Ralph Lee, the founder of the Village Halloween Parade, has passed away at 87-years-old. Gus Rosendale reports.
The man behind an iconic New York City event millions of people look forward to every year has passed away.
Ralph Lee died Friday at his home in Manhattan, his wife confirmed. Lee put together the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade for the first time back in 1974, according to the New York Times, and helped it grow from a small neighborhood event to the massive Halloween celebration it is today.
Lee told the Times back in 1998 that the parade was not an instant success.
“There were not many people around besides us — maybe bums,” Lee told the newspaper in 1998. “And here we were, all holding sparklers, kind of looking at each other.”
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Of course, the parade did grow into the spectacle many know it as today. He stopped running the parade in the 1980s.
In addition to his time spent acting, writing, producing and directing, Lee was also a puppeteer and puppet designer, with many of his creations appearing in his own Mettawee River Theater Company's productions.
He took his talents from Broadway to the New York Shakespeare Festival — and even to "Saturday Night Live," where he created the famous "Land Shark" costume that became a running bit on the show during its early seasons. The character, a spoof that came as a result of the "Jaws" frenzy at the time, would try to lure women from their apartments and eat them.
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Ralph Lee was 87 years old.
