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The 54th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1980) | The 55th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1981) | The 56th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1982) | 
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The 55th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 26, 1981 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 Regis Philbin. The lineup featured nine giant character balloons, 18 floats, 12 push floats, and 14 marching bands.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1981 line of march. Each element is listed in their respective categories/sub-categories, with sponsors in bold.
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 1981 procession.
Balloons[]
- Linus the Lionhearted (Macy's) - 18th time
- Kermit the Frog (Henson Associates) - 5th time
- Underdog (Macy's) - 17th time
- Smokey the Bear* (Macy's) - 16th time
- Superman (DC Comics) - 2nd time
- Mickey Mouse (Disney) - 11th time
- Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 21st time
- Happy Dragon* (Macy's) - 21st time
- Snoopy (United Media) - 14th time
Floats[]
- Turkey (Macy's) - 9th time
- Doll House* (Murjani) - 3rd time
- Sesame Street (Children's Television Workshop) - 3rd time
- Cootie* (Schaper Toys) - 7th time
- Pirate Ship (Macy's) - 14th time
- Cranberry Bread House* (Ocean Spray) - 3rd time
- Stetson Is America (John B. Stetson Company) - 1st time
- Big Apple* (The New York Daily News) - 5th time
- Lunar Moth* (98.7 Kiss FM) - 3rd time
- Walt Disney World's Tencennial Celebration* (Walt Disney Productions) - 1st time
- Mother Goose* (Macy's) - 8th time
- Cinderella (Bulova) - 2nd time
- Circus Wagon (Macy's) - 5th time
- Frozen Woodland (Sergio Valente) - 1st time
- Strawberry Shortcake (American Greetings) - 1st time
- Loch Ness Monster* (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.) - 4th time
- Annie* (Rastar Productions/Columbia Pictures) - 1st time
- Charlie and the Nutcracker* (Revlon) - 1st time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 4th time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Police - 55th time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner (Macy's) - 1st time
- Beau's Cab* (Henson Associates) - 1st time
- NY Urban Park Rangers - 3rd time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner (Macy's) - 1st time
- Excalibur Car (Macy's)
- Macy's Antique Delivery Truck* (Macy's) - 4th time
Push Floats[]
- Pilgrim Man & Woman (Macy's) - 7th time
- Rocking Kangaroo (Macy's) - 3rd time
- George Washington & Ben Franklin (Macy's) - 7th time
- Rocking Turtle (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Bear Bee (Macy's) - 9th time
- Rocking Lion (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 8th time
- Snail (Macy's) - 6th time
- Airplane (Macy's) - 14th time
Marching Bands[]
- Homewood High School Patriot Band (Homewood, AL)
- Brattleboro Union High School Colonels Marching Band (Brattleboro, VT), performed "On Broadway"
- Tift County High School Blue Devil Band (Tifton, GA), performed "Hallelujah"
- McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide)
- Holy Cross High School Tiger Marching Band (New Orleans, LA)
- Cisco Jr. College Band & Wrangler Belles (Cisco, TX)
- Onteora High School Marching Band (Boiceville, NY), performed "New York, New York" Theme
- Richmond High School Red Devil Band (Richmond, IN)
- John W. North High School Blue Star Regiment (Riverside, CA), performed "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah/When You Wish Upon a Star"
- Marion L. Steele High School Marching Comets (Amherst, OH), performed "When the Saints Go Marching In"
- Columbia High School Band (Columbia, TN)
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute Regimental Band (Blacksburg, VA)
- Bergenfield High School Marching Band (Bergenfield, NJ)
