# Romeo Muller > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Romeo_Muller > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Romeo_Muller.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_Muller > Source revision: 1354683586 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American dramatist (1928–92) For the rapper, model, basketball player, entrepreneur, and actor, see [Romeo Miller](/source/Romeo_Miller). Romeo Muller Born Romeo Earl Muller, Jr.[1] (1928-08-07)August 7, 1928 Bronx, New York, U.S. Died December 30, 1992(1992-12-30) (aged 64) High Falls, New York, U.S. Occupations Screenwriter, actor **Romeo Earl Muller, Jr.** (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American [screenwriter](/source/Screenwriter) and [actor](/source/Actor) most remembered for his [screenplays](/source/Screenplay) for the [Rankin/Bass](/source/Rankin%2FBass_Productions) Christmas specials including *[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer](/source/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(TV_special))*, *[The Little Drummer Boy](/source/The_Little_Drummer_Boy_(TV_special))*, *[Frosty the Snowman](/source/Frosty_the_Snowman_(TV_special))*, and *[Santa Claus Is Coming to Town](/source/Santa_Claus_Is_Comin'_to_Town_(TV_special))*. ## Early years Muller was born in the [Bronx, New York](/source/Bronx%2C_New_York), the son of Mildred (Kuhlmann) and Romeo Earl Muller Sr. He was raised on [Long Island.](/source/Long_Island%2C_New_York) His talents in the arts were evident very early on. At age 11, he became a [puppeteer](/source/Puppetry) at his grade school and eventually he began writing his own plays. His career in [theatre](/source/Theatre) began when he joined an acting troupe called "Theater Go Round" in [Virginia Beach, Virginia](/source/Virginia_Beach%2C_Virginia) with producer/friend Lesley Savage. At this time Romeo wrote plays such as *Angel With The Big, Big Ears* and *The Great Getaway*, which eventually became the [Rankin-Bass](/source/Rankin-Bass) [off Broadway](/source/Off_Broadway) play *A Month Of Sundays*. Since Muller was a big man at 6'2", 300 pounds (1.88 m, 136 kg), he decided to stay away from acting and turn his attention towards writing. ## Career After writing material for comedian [Jack Benny](/source/Jack_Benny), Muller was discovered by [CBS](/source/CBS) founder [William S. Paley](/source/William_S._Paley) and selected to be a staff writer for the prestigious *[Studio One](/source/Studio_One_(anthology_series))* and *Philco Theatre*. He wrote one of the most popular episodes for the *Studio One* series entitled "Love Me To Pieces, Baby". In 1963, Muller met with producer/directors [Arthur Rankin, Jr.](/source/Arthur_Rankin%2C_Jr.) and [Jules Bass](/source/Jules_Bass) and began a relationship that would last for years. Rankin and Bass asked Romeo to write a screenplay for their first Network television special, entitled *[Return to Oz](/source/Return_to_Oz_(TV_program))*, which aired on [NBC's](/source/National_Broadcasting_Company) the *[General Electric Fantasy Hour](/source/General_Electric_Fantasy_Hour)*. The special was a success and set the stage for the most popular [holiday television special](/source/Christmas_television_special) of all time, *[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer](/source/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer_(TV_special))*. Muller embellished the short story into an hour-long broadcast and added a variety of characters into the story. He is also known for his screenplays in other such films as *[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town](/source/Santa_Claus_Is_Comin'_to_Town_(TV_special))*, *[The Little Drummer Boy](/source/The_Little_Drummer_Boy_(TV_special))*, *[Here Comes Peter Cottontail](/source/Here_Comes_Peter_Cottontail)*, and *[Frosty the Snowman](/source/Frosty_the_Snowman_(TV_special))*, among many others. In 1965, several [Theatre-Five](/source/Theatre-Five) radio productions featured Muller as writer and/or actor.[2][3] He was also the voice of the narrator, a talking sun, in the first three [Strawberry Shortcake](/source/Strawberry_Shortcake) TV specials from the 1980s, which he also wrote and co-produced. Muller read his favorite and first Christmas story every year on Christmas Eve on New York radio station WGHQ. The story was reworked as the basis for the animated special *Noël* which aired on NBC on Friday December 4, 1992, 26 days before Muller died. In 2002, the book *Jill Chill and the Baron of Glacier Mountain* by Ed McCray featured a character named Romeo after Muller. The book is written in the style of the old Christmas specials that Muller had written. ## Death Muller died of a [heart attack](/source/Myocardial_infarction) in his sleep on Wednesday, 30 December 1992, shortly after receiving a diagnosis of [cancer](/source/Cancer).[4] ## Work ### Plays - *Angel With the Big, Big Ears* - *A Month of Sundays* - *Superman* - *The Great Git-Away* ### Filmography Holiday TV specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Cricket on the Hearth (1967) The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968) The Little Drummer Boy (1968) Frosty the Snowman (1969) Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970) Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1975, 1976) Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976) The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town (1977) Nestor, the Long–Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) The Little Rascals Christmas Special (1979) Jack Frost (1979) Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz (aka Dorothy in the Land of Oz) (1980) Pinocchio's Christmas (1980) The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold (1981) Peter and the Magic Egg (1983) Father Christmas (1991) Noël (1992) The Twelve Days of Christmas (1993) The Legend of Frosty the Snowman (2005) (Posthumous writing credit) Other TV specials Return to Oz (1964) The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970) The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes (1972) Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid (1972) The Hobbit (1977) It's a Brand New World (1977) Puff the Magic Dragon (1978) Puff the Magic Dragon in the Land of Living Lies (1979) The Return of the King (1980) The World of Strawberry Shortcake (1980) Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City (1981) Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody (1982) Strawberry Shortcake: Pets on Parade (1982) The Flight of Dragons (1982) The Wind in the Willows (1987) Peppermint Rose (1993) TV series The Smokey Bear Show (1969–70) The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad Show (1970–71) The Tomfoolery Show (1970–71) The Jackson 5ive (1971–73) The Osmonds (1972–74) The Comic Strip (1987) (The Mini-Monsters segments) ThunderCats ("The Mask of Gorgon") (1987) The Kids from C.A.P.E.R. (1976–77) Feature films The Daydreamer (1966) The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967) Marco (1973) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery"](https://books.google.com/books?id=__riAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ROMEO+EARL%22+MULLER). U.S. Government Printing Office. December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017 – via Google Books. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Plot Spot - Famous Authors on Radio"](https://www.otrplotspot.com/famousAuthors.html#romeoMuller). *www.otrplotspot.com*. Retrieved March 22, 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Romeo Muller"](https://www.rusc.com/old-time-radio/Romeo-Muller.aspx?t=9613). *www.rusc.com*. Retrieved March 22, 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [\[1\]](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/02/obituaries/romeo-muller-jr-64-writer-for-animation.html)[Romeo Muller Jr., 64, Writer for Animation Dies](https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/entertainment/2017/12/07/rudolph-frosty-and-yukon-cornelius-can-call-ulster-county-home/912844001/) ## External links - [Romeo Muller](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0612239/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Spain Poland Other SNAC Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Romeo Muller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_Muller) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_Muller?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.