Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation features such as ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

'', ''

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success of ...

'', '' Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town'' and the 1977 cartoon special of ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

''. He is credited on over 1,000 television programs.

Early life

Rankin was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, the son of actors

Arthur Rankin Arthur Rankin may refer to: *Arthur Rankin (surveyor) (1816–1893), Canadian surveyor, entrepreneur, and politician *Arthur Rankin Jr. (1924–2014), American producer, director, and writer * Arthur E. Rankin (1888–1962), American teacher and po ...

and Marian Mansfield. His paternal grandmother was actress

Phyllis Rankin Phyllis McKee Rankin''M'Kee Rankin's House On Fire'', New York Times, April 2, 1891, pg. 8. (August 31, 1874 – November 17, 1934) was a Broadway actress and singer from the 1880s to the 1920s. Early life Phyllis McKee Rankin was the second da ...

, and his paternal step-grandfather, who adopted his father, was actor Harry Davenport, who played Dr. Meade in the film '' Gone with the Wind''.

Career

Rankin began his career as an art director for the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the Disney General Entertainment Content#Current assets, ...

in the 1940s. In 1955, he and Jules Bass formed the production company Videocraft International to produce television commercials. In 1960, they moved into the area of animation, and changed the name of their company to

. The two worked closely together for many years, co-directing and producing a wide array of

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

animated features and cartoons, which Rankin had referred to as "Animagic". In addition to directing, Rankin primarily created the script and sketched the character concepts, which would be made into the wooden puppets by Japanese artists, including head supervisor and partner, Tadahito Mochinaga. Maury Laws, a musical director for Rankin/Bass, stated that Rankin was inspired by the film ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'', and that Rankin "wanted every detail right" in creating these shorts. Some of the most famous features were the holiday-themed TV specials, such as '' Willy McBean and his Magic Machine'', ''

'', '' Santa Claus is Comin' to Town'', '' Rudolph's Shiny New Year'', '' The Year Without a Santa Claus'', ''

'', ''

'Twas the Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...

'', and '' Jack Frost''. Many of these holiday-themed works are now considered "perennial favorites", according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. He is also credited with devising the story for many Rankin/Bass productions, including the feature films '' The Daydreamer'' and '' Mad Monster Party?''. In 1977, Rankin and Bass produced a version of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''

'', for which they were awarded the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. The pair also teamed on a wide variety of animated TV series, including '' ThunderCats'' and '' SilverHawks''. The pair last teamed on the 1987 TV special based on ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

''. Rankin's last producing credit was on the 1999 animated version of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the child ...

''.

Later life

Rankin met his wife-to-be, Olga Karlatos, after he cast her in a 1983 television adaption of ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

'' entitled ''The Sins of Dorian Gray''. They would welcome two sons: Arthur Gardner Rankin III, and his brother Todd Rankin. They settled in

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

, with Rankin looking to continue to produce stage shows. He noted:

"I could go up to Broadway and run up and down the street and scream, 'I want to write and direct a play!' They'd put me in the nuthouse. If I say that n Bermuda everyone springs into action, 'Oh, please, please.'"

In addition to this, Rankin also taught courses on film and entertainment at

Bermuda College Bermuda College is a community college in Paget Parish, Bermuda. Overview The only post-secondary educational institution in Bermuda, Bermuda College offers a variety of academic, technical and professional courses in the Divisions of Applied Sc ...

Death

Rankin died after a brief illness on January 30, 2014, aged 89, in his home at Harrington Sound,

. Referring to him as an "animation legend", ''The Hollywood Reporter'' noted that during his career, Rankin worked with actors such as

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequen ...

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, an ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wa ...

, and

Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series '' The ...

. He was buried in Sunnyside, Bermuda's Holy Trinity Church Cemetery.

Filmography

Rankin was credited on over 1,000 TV shows and films. Some selected works include:

Animated feature films

* '' Willy McBean and His Magic Machine'' (1965) * '' Mad Monster Party?'' (1967) * ''

'' (1977) (TV movie) * ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, w ...

'' (1980) (TV movie) * ''

The Last Unicorn ''The Last Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the w ...

'' (1982) * ''

The Flight of Dragons ''The Flight of Dragons'' is a 1982 animated fantasy film produced and directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. loosely combining the speculative natural history book of the same name (1979) by Peter Dickinson with the novel '' The Drago ...

'' (1982) (TV movie) * ''

'' (1987) (TV movie) * ''

'' (1999)

Live-action

* ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese–American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, ...

'' (1968) * '' Marco'' (1973) * ''

The Last Dinosaur is a 1977 Japanese/American tokusatsu co-production, co-directed by Alexander Grasshoff and Tsununobu Kotani (the latter billed as Tom Kotani),Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). ''Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films''. McFarland, p. 379 ...

'' (1977) * '' The Bermuda Depths'' (1977) (TV movie) * '' The Ivory Ape'' (1980) * ''

The Bushido Blade ''The Bushido Blade'' is a 1981 film directed by Tom Kotani. Sonny Chiba, Toshiro Mifune, Mako, Laura Gemser and James Earl Jones appear in this film. It was filmed in 1978, but not released until 1981. This was Richard Boone's last film appeara ...

'' (1981)

Animated TV specials

* '' Return to Oz'' (1964) (produced as Videocraft) * ''

'' (1964, Burl Ives) (produced as Videocraft) * ''The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show'' (1965) * ''The Ballad of Smokey the Bear'' (1966, James Cagney) * ''Cricket on the Hearth'' (1967, Danny Thomas) * '' Mouse on the Mayflower'' (1968, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Eddie Albert, Jack Cassidy, Joanie Sommers) * ''

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a ...

'' (1968, Jose Ferrer, Greer Garson) * ''

'' (1969, Jimmy Durante) * '' Santa Claus is Comin' to Town'' (1970, Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney) * '' Here Comes Peter Cottontail'' (1971, Danny Kaye) * '' The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1972, Danny Kaye) * ''

Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for ...

'' (1972 TV special) * '' The Year Without a Santa Claus'' (1974, Shirley Booth) * ''

'' (1974, Joey Grey, George Gobel) * '' Frosty's Winter Wonderland'' (1976, Andy Griffith) * ''Rudolph’s Shiny New Year'' (1976, Red Skelton) * '' Jack Frost'' (1979, Buddy Hackett) * ''The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold'' (1981)

Animated series

* '' The New Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1960) * '' Tales of the Wizard of Oz'' (1961) * ''

The King Kong Show , commonly referred to as ''The King Kong Show'', is an anime-influenced series produced by Videocraft International and Toei Animation. ABC ran the series in the United States on Saturday mornings between September 10, 1966, and August 31, 1969 ...

'' (1966–69) * '' The Tomfoolery Show'' (1970–71) * '' The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show'' (1970) * ''

The Jackson 5ive The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

'' (1971) * ''

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

'' (1972) * '' Festival of Family Classