The Character’s Creator The fictional character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert L. May, a Long Island, New York-born writer. May was born in 1905 and died in 1976.

Written in 1949 by May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, a radio producer, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” set the spunky reindeer’s story to music—a song first recorded by the singer ...