‘Frosty the Snowman’ producer, director Jules Bass dies

The man who gave the world such classics as the stop-motion holiday tradition “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the animated classic “Frosty the Snowman” has died.

Jules Bass was 87.

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Bass worked with Arthur Rankin and formed Rankin/Bass Productions, which was behind the classics for which Bass was the animator, producer, director and composer, Variety reported.

Rankin died in 2014 at the age of 89, Deadline reported.

Their first foray was the syndicated television show “The New Adventures of Pinocchio,”which premiered in 1960. They also produced “The Little Drummer Boy Book II,” which earned the team an Emmy nomination, and the 1978 adaptation of “The Hobbit,” which received a Peabody award.

The Hollywood Reporter said Rankin spoke of his partner in 2005, “We sort of complemented each other. He had certain talents that I didn’t have, and I had certain talents that he didn’t have. I was basically an artist and a creator; he was a creator and a writer and a lyricist.”

Bass’ death at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, was confirmed by his publicist, Variety reported.

Bass was born in Philadelphia in 1935. He attended New York University and worked in advertising before getting a job at Videocraft International, which eventually became Rankin/Bass Productions.

Bass left filmmaking in 1987 and became a children’s book writer, creating stories about Herb the Vegetarian Dragon, Deadline reported.

Bass’ daughter, Jean Nicole Bass, died in January. He has no surviving family, according to Deadline.

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