Herbie J Pilato's CHRISTMAS TV MEMORIES Book Features Foreword by Marlo Thomas

Published by Applause Books (October 15, 2024)

Entertainment legend Marlo Thomas, best known for TV’s legendary That Girl sitcom, has written the Foreword to Herbie J Pilato’s new book, CHRISTMAS TV MEMORIES: NOSTALGIC HOLIDAY FAVORITES OF THE SMALL SCREEN (Applause Books, 2024).

The Foreword by Marlo Thomas appears below in its entirety.

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Foreword by Marlo Thomas

Move over Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ralph and Alice Kramden, and yes, even Ann Marie and Donald Hollinger. When they beamed into our homes every week, we could see these were couples meant for each other. But the greatest love story in the history of television would have to be Herbie J Pilato and television itself.

They first cast eyes on each other in the 1960s, with young Herbie stretched out on his living room floor in Rochester, New York, soaking up every image that glorious box projected into his home. Over the years, Herbie’s boyhood crush grew into a TV-centric passion, as he embarked on a lifelong dream date—starting out as an NBC page at Burbank Studios, then racking up an impressive credit roll that includes commentator, on-screen personality, cultural historian, and founder of the Classic TV Preservation Society.

But it is his books—more than a dozen of them— that best prove the true affection Herbie holds for his favorite medium. His latest love letter, Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen, could very well be his most heartfelt.

In his introduction, Herbie calls Christmas TV Memories “a narrative family gathering”—a perfect description, really, because in the good old days of three channels, that’s exactly what television was. So what a joy it is to wrap ourselves once again inside the warm nostalgia of TV’s best-loved holiday programming.

To that end, Herbie doesn’t miss a Christmas beat, filling the merry pages of his book with colorful déjà-vus of every imaginable yuletide offering—from those indelible animated specials (A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), to musical variety fare (starring such twinkling Christmas stars as Bob Hope and Nat King Cole, Bing, Frank, Judy, and Liza), to those special Christmas episodes that went on location with the favorite TV shows of the era—from Christmas on Waltons’ Mountain to A Very Brady Christmas.

And thank you, Herbie, for tossing in a few Christmas memories that go directly to my heart—including It Happened One Christmas, my 1977 remake of It’s a Wonderful Life. What fun it was for me to step into the shoes of Jimmy Stewart’s memorable role, and for Wayne Rogers to channel Donna Reed. And then there’s the 1967 animated special Cricket on the Hearth, in which I had the thrill of working with my adorable father—Dad as a poor toymaker, and me as his loyal daughter. Reliving those memories was like paging through a favorite family scrapbook.

So, no matter when you’re reading this marvelous collection— whether it’s while those first December snows are falling or if you’re hanging at the beach on Fourth of July weekend—dangle some mistletoe above this beautiful book. It is worthy of your biggest Christmas kiss!

—Marlo Thomas

Click here to order CHRISTMAS TV MEMORIES on Amazon.

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Click here to order a personally-signed copy of CHRISTMAS TV MEMORIES directly from the author.

To contact Herbie J Pilato for an interview, click here, or email HJPilato@yahoo.com.