Jackie Vernon, the beloved comedian and voice behind the holiday classic Frosty the Snowman, is remembered by generations for bringing to life one of Christmas’ most iconic characters.
According to the New York Post, his son, David Vernon, said the man who became the voice of Frosty carried a complicated and largely hidden personal history that only came to light near the end of his life.
David shared the revelations during a Nov. 30 appearance on the radio program Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia.
While reflecting on his father’s career and legacy, he said he first learned that Jackie had lived multiple lives before settling down with their family.
David recalled that the moment arrived unexpectedly, sometime before Jackie’s passing in November 1987.
One day, a woman arrived at the Vernon home with a teenage boy David had never met. As he remembered it, the stranger was direct and insistent.
“She asked to speak to my dad, and I said my dad’s on the road and he’s not home,” David said. “Then… she was like, ‘Well then, I want to speak to your mother.’”
After David’s mother, Hazel, came to the door, the atmosphere shifted.
David was sent upstairs, but he could hear enough of the conversation to sense something was wrong.
When the woman left, he pressed his mother for answers — and was stunned by what he heard.
“It finally came out that before our family, my dad had been married at least three other times,” he said. “I was kind of shocked to find out.”
According to David, Jackie had also fathered several sons before marrying Hazel — and had given them all the same name.
“From these marriages, he had sons, and he named them all Ralph,” David said, explaining the name came from Jackie’s birth name, Ralph Verrone. “But he also abandoned all these families… moved on.”
Hazel, he said, made sure their children would not carry the same emotional weight. She insisted on naming the boys herself, believing that “a Ralph was an unloved kid… left behind.”
David said the discoveries helped him make sense of certain parts of his father’s life, including his struggles with depression and dependence on tranquilizers like Quaaludes and Valium.
“His addiction really took a toll on him,” David said. “It was a hard struggle for him, and it was hard for us, seeing him go through that.”
Despite the turmoil, Jackie eventually embraced his legacy as the voice of Frosty. David said one of his favorite memories came during one of Jackie’s final Christmases, when the family gathered to watch the animated classic together.
“He was so proud of it,” David recalled. “He laughed at it. He was so happy he had done it… it became a very warm spot in his heart.”
Although Jackie worked alongside legends like Judy Garland, Bette Midler, and Frank Sinatra, David said it was Frosty — and the magic of a simple holiday tale — that ultimately defined how generations came to know and love his father.
