On November 28, 1963 a colorful collection of floats, balloons, high school marching bands and huge papier-mache heads marched along Woodward Avenue for the thirty-eighth time since the first J.L. Hudson�s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924. The 1963 version of the Hudson�s Santa Parade was televised over WWJ-TV in glorious black and white, hosted once again by the affable Sonny Eliot and his wife, the lovely Annette.

  The big TV star float that year featured Bozo and Milky the Clown from WWJ, Larry Sands, Jerry Booth and Poopdeck Paul from CKLW, Bwana Don from WJBK and Johnny Ginger, Ricky the Clown and Sagebrush Shorty from WXYZ. The following memo was sent from John W. Ray, Hudson�s Special Events Coordinator to WXYZ�s programming director Pete Strand, instructing the participating talent where and when to report. When the parade was over, the talent was expected to entertain the children of Joseph Hudson and his upper management staff at a private party before they were whisked home by private police car.