Bass was known for his work on holiday stop-motion and animated programs, including, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
Jules Bass, producer and director of the iconic Christmas TV specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, died on Tuesday at the age of 87. Cause of his death has not been made public.
Bass, an animator, and composer spent the 1960s and his 70s working with his partner and Arthur Rankin Jr., director of ABC’s Stop Motion and Animated Television. He was best known for producing the show. The two of them, Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. under the company Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, have developed a successful vacation program featuring the talents of Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, and Burl his Ives.
The couple’s first work, a television series titled The New Adventures of Pinocchio, was released in 1960. They also produced adaptations of The Hobbit and the Return of the King, The King Kong Show, and the original series Thundercats.
But the most famous projects have become holiday staples, such as:
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
“Frosty the Snowman”
“The Year Without a Santa Claus”
“Rudolph’s Shiny New Year”
“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”
These TV programs were frequently based on Christmas songs and featured cel animation that caused a visual effect to appear as if the snow was falling on scenes.
For the 1976 sequel to The Little Drummer Boy, the couple was nominated for an Emmy Award, and their work on The Hobbit led to a Peabody Award.
Rankin said in a 2004 interview, “We were complimenting each other. He had certain talents that I didn’t have, and I had certain talents that he didn’t have. He was an artist and a creator. I was a writer and a lyricist.”
Rankin died in 2014 at the age of 89.
Philadelphia-born Bass attended New York University and worked in an advertising industry before partnering with Rankin.
In 1987 his life as a producer and director ended. But his creativity also spilled over into the literary world.
Bass has authored many children’s books featuring herbivore dragons, and Herb characters. And the 2011 film Monte Carlo, starring Selena Gomez, loosely based on his novel Headhunters, follows a Texan woman who travels to Europe in search of a husband.
Previous Post
Let it sink! Elon Musk showed up at Twitter HQ carrying a sink
Leave a Comment