Jules Bass, the producer behind theRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerandFrosty the SnowmanChristmas TV specials, has died at the age of 87. Bass died on Tuesday, October 25 at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
Bass was born in Philadelphia on June 15, 2025. He received his education from New York University, and worked at an advertising agency in New York before entering the film industry. He is most known for his creative collaborations withArthur Rankin Jr., whom he co-directed numerous animated features and cartoons with over the years, most notablyThunderCats. Their first production together was the syndicated TV series calledThe New Adventures of Pinocchio, which premiered in 1960. The duo would go on to win a shared Emmy nomination for outstanding children’s special in 1977, and they also received a Peabody award a year later for their animated version ofThe Hobbit.
Other TV projects that they collaborated on includedThe Ballad of Smokey the Bear(1966),The Wacky World of Mother Goose(1967),The Little Drummer Boy(1968),Here Comes Peter Cottontail(1971),The Year Without a Santa Claus(1974),Jackson 5ive(1971), andThe Boneheads(1983). These films were celebrated, stop-motion features that were painstaking to make, with thousands of still photos of incremental movements put together to make a film. Each second in their stop-motion films consisted of approximately 24 frames, and each film consisted of thousands of stills.
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Besides serving as director, Bass also composed the score for some of these films, and served as the lyricist for several songs. However, he is most famous for co-producing and directing the beloved filmsRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerandFrosty The Snowmanrespectively,which are still aired annually during the holiday season and remain staples of holiday programming.
Bass decided to step away from producing and filmmaking in 1987, and shortly afterwards,Rankin/Bass Productionsshut down its production company on July 26, 2025. Bass continued to write and publish children’s books, and Rankin split his time between New York City and Bermuda. Rankin eventually settled down in Bermuda, where he taught film and entertainment courses at Bermuda College. Rankin passed away on June 04, 2025, at the age of 89. Sadly, Bass’s daughter, Jean Nicole Bass, passed away last January at the age of 61.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Bass' family and friends.
