The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1977)

The 50th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1976)

The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1977)

The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1978)

The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Lineup Ad for the 1977 Parade shows the debut of a new balloon--Kermit the Frog.
Date	November 24, 1977
Parade #	51
New Giant Balloons	Kermit the Frog by Henson Associates
New Floats	Big Apple by The New York Daily News Watership Down by Nepenthe Productions The Hobbit by Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. McDonald's Gazebo by McDonald's

The 51^st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 24, 1977 in New York City, and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 noon EST. It was hosted by Ed McMahon and Bryant Gumbel. The lineup featured nine balloons, 29 floats, 12 marching bands, and more than 1,000 marchers.

Parade Lineup

Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1977 line of march. Each element is listed in their respective categories/sub-categories, with sponsors in bold.

Bold indicates a new Parade unit, strikethrough indicates a removed Parade unit, and * indicates a Parade unit retired after the 1977 procession.

Balloons

• Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 17th time
• Weeble (Hasbro) - 3rd time
• Smokey the Bear (Macy's) - 12th time
• Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 7th time
• Snoopy (United Media) - 10th time
• Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 14th time
• Kermit the Frog (Henson Associates) - 1st time
• Bullwinkle J. Moose (Macy's) - 17th time
• Underdog (Macy's) - 13th time

Floats

• Big Apple (The New York Daily News) - 1st time
• Turkey (Macy's) - 5th time
• Cinderella* (Dr. Pepper) - 9th time
• Raggedy Ann and Andy* (Knickerbocker Toy Company) - 3rd time
• Pirate Ship (Macy's) - 9th time
• Disney Castle (Walt Disney Productions) - 7th time
• Doodlebug* (Macy's) - 8th time
• The Old Country Village* (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.) - 3rd time
• Watership Down (Nepenthe Productions) - 1st time
• Showboat (Macy's) - 9th time
• Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 4th time
• Cootie (Schaper Toys) - 3rd time
• Mother Goose (Macy's) - 4th time
• The Hobbit* (Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) - 1st time
• McDonald's Gazebo (McDonald's) - 1st time
• Giant Jukebox (FM 99 WXLO) - 2nd time
• Santa's Sleigh* (Macy's) - 5th time

Specialty Units

• N.Y.P.D. Mounted Police - 51st time
• "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner (Macy's) - 14th time
• Skateboard Ramp* (Macy's) - 1st time
• "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner (Macy's) - 14th time
• Excalibur Car (Macy's) - 3rd time
• Circus Wagon (Macy's) - 13th time

Push Floats

• Pilgrim Man & Woman (Macy's) - 3rd time
• Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 20th time
• Airplane (Macy's) - 11th time
• Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 8th time
• George Washington & Ben Franklin (Macy's) - 3rd time
• Snail (Macy's) - 9th time
• Bear Bee (Macy's) - 7th time

Marching Bands

• Rhode Island Matadors (Providence, RI)
• Cisco Junior College Wrangler Band & Belles (Cisco, TX), performed "Texas Country Medley"
• United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps and Silent Drill (Washington, D.C.)
• Salem High School Blue Devils Marching Band (Salem, NH), performed "Second Hungarian Rhapsody"
• Wauwatosa East High School Red Raider Marching Band (Wauwatosa, WI)
• Canton South High School Band (Canton, OH)
• Ben Davis High School Marching Band (Indianapolis, IN)
• Bergenfield High School Marching Band (Bergenfield, NJ)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute Regimental Band (Blacksburg, VA)
• Brentwood High School Green Machine Marching Band (Brentwood, NY)
• Mainland High School Buccaneer Band (Daytona Beach, FL)
• McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide), performed "Star Wars (Main Theme)" and "Gonna Fly Now" (Nationwide)

Guest Stars

• Parade Official Jean McFaddin
• Andrea McArdle sang "N.Y.C." (Big Apple)
• Vince Montana (Rocking Horse)
• Mel Tillis (Turkey)
• Miss Teenage America 1976: Cathy Durden (Cinderella)
• Jo Anne Worley and Arte Johnson (Raggedy Ann and Andy)
• The Trammps (Pirate Ship)
• Kids of the Kingdom (Disney Castle)
• Wally Amos (Rocking Giraffe)
• Gloria Gaynor, sang "We Can Start All Over Again" (Doodlebug)
• Lou Rawls, sang "Lady Love" (Old Country Village)
• Carol Lawrence with the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club, sang "Applause" (Showboat)
• The Broadway Cast of Beatlemania (Excalibur Car)
• The Cast of Sesame Street (Sesame Street)
• Bugs Bunny Follies (Circus Wagon)
• Orson Bean (The Hobbit)
• Paul Lavalle (McDonald's Gazebo)
• Neil Sedaka, sang "Laughter in the Rain" (Giant Jukebox)
• Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)

Costumed Characters

• Weebles
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Miss Bianca, and Orville (Disney Castle)
• Human Fly
• Popeye
• Mr. Chuck

Performance Groups

• Mummenschanz (Altstätten, Switzerland)
• L.A. Wheels Skateboard Team (Los Angeles, CA)
• Radio City Music Hall Rockettes

Clowns

• Skating Clowns - 10th time

See also

• The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade/Gallery
• The 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Marching Order

Trivia

• The newspaper ad for the 1977 Parade was the last to be illustrated by Walter Einsel, who had been doing so since 1958.
• 1977 marked the first time Bryant Gumbel hosted the event. Ed McMahon (who was the man on the street host from 1974 to 1976) took over the booth, which was now placed at the Herald Square entrance of Macy's.
• The 1977 Parade was the first time Weeble completed the march without incident.