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The 52nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1978) | The 53rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1979) | The 54th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1980) | 
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The 53rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 22, 1979 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 Ed McMahon and Bryant Gumbel. The lineup featured eight giant character balloons, 27 floats, 11 marching bands, dozens of clowns, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1979 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 1979 procession.
Balloons[]
- Underdog (Macy's) - 15th time
- Kermit the Frog (Henson Associates) - 3rd time
- Smokey the Bear (Macy's) - 14th time
- Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 16th time
- Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 19th time
- Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 9th time
- Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 19th time
- Snoopy (United Media) - 12th time
Floats[]
- Turkey (Macy's) - 7th time
- Doll House (Murjani) - 1st time
- Circus Wagon (Macy's) - 11th time
- Cootie (Schaper Toys) - 5th time
- Showboat (Macy's) - 11th time
- Mother Goose (Macy's) - 6th time
- Loch Ness Monster (Busch Gardens) - 2nd time
- Doodlebug (Macy's) - 1st time
- Castle (Walt Disney Productions) - 9th time
- Pirate Ship (Macy's) - 11th time
- Cranberry Bread House (Ocean Spray) - 1st time
- Lunar Moth (WXLO) - 1st time
- Big Apple (The New York Daily News) - 3rd time
- Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 1st time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 2nd time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 53rd time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner (Macy's)
- Rolls Royce* (Henson Associates) - 1st time
- Electric Mayhem Bus* (Henson Associates) - 1st time
- Excalibur Car* (Macy's) - 5th time
- Wizard Pole Puppet* (Macy's) - 1st time
- People Pole Puppets* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf Pole Puppets (Macy's) - 1st time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner (Macy's)
- Excalibur Car* (Macy's) - 5th time
- McDonald's Gazebo* (McDonald's) - 3rd time
- Snow Elf Pole Puppets (Macy's) - 1st time
Push Floats[]
- Pilgrim Man & Woman (Macy's) - 5th time
- Bear Bee (Macy's) - 7th time
- Rocking Lion (Macy's) - 1st time
- Rocking Tortoise (Macy's) - 1st time
- Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 1st time
- Airplane (Universal Pictures) - 12th time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 6th time
- Snail (Macy's) - 4th time
- Rocking Kangaroo (Macy's) - 1st time
- George Washington & Ben Franklin (Macy's) - 5th time
Marching Bands[]
- Boardman High School Spartan Marching Band (Youngstown, OH)
- Winchester Community High School Marching Show Band (Winchester, IN)
- John S. Battle High School Trojan Band (Bristol, VA), performed "Superman Theme"
- Colquitt County High School Marching Band (Moultrie, GA)
- McGuffey High School Highlander Marching Band (Claysville, PA)
- Elko High School Band of Indians (Elko, NV)
- Madison High School Marching Band (Madison, FL)
- Northbrook High School Raiders Marching Band (Houston, TX), performed "Ode to Joy"
- Glenbrook North High School "Spartan" Band (Northbrook, IL)
- Norwich Senior High School Purple Tornado Band (Norwich, NY)
- McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide), performed "Superman Theme"
Guest Stars[]
- Parade Official Jean McFaddin
- Mickey and Jan Rooney, sang "Silver Bells" (Turkey)
- Miss Piggy (Rolls Royce)
- The Muppets (Electric Mayhem Bus)
- The First All-Children's Theatre (Cootie)
- Giorgio Tozzi (Excalibur Car)
- Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper (Doll House)
- Chuck Woolery (Rocking Tortoise)
- Robert Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo (Circus Wagon)
- Lionel Hampton and the All-Stars, sang "Air Mail Special" (Showboat)
- The Broadway Cast of Ain't Misbehavin' (Showboat)
- Andy Kaufman and Franco Columbu (Rocking Lion)
- Harlem Children's Theatre (Mother Goose)
- Larry Storch (Rocking Horse)
- Dianne Kay and Robert Stack (Airplane)
- Sha Na Na, sang "Get a Job" (Pirate Ship)
- Gil Gerard (Cranberry Bread House)
- Herb Alpert, performed "Rise" (Lunar Moth)
- Erik Estrada (Excalibur Car)
- Diana Ross, sang "The Boss" (Big Apple)
- Wally Amos (Rocking Kangaroo)
- Sesame Street Characters (Sesame Street)
- Paul Lavalle (McDonald's Gazebo)
- Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)
Costumed Characters[]
- Daffy Duck
- The Flintstones
- Mr. Chuck the Parade Clown (Doodlebug)
- Sleeping Beauty (Castle)
- Casper the Friendly Ghost
- Paddington Bear
Performance Groups[]
Pre-Parade Acts[]
- Northbrook High School Bandoliers Drill Team
- Sandy Duncan and the Broadway Cast of Peter Pan, performed "Ugg-a-Wugg"
- The Boston Ballet
- Harry Blackstone, Jr.
- The Negril Beach Jamaica Junkanoo Dancers
- Roller Magic
- Macy's Choir
Clowns[]
- Skating Clowns - 10th time
Trivia[]
- During the 1979 telecast on NBC, several TV stations was interrupted for approximately 17 minutes by a special broadcast reporting on the release of 13 Americans that had been held hostage in Iraq. Parade director Jean McFaddin recalls this moment as the only interruption in her 23 years with the Parade.
- The Kermit The Frog Balloon appeared at a London event, before the Macy's Parade happened; A special year/event where he attended "The Year of the Child" in London. Following that, NBC would mark this and remember the statement and repeat it for 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1990 parades when he would reach Herald Square for his telecast appearance.