Guest Stars[]
- Parade Official Jean McFaddin
- Donny Osmond, sang "Give My Regards to Broadway" (Turkey)
- Nancy McKeon and Kim Fields, sang "Let Your Love Flow" (Rocking Kangaroo)
- Ann Miller, sang "Oh You Beautiful Doll" ( Doll House)
- The Cast of Sesame Street, sang "Keep Christmas with You" (Sesame Street)
- The Muppets (Beau's Cab)
- Andrea McArdle, sang "Blue Skies" (Cootie)
- Don McLean, sang "Castles in the Air" (Pirate Ship)
- Metropolitan Opera Cast of Hansel and Gretel (Cranberry Bread House)
- Wendy Holcombe, sang "Rocky Top" (Rocking Tortoise)
- Moe Bandy, sang "Rodeo Romeo" (Stetson Is America)
- Dan Dailey (Stetson Is America)
- Dave Winfield, sang "Manhattan" (Big Apple)
- Kool & The Gang, sang "Celebration" and "Take My Heart" (Lunar Moth)
- The Kids of the Kingdom (Walt Disney World's Tencennial Celebration)
- Nell Carter, sang "Cash for Your Trash" (Mother Goose)
- Phyllis Diller and Erik Estrada, sang "I Feel Pretty" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (Cinderella)
- Nickelodeon Puppets and Jake, sang "Friends Together" (Circus Wagon)
- NYC Mission Society Minisink Choir, sang "A Caroling We Go" and "Young People's Guide to the Opera" (Frozen Woodland)
- Strawberry Shortcake and Friends, sang "Smile Sunny Morning" (Strawberry Shortcake)
- Bill Hutton (Rocking Horse)
- The Broadway Cast of Camelot, sang "Camelot" (Loch Ness Monster)
- Aileen Quinn, Geoffrey Holder and the Cast of Annie, sang "Tomorrow" and "It's A Hard Knock Life" (Annie)
- School of American Ballet, performed "March" and "Russian Dance" (Charlie and the Nutcracker)
- The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, performed "New York, New York"
- Charles Haid and Michael Warren (Excalibur Car)
- Ted Brown (Airplane)
- Jim Nabors, sang "Christmas Time All Over the World" (Macy's Antique Delivery Truck)
- Santa Claus (Santa's Sleigh)
- Mercer Ellington and Mass Band Finale, performed "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Costumed Characters[]
- Hanmee Monkey
- Raggedy Ann and Andy
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble (Pirate Ship)
- Bugs Bunny
- Mr. Chuck (Rocking Lobster)
- Casper and Richie Rich
- Walt Disney World Characters (Walt Disney World's Tencennial Celebration)
- Spider-Man
- Daffy Duck
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Pre-Parade Acts[]
- Tarra the Roller Skating Elephant, performed "While You See A Chance"
- Charles Haid and Michael Warren, sang "East Side, West Side" and "Every Street's a Boulevard"
- Larry Kert, sang "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy"
- The Kids of the Kingdom, sang "Mickey Mouse March" and "When the Band Plays Dixie at Disneyland"
- Pump Boys and Dinettes, performed "Highway 57" and "Catfish"
- Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, sang "Here Comes the Macy's Parade"
- Sophisticated Ladies, performed "Sophisticated Lady" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
- Kaleena Kiff and Ed McMahon, sang "Thanksgiving Day Song"
Clowns[]
- Skating Clowns - 12th time
- Baby Clowns - 1st time
- Rain Rag Ballet Clowns - 1st time
In addition, 14 other non-themed clown groups were featured, and were accompanied by a series of props and vehicles.
Props[]
- Open Jogging Wheel
- Dog Catcher
- Bells Jogging Wheel
- Outhouse
- Fire Engine
- Fire Pumper
- Paddy Wagon
- Glitz Jogging Wheel
- TV Props
Trivia[]
- 1981 marked the last time Ed McMahon hosted the NBC telecast. He would be replaced by former co-host Bryant Gumbel the following year.
- So far, this is also the last parade to not have any new balloons.
Incident[]
- After making its appearance on the NBC broadcast of the parade, the bandage seen on the Snoopy balloon fell off, causing its left leg to quickly deflate. The balloon was able to travel the few blocks to the balloon deflation area and suffered no further damages.