Jules Bass, known as the producer and director of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman,” died on Tuesday at the age of 87.
His publicist Jennifer Fisherman-Ruff confirmed the death of Bass at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Bass, who also produced “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” released his classic Christmas stop-motion programs in the 1960s and 1970s. The television specials have since become known as holiday classics enjoyed by millions of viewers worldwide.
The famed producer was known for his longtime work with director Arthur Rankin Jr.
During their years together, the Rankin/Bass Productions company set new standards for stop-motion technology. The productions included the use of thousands of individual photos pieced together at 24 frames per second in a process known as Animagic, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
Very sad to hear about the death of Jules Bass, of Rankin-Bass fame. I’ve always loved the quirky stop-motion in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS, and so many other great movies and specials. R.I.P. pic.twitter.com/7EXnGUjvtW
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) October 25, 2022
In addition to the three Christmas classics, Bass and Rankin released the televised series “The New Adventures of Pinnochio” in 1960. The team won an Emmy for their work on “The Little Drummer Boy Book II” in 1977 and released an animated version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in 1980, later releasing the sequel, “The Return of the King.”
Additional television programs released by the production company included “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” (1971), the “Jackson 5ive” series (1971-1972), “The Year Without a Santa Claus” (1974), the 1980s series “Thundercats,” and “The Coneheads” (1983), according to Variety.
Bass and Rankin also co-directed “The Last Unicorn” (1983). The animated film featured top Hollywood voices, including Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, and Angela Lansbury.
In addition to television and film projects, Bass was a composer of popular songs. His popular-song works include “Pinocchio,” “Three Sad Souls,” and “Daydreamer,” according to IMDB.
Bass went on to author multiple children’s books in his later years. He also released the novel Headhunters (2001), which was adapted for the 2011 film “Monte Carlo” starring Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, and Katie Cassidy.
Bass was born in Philadelphia in 1935, attending New York University before joining Rankin in what would later become one of the outstanding partnerships in children’s productions.
Rankin passed away on January 30, 2014, in Harrington Sound, Bermuda. He was the son of Arthur Rankin Sr., an early American actor known for his roles in “To Have and to Hold” and “The Great Adventure.”
