Robert L. May, 71, was a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward Department Store, and best known for writing, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." He died August 11, 1976.

Quotable Quotes:

"I was heavily in debt at age 35, still grinding out catalogue copy. Instead of writing the great American novel, as I'd always hoped, I was describing men's white shirts."

"I needed Rudolph more than ever. Gradually, I buried myself in the writing."

"Nobody wanted him (Rudolph), not with 6 million copies already distributed. Finally, I found a publisher, a little guy with a big nose, who said he knew what it was like for Rudolph and was willing to take a chance on a printing."