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The 45th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1971) | The 46th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1972) | The 47th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1973) | 
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The 46th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 23, 1972, in New York City and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to noon EST. It was hosted by Lorne Greene, Betty White, Joe Garagiola, and Phyllis George. Participating celebrities included the likes of Cathy Rigby, Danny Bonaduce, Freda Payne, Donna Fargo, Rick Springfield, Bill Anderson, and Tommy Cash.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the parade elements that appeared in the 1972 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 element, and an asterisk (*) indicates an element that was retired after the 1972 Parade.
Balloons[]
- Smile* (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Smokey Bear (Macy's) - 7th time
- Underdog (Macy's) - 8th time
- Dino the Dinosaur (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 10th time
- Snoopy the Astronaut (United Media) - 5th time
- Donald Duck* (Walt Disney Productions) - 11th time
- Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 2nd time
- Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 9th time
- Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 12th time
- Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 12th time
Floats[]
- Doodlebug (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Showboat (Macy's) - 4th time
- Alphabet Blocks (Collins & Aikman) - 1st time
- Woman in the Shoe (Macy's) - 4th time
- Windmill* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Captain Hook's Pirate Ship (Walt Disney Productions) - 4th time
- Disney Castle (Walt Disney Productions) - 2nd time
- Cinderella's Carriage (Macy's) - 5th time
- Snow Mountain (Budweiser) - 1st time
- Story Book Train (Western Publishing) - 2nd time
- Santa's Holiday Home (Macy's) - 1st time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 46th time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner - 9th time
- Alli the Alligator (Macy's) - 4th time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner - 9th time
- Disney Wagon (Walt Disney Productions) - 8th time
Push Floats[]
- Snail (Macy's) - 5th time
- Airplane (Macy's) - 6th time
- Clown Shack (Macy's) - 5th time
- Bear Bee (Macy's) - 4th time
- The Tortoise and the Hare (Macy's) - 5th time
- Curious George* (Knickerbocker Toy Company) - 1st time
- Rocking Unicorn (Macy's) - 15th time
- Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Gorilla (Macy's) - ?th time
Marching Bands[]
- Hawthrone Caballeros (Hawthorne, NJ), performed "Everybody's Everything"
- Huntington Thunderers (Huntington, NY)
- NYC Police Department Emerald Society Pipe Band (New York City, NY)
- Dover High School Marching Tornadoes (Dover, OH)
- Western High School Band (Anaheim, CA)
- Kokomo High School Band (Kokomo, IN)
- Plymouth Whitemarsh Senior High School Band (Plymouth, PA)
- Cardinal Dougherty High School Band (Philadelphia, PA)
- McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide)
- Pelmira String Band (Berlin, NJ)
- Racine Explorer Scouts (Racine, WI)
- Northwestern Senior High School Band (Hyattsville, MD)
Guest Stars[]
- Danny Bonaduce (Doodlebug)
- Tommy Cash (Rocking Giraffe)
- John Raitt (Showboat)
- Freda Payne, sang "Band of Gold" (Snail)
- Donna Fargo, sang "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." (Alphabet Blocks)
- Jody Miller, sang "Your Love's Been a Long Time Coming" (Woman in the Shoe)
- Robert Horton (Windmill)
- Rick Springfield (Captain Hook's Pirate Ship)
- Karen Wyman (Cinderella's Carriage)
- Bill Anderson, sang "Unicorn" (Rocking Unicorn)
- Santa Claus (Santa's Holiday Home)
Costumed Characters[]
- Mr. Chuck (Alli the Alligator)
- Goofy, Pluto, and Dumbo (Disney Wagon)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Peter Pan, Wendy, John Darling, and Captain Hook (Captain Hook's Pirate Ship)
- Mickey Mouse and the Country Bears Jamboree (Disney World Castle)
Performance Groups[]
- Today's Children, sang "Save the Country" (Park Ridge, IL)
- Dance Theater of Harlem (Harlem, NY)
- Radio City Music Hall Rockettes
Pre-Parade Acts[]
- Miss Iowa 1972 Renee Stuedemann
- Cathy Rigby
- Westchester High School Wranglerettes
- West Point Glee Club, sang "Anchors Aweigh" and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"
- Disney on Parade
Clowns[]
- Skating Clowns - 5th time
Trivia[]
- Betty White and Lorne Greene hosted for their tenth and final time in 1972; Martin Milner and Kent McCord took their positions the following year.
- The Donald Duck balloon's retirement is one of only two known instances where a balloon's retirement was announced on the NBC telecast—the other was Shrek in 2010.