The 54th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1980)

Lineup	Gallery	Marching Order

The 53rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1979)

The 54th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1980)

The 55th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1981)

The 54th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Poster for the 1980 Parade.
Date	November 27, 1980
Parade #	54
New Giant Balloons	Superman by DC Comics
New Floats	Popeye by Paramount Pictures The Legend of the Lone Ranger by Associated Film Distributors Cinderella by Bulova
Previous	The 53rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1979)
Next	The 55th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1981)

The 54^th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 27, 1980 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 9 giant helium balloons, 10 marching bands, 17 floats, a host of celebrity appearances, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

Parade Lineup

Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1980 line of march. Each element is listed in their respective categories/sub-categories, with sponsors bolded and italicized.

Bold indicates a new Parade element, underline indicates an element that was brought back after an absence, strikethrough indicates an element that was removed from the lineup, and * indicates a Parade element that was retired after the 1980 procession.

Balloons

• Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney Productions) - 10th time
• Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 20th time
• Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 17th time
• Snoopy the Aviator (United Media) - 13th time
• Smokey Bear (Macy's) - 15th time
• Kermit the Frog (Henson Associates) - 4th time
• Underdog (Macy's) - 16th time
• Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 20th time
• Superman (DC Comics) - 1st time

Floats

• Turkey (Macy's) - 8th time
• Disney Castle* (Walt Disney Productions) - 10th time
• Cootie (Schaper Toys) - 6th time
• Loch Ness Monster (Busch Gardens) - 3rd time
• Popeye* (Paramount Pictures) - 1st time
• Showboat (Macy's) - 12th time
• Doodlebug* (Macy's) - 2nd time
• The Cranberry Bread House (Ocean Spray) - 2nd time
• The Legend of the Lone Ranger* (Universal Pictures & Associated Film Distribution) - 1st time
• Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 2nd time
• The Lunar Moth (WXLO) - 2nd time
• Mother Goose (Macy's) - 7th time
• Pirate Ship (Macy's) - 12th time
• Cinderella (Bulova) - 1st time
• The Dollhouse (Murjani) - 2nd time
• Big Apple (The New York Daily News) - 4th time
• Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 3rd time

Specialty Units

• NYPD Mounted Unit - 54th time
• "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner* (Macy's) - 17th time
• Excalibur Car (Macy's)
• New Milford Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 - 13th time
• NY Urban Park Rangers - 2nd time
• "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner* (Macy's) - 17th time
• Stagecoach* (Associated Film Distributors) - 1st time
• Giant Hot Cycle* (Empire Toys) - 1st time
• Circus Wagon (Columbia Records) - 16th time
• The Three Little Pigs & The Big Bad Wolf Pole Puppets* (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Excalibur Car (Macy's)
• Snow Elf Pole Puppets* (Macy's) - 2nd time

Push Floats

• Pilgrim Man & Woman (Macy's) - 6th time
• George Washington & Ben Franklin (Macy's) - 6th time
• Snail (Macy's) - 11th time
• Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Rocking Kangaroo (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Airplane (Macy's) - 14th time
• Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 23rd time
• Rocking Tortoise (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Rocking Lion (Macy's) - 2nd time
• Bear Bee (Macy's) - 11th time

Marching Bands

• Blue Springs High School "Golden Regiment" Band (Blue Springs, MO), performed "Missouri Waltz"
• McDonald's All American Marching Band (Nationwide), performed "New York, New York" Theme
• Riverview High School "Kiltie" Marching Band (Sarasota, FL)
• Glenbrook South High School Marching Band (Glenview, IL)
• Huntington High School Marching Band (Huntington Beach, CA), performed "Copacabana"
• Murray High School Tiger Band (Murray, KT)
• Greene Central High School Marching Band (Snow Hill, NC), performed "Silent Night"
• Wapahani Imperial Marching Band (Selma, IN)
• James F. Byrnes High School "Rebel Regiment" Marching Band (Duncan, SC)
• Warren Jr. Military Academy Marching Band (Warren, OH)

Guest Stars

• Parade Official Jean McFaddin
• Sister Sledge, sang "We Are Family" (Turkey)
• Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and the Aristocats (Disney Castle)
• Cast of Barnum (Excalibur Car)
• Mr. Chuck (Cootie)
• Wally Amos (Snail)
• Meg Bussert and Martin Vidnovic of Brigadoon, sang "Almost Like Being in Love" (Loch Ness Monster)
• The Steinettes, sang "Sweethaven" (Popeye)
• Chita Rivera, sang "Old Fashioned Strut" (Showboat)
• Lacy J. Dalton, sang "Are There Any Cowboys Left (in the Good Ol' USA)" (Rocking Horse)
• Dean Butler, sang "Don't Fence Me In" (Rocking Tortoise)
• Danielle Brisebois, sang "Tomorrow" (Cranberry House)
• The Cavendish Gang (Stagecoach)
• The Lone Ranger and Tonto (The Legend of the Lone Ranger)
• Big Bird and the Cast of Sesame Street, sang "Keep Christmas with You" (Sesame Street)
• Stephanie Mills, sang "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (Rocking Lion)
• Maynard Ferguson, performed "Dance to Your Heart" (Circus Wagon)
• The Spinners, sang "Cupid" (Lunar Moth)
• The Cast of The Pirates of Penzance, sang a medley from The Pirates of Penzance (Pirate Ship)
• Boomer (Excalibur Car)
• France Joli and Paul Keenan, sang "Feel Like Dancing" (Cinderella)
• Captain and Tennille, sang "Keeping Our Love Warm" (Doll House)
• Melba Moore, sang "Everything's So Good About You" (Big Apple)
• Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)

Specialty Characters

• Popeye and Olive Oyl (Popeye)
• The Smurfs
• Serendipity (Showboat)
• Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble (Showboat)
• Casper the Friendly Ghost
• Henrietta Hippo and Freddie Frog
• Underdog
• Daffy Duck
• Rocky and Bullwinkle

Performance Groups

• National Ballet of Jamaica (Kingston, Jamaica)
• The Criddlers, performed "Are There Any Cowboys Left (in the Good Ol' USA)"
• The First All-Children's Theatre (New York City, NY), performed "Pass It Along"
• The Radio City Rockettes

Pre-Parade Acts

• Randy Hamilton, sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas"
• One Mo' Time, performed "Wait Till You See My Baby Do The Charleston"
• West Point Academy Glee Club, sang "The Army Goes Rolling Along"
• Marilyn Michaels, sang "Watching the Big Parade Go By"
• Todd Bridges, sang "Summer Dancin"
• Barnum, performed "One Brick at a Time"
• The Ballet Isleño of Puerto Rico, performed "Disco Samba"
• Ed McMahon, sang "Thanksgiving Day Song"

Clowns

• Skating Clowns - 13th time

Clown Props

• Smoking Outhouse - 1st time
• Fire Engine - 1st time
• Fire Pumper - 7th time
• Paddy Wagon - 1st time
• TV Props

Trivia

• The Snoopy balloon was removed from the lineup due to a gash in its left leg. The balloon would return the following year with a large Band-Aid covering the wound.