Local history: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was a job for Superman

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a balloon made in Akron!

Superman soared over the metropolis of New York City on Nov. 20, 1940, during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. More than 1 million spectators crowded the sidewalks to greet the big guy.

“Waves of murmured astonishment, screams and squeals of delight washed down the long lines from 108th Street and Central Park West to Thirty-fourth Street and Eighth Avenue, as Superman came over the horizon,” the New York Times reported.

The helium-filled balloon, which took months to construct at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s Plant One in Akron, was indeed an impressive sight. The Man of Steel, or more accurately the Man of Neoprene, stood 80 feet tall, 23 feet wide and 14 feet deep.

His mouth was 8 feet wide!

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The United States was giddy with Supermania in 1940. Created by Cleveland youths Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the super-powered hero debuted in April 1938 in “Action Comics” No. 1. Not only did kids read Superman comic books and Superman newspaper strips, they bought Superman toys, wore Superman outfits and listened to Superman radio episodes.

Goodyear built Macy's balloons

Superman was one of more than 90 balloons that Goodyear built for Macy’s parade from 1927 to 1980. Using an artist’s drawings for guidance, Akron workers in the balloon room at Plant One followed intricate patterns and cemented rubberized fabric together.

Crews inflated the balloons and carefully painted the features. An uneven coating could weigh down the balloon and make it tip over. Workers added patches in strategic places for dozens of towlines to be attached.

Puppeteer and illustrator Tony Sarg designed the 1940 parade. Other Goodyear balloons that year included Laffo the Clown, Uncle Sam, Santa Claus and a pink-and-green hippopotamus.

“Don’t miss this mammoth, powerful, whacking EXTRAVAGANZA,” Macy’s advertised. “Put on your webbed feet and come, rain or shine. Nothing will keep MACY’S PARADE from PARADING!”

Goodyear shipped the balloons in crates from Akron to Manhattan. Superman, who folded up nicely into a box 3 feet square, was unpacked at Central Park and inflated with 9,000 cubic feet of helium. As he slowly took shape, dogs playing in the park began to cower, one reporter noted.

More than 50 handlers dressed in yellow-and-green outfits maneuvered Superman through the street from Central Park West down Broadway through Times Square to Macy’s department store on 34th Street at Herald Square.

Crude by today’s standards

While it was considered a colossal achievement at the time, the balloon looks fairly crude by today’s standards. For one thing: The cape was so tiny, you couldn’t even see it from the front. It dangled limply, looking more like a scarf than a cape.

Also, the arm positioning was rather awkward. Superman’s left hand was placed in front of his hip while his right hand was situated toward the rear. He looked like a polite butler preparing to bow.

Actually, Superman did a lot of bowing that day. Heavy wind gusts made him bob up and down. He looked a little inebriated.

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Forget kryptonite. Superman’s true weakness was a puncture. Somewhere during the Thanksgiving festivities, he suffered a leak in his left foot and started to lose helium.

Fortunately, there were no reports of the ground crew speaking with strange, high-pitched voices due to the escaped gas.

“The parade went off with precision and without mishap, albeit Superman, for all his distinction as the tallest and bulkiest monster in the line of march, found it a bit trying at times to maintain his equilibrium and had to take on more helium at Broadway and 53rd Street,” the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported.

The crowd broke up after the festivities. Workers deflated the balloons and packed them up for the return trip to Akron.

The following year, Superman assumed an alter ego — and it wasn’t Clark Kent. Goodyear engineers transformed the balloon into a less-than-super character, Hugo the Football Hero, who tackled the 1941 Macy’s parade a few weeks before Pearl Harbor.

After the United States entered World War II, Goodyear scrapped its Macy’s balloons and recycled the rubber for military use.

Another Superman in 1966

It wasn’t until Nov. 25, 1966, that a new Superman balloon appeared in Macy’s parade. This barrel-chested version — some would say bosomy — was 65 feet high, 33 feet wide and filled with 9,483 cubic feet of helium. His ears were 4 feet high!

Six stories tall, the balloon was made with 500 square yards of rubberized nylon fabric and built with 16 compartments, including six in the head alone. Goodyear development engineer William R. Ludwick oversaw the $20,000 project.

The hands-on-hips pose was similar to the 1940 original, but this time Superman wore a 36-foot red cape.

More than 1 million lined the parade route and over 60 million watched on television as Superman arrived.

Strong winds nearly ruined the debut. The all-new Superman got caught in a villainous tree branch at Central Park and, faster than a speeding bullet, sprang a leak in his left arm. The hero shrugged off the setback and completed the parade with Donald Duck, Bullwinkle, Popeye, Underdog, Smokey Bear, Elsie the Cow, Linus the Lionhearted and other colorful balloons.

This version of Superman returned to Macy’s parade annually through 1970 and also entertained children at the Christmas party at Goodyear Hall in Akron.

The last off the line

The rubber company completed its Superman trilogy in 1980 with the last balloon it ever made for Macy’s parade. Flying overhead with outstretched arms, the Man of Steel was 104 feet long, 35 feet wide and filled with 12,000 cubic feet of helium. It took 32 handlers to maneuver him.

With Christopher Reeve’s new movie “Superman II” on the verge of release, the gigantic balloon went over big with the crowd.

“It takes 15 tank truck loads of helium to get him up there,” parade host Ed McMahon explained to a national television audience Nov. 27. “I have mornings like that myself.”

It was the largest of the 92 balloons that Goodyear created for Macy’s over 53 years. And, sadly, it was the last. After 1980, Kemp Balloons of Maryland took over the ropes.

Goodyear’s Superman made eight appearances in Macy’s parade before flying off into the sunset in 1987.

Up, up and away.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Local history: Goodyear built Superman balloons for Macy's parades