About this episode
🎄It’s 2001, and a magical partridge is sending me on a coat drive for some kind of Karate Kid-style Santa training. Hop in our light blue ’54 convertible and buckle up as we take you on a joyride through the very last and most forgotten Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a mostly black cast starring Patti LaBelle, Gregory Hines, and a criminally underused Eartha Kitt as a talking cat. **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( Cult Cinema Cloister , Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors ). Tim Babb ( Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This special was co-written by Suzanne Collins , who went on to write “The Hunger Games.” 2. The other co-writer, Peter Bakalian, also has a book series. It’s called “ The F.A.R.T. Diaries .” 3. Patti LaBelle in Philadelphia’s “ Get to Know Us ” tourism campaign, 1985. 4. Patti LaBelle on “Sesame Street” singing “ How I Miss My X .” 5. IMDb’s photo gallery for “Santa, Baby!” is full of high-quality promotional images. 6. RankinBass.com’s first look at “Santa, Baby!” from December 2001. 7. Gregory Hines in “ The Muppets Take Manhattan ” and “ Running Scared .” 8. Rankin/Bass finally includes “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” in a Christmas special. 8. Natalie Toro (Samson) lists “Santa Baby!” on her bio page . 10. Andre’s uncle co-wrote K-Ci & JoJo’s “ All My Life .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s “Wake Up” Breakfast Commercial featuring Patti LaBelle, 1990. Can’t Wait for Christmas , the podcast dedicated to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round. **** “Santa, Baby” © 2001 Perisphere Pictures, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .