Burl Ives was a actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives work
included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and film. He
is most known as the narrator, Sam the Snowman, in the stop-motion animated
TV special, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Ives continues to be linked to
the Christmas season with the yearly rebroadcast of the special.

Ives with Sam the Snowman

This 1949 version of Lavender Blue was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song.