Jules Bass, producer and director of the holiday specials, has died at the age of 87

Jules Bass, producer and director of the holiday specials “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Render” and “Frosty the Snowman,” died Tuesday at the age of 87, His publicist Jennifer Fisherman-Ruff Entertainment Weekly said. The cause of death has not been released.

Bass, who is also an animator and composer, is best known for creating animated and stop-motion television programs in the 1960s and 1970s with his partner and ABC art director Arthur Rankin Jr. Developed successful vacation programs featuring the talents of Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire and Pearl Ives.

Their first production, a television series, “The New Adventures of Pinocchio,” was released in 1960. They also produced adaptations of “The Hobbit,” “The Return of the King,” “The King Kong Show,” and the original series “Thunder Cats.”

But their most famous projects have turned into holiday classics, including:

• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
• “Frosty Snow”
• “The Year Without Santa Claus”
• “Brilliant New Year Rudolph”
• “Santa Claus is coming to town”

These TV shows were often based on Christmas songs and featured fluid animations that caused a visual effect as if snow was falling on the viewer.

The couple’s 1976 sequel to “The Little Drummer Boy” would give them an Emmy Award nomination while their work on “The Hobbit” led to Peabody Award.

“We kind of compliment each other,” Rankin said in an interview in 2004. “He had certain talents that I don’t have, and I have certain talents that he doesn’t have. I was basically an artist and a creator. He was a creator, writer, and lyricist.”

Rankin passed away in 2014 at the age of 89.

Born in Philadelphia, Bass attended New York University and worked in advertising before establishing his partnership with Rankin.

His years of producing and directing ended in 1987. However, his creativity moved into the world of literature.

Bass has penned a number of children’s books that depict the character of Herb, the vegetarian dragon. And the movie “Monte Carlo” 2011 starring Selena Gomez, It was loosely anchored in his novel talent seekersAbout Texan women looking for husbands on a trip to Europe.