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The 60th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1986)

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The 60th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 27, 1986 in New York City, and telecasted live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to noon EST. It was hosted by Pat Sajak and Stepfanie Kramer. The lineup featured nine giant character balloons, 20 floats, 24 novelty balloons, 11 toy floats, 15 marching bands, more than 2,500 cheerleaders and dancers, and the one-and-only Santa Claus.

Overview[]

The 1986 Macy's Parade celebrated the 60th anniversary of the famed holiday spectacle, and was welcomed on Thanksgiving morning with temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. Sunny skies greeted the big balloons; two of which were making their debut appearances. Humpty Dumpty, who was billed as the 100th balloon in Parade history, and flew 100 feet in the air. Olive Oyl, already a Parade staple, floated gingerly down the route carrying Swee'Pea. Baby Shamu, the popular mascot of SeaWorld, swam down the Parade route for the first time with her Starfish friends.

The Turkey float gave country music artist Crystal Gayle a grand ride, where she sang "Winter Wonderland." Singer-songwriter Roger Miller sang a song from Broadway's "Big River" in the cockpit of the Macy's Flyer, and singer Shirley Jones took the Christmas Wagon past Macy's, stopping just long enough to deliver a performance that rang in the holiday season.

With sunny skies and tricky winds, the giant balloons had troubles navigating the streets of NYC. Superman lost his left hand at 77th Street and Betty Boop collapsed just blocks away from the finish line. Garfield and Woody Woodpecker struggled with the weather, but overcame the difficulties on their own.

Rounding out the lineup, as always, was Santa Claus himself, riding in a sleigh modeled after a snow goose. With a wave of his hand, Saint Nick welcomed the holiday season for millions of Americans.

Parade Lineup[]

Listed below are the Parade elements that appeared in the 1986 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 1986 procession.

Balloons[]

Giant Balloons[]

Novelty Balloons[]

Floats[]

Toy Floats[]

Specialty Units[]

Banners[]

Special Characters[]

Marching Bands[]

Guest Stars[]

First Hour[]

  • NCA Superstar Drill Team (Nationwide), performed "Can You Feel It? Celebrate!"
  • Nell Carter, sang "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin"
  • Houston International Theater School (Houston, TX), performed "Deep in the Heart of Texas"
  • Mocko Jumbie Dancers (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands), performed "High, High, High"
  • Sweet Charity, performed "I'm a Brass Band"
  • Hal Linden, sang "New York Is My Home Town"
  • Stepfanie Kramer, sang "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
  • Me and My Girl, performed "The Lambeth Walk"

Clowns[]

Clown Props[]

Trivia[]

  • The 1986 Parade marked the final time Bill Wendell provided announcements for the NBC telecast. The following year, he would be replaced by Lynda Lopez.

Incidents & Defects[]

Incidents[]

  • Garfield's right paw and left-back paw were punctured.
  • Raggedy Ann hit a lamppost pole at 77th Street before the parade started and snapped the light off, smashing it in the process. Nobody was injured and the balloon was undamaged, although one of her hands was slightly deflated.
  • Superman's left hand torn off by a tree along Central Park West, and was carried the rest of the way by the handlers.
  • Humpty Dumpty had his left hand and left leg deflated by a tree branch near the start of the route.
  • Olive Oyl almost collapsed before entering Columbus Circle, with her arm being severed by a tree.
  • Three of the four strings that held Woody Woodpecker's head in place rotted due to the weather of the previous year, resulting in Woody almost losing his head, his feet were also claimed by the winds.
  • Betty Boop, the last character balloon that year, collapsed onto the ground a few yards away from the finish line due to the high winds.

Defects[]

  • Baby Shamu's right flipper was low on helium.
  • One of the Starfishes bottom left points was deflated.

References[]

  1. ↑ Refurbishment of the 1982 Olive Oyl balloon.
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