1963 in New York City, and was shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 10 to 11:30 a.m. EST. It was hosted by Lorne Greene and Betty White. The lineup featured six giant helium balloons, 21 floats, 12 marching bands, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the parade elements that appeared in the 1963 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are categorized by unit type, with their respective sponsors in bold. Home locations of talent ensembles are featured in brackets, and the guest star’s float appearances are indicated in bold.
Bold denotes a new parade unit, and an asterisk (*) indicates an element that was retired after the 1963 Parade.
Balloons[]
- Dino the Dinosaur (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 1st time
- Bullwinkle (The Kalmus Company) - 3rd time
- Donald Duck (Walt Disney Productions) - 2nd time
- Popeye (Associated Artists Productions) - 7th time
- Happy Dragon (Macy's)- 4th time
- Elsie the Cow (Borden) - 1st time
Floats[]
- World's Fair* (1964 New York World's Fair) - 1st time
- Circus (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Showplace (Radio City Music Hall) - 1st time
- Great Songs of Christmas* (Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company) - 1st time
- Catfish Row* (New York City Center Light Opera Company) - 1st time
- New York City* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Jazz* (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Lincoln Center (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) - 1st time
- Toyland (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Here's Love* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Christmas Sleigh* (Macy's) - 3rd time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 37th time
- "Macy's Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner* (Macy's) - 5th time
- The Circus Wagon (Macy's) - 3rd time
Push Floats[]
- Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 6th time
- Little Miss Muffet* (Macy's) - 6th time
- The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (Macy's) - 4th time
- Pirate Ship* (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Sing a Song of Sixpence (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Jack-in-the-Box* (Macy's) - 4th time
Marching Bands[]
- Bergenfield High School Marching Band (Bergenfield, NJ)
- Blessed Sacrament Marching Band (Newark, NJ)
- University of Pennsylvania Marching Band (Philadelphia, PA)
- Central York High School Panther Marching Band (York, PA)
- Aquinas Marching Band of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
- Skyliners Drum & Bugle Corps (Scranton, PA)
- Fralinger String Band (Philadelphia, PA)
- Monroe Girls Corps (Monroe, GA)
- Greater Kensington String Band (Philadelphia, PA), performed "Mexican Fiesta"
- Colonial Fife and Drum Corps
- Morgantown High School Red & Blue Marching Band (Morgantown, WV)
Guest Stars[]
- Macy's Official: Dennis Mulhearn
- Miss International Beauty 1963 Guðrún Bjarnadóttir (World's Fair)
- James Drury on Horseback
- Michael Landon on Horseback
- Jack Palance (Circus)
- Ray Bolger, sang "L'il Elfy" (Circus Wagon)
- Mitch Miller and the Sing Along Gang, sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Great Songs of Christmas)
- Captain Robert Cottle (Pirate Ship)
- The Cast of New York City Center's Production of Porgy and Bess (Catfish Row)
- Troy Donahue (New York City)
- Leslie Uggams, sang "Charley, My Boy/Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)" (New York City)
- Gene Krupa and Miss Teenage America Judy Doll (Jazz Float)
- The Starliners (Jazz Float)
- Metropolitan Opera Ballet Studio (Lincoln Center Float)
- Alan Sherman, sang "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" (Toyland)
- Janis Paige, Craig Stevens, Valerie Lee, and Fred Gwynne (Here's Love)
- Santa Claus (Christmas Sleigh)
Performance Groups[]
- Radio City Music Hall Corp de Ballet
- Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. performed "The Ain't Not Tree"
- Utica Screeming Eagles Drill Team (Utica, OH)
- Miller's Blackhawks Twirling Corps (Dayton, OH)
Trivia[]
- Due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy five days prior to the 1963 Parade, officials considered cancelling the event. However, the mayor of New York City said that the show must go on.
- 1963 would mark the first time that Betty White and Lorne Greene would host the Parade's NBC telecast. They would continue to host until after the 1972 procession.