The 47th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1973) | The 48th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1974) | The 49th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1975) |
The 48th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 28th, 1974 in New York City, and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST. It was hosted by David Hartman, Karen Grassle, and Ed McMahon.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1974 line of march. Each element is listed in their respective categories/sub-categories, with sponsors in bold.
Bold indicates a new Parade element, an underline indicates an element that was brought back after an absence, and * indicates an element that was retired following the 1974 procession.
Balloons[]
- Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 11th time
- Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 14th time
- Smokey Bear (Macy's) - 9th time
- Snoopy (United Media) - 7th time
- Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 4th time
- Dino the Dinosaur (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 12th time
- Underdog (Macy's) - 10th time
- Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 14th time
Floats[]
- Island* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Broadway Belle Showboat (Macy's) - 6th time
- Thanksgiving Turkey (Macy's) - 2nd time
- The Snowman Sleigh* (Anheuser-Busch) - 3rd time
- The Walt Disney World Castle (Walt Disney Productions) - 4th time
- Circus Train* (Fisher-Price) - 1st time
- Cartonella (Bil Baird) - 1st time
- Captain Hook's Pirate Ship (Walt Disney Productions) - 6th time
- Alice in Wonderland* (Walt Disney Productions) - 2nd time
- Planet of the Apes (The Mego Corporation) - 1st time
- Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 1st time
- The Wizard of Oz (Macy's) - 1st time
- Woman in the Shoe (Macy's) - 6th time
- Circus* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Mother Goose* (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 3rd time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 48th time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner - 16th time
- Alli the Alligator* (Macy's) - 6th time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner - 11th time
- Disney Wagon (Walt Disney Productions) - 6th time
- Doodlebug (Macy's) - 5th time
- Royal Lipizzan Stallions - 2nd time
Toy Floats[]
- The Tortoise and The Hare (Macy's) - 7th time
- Airplane (Macy's) - 7th time
- Clown Shack (Macy's) - 7th time
- Humpty Dumpty (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 5th time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 17th time
- Snail* (Macy's) - 7th time
- Gorilla (Macy's) - ?th time
- Rabbit* (Macy's) - 1st time
Marching Bands[]
- Arvada West High School Marching Band (Arvada, CO)
- McDonald's All-American High School Marching Band (Nationwide)
- Lake Wales "Highlander" Marching Band (Lake Wales, FL); performed "Garry Owen", and "Wee Bonnie Lassie"
- Concord Community High School Marching "Minutemen" Band (Elkhart, IN)
- Spring Branch Senior High School Marching Band (Houston, TX)
- Highlands High School "Varsity" Marching Band, Majorettes, & Color Guard (Natrona Heights, PA)
- The Massillon Tiger Swing Band (Massillon, OH)
- Lake Worth High School "Trojan" Band (Lake Worth, FL)
- Plymouth-Carver High School Marching Band (Plymouth, MA)
- The Southern "Highlander" Marching Band (Oakland, MD)
- The Wamego High School "Red Raider" Marching Band (Wamego, KS)
Guest Stars[]
- The Stylistics (1949 Chrysler Town & Country Convertible)
- Howard Keel (The Thanksgiving Turkey)
- Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass, performed "St. Louis Blues" (Wagon)
- Mr. Chuck the Parade Clown (Alli the Alligator)
- The Wombles (The Little People Circus Train)
- Bil Baird & The Three Barnyard Sisters, sang "Cartonella's March" (Cartonella)
- Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods; sang "Billy don't be a Hero" (The Walt Disney World Castle)
- The Cast of "Sesame Street" (Sesame Street)
- Kathy Coleman; sang "Somewhere over the Rainbow" (The Wizard of Oz)
- The Broadway Cast of "Godspell" (The Circus)
- Santa Claus (Santa's Holiday Home)
Specialty Characters[]
- Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Pluto (The Disney Wagon)
- Alice, The White Rabbit, and The Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, John Darling, Micheal Daring, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Tinker Bell, & Tick Tock the Crocodile (Captain Hook's Pirate Ship)
Performance Groups[]
- The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club (Philadelphia, PA); sang "Come All Ye Faithful" (The Broadway Belle Showboat)
- The Trinidad & Tobago Brooklynaries Steel Orchestra (Brooklyn, NY)
- The Long Island Patriots (Huntington, NY)
- The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes; performed "Jingle Bells"
Pre Parade Acts[]
- Doug Henning
- The American Ballet Theatre (New York City, NY)
- The National Dance Company Senegal
- Bonnie Langford from "Gypsy"
- The Spring Branch Bruin Brigade Drill Team (Houston, TX)
Clowns[]
- Skating Clowns - 7th time
See also[]
- The 48th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade/Gallery
- The 48th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Lineup
Trivia[]
- This was the first parade to feature Sesame Street.
- This was the first parade where Ed McMahon was host. He would continue to host the NBC broadcast until the 1981 Parade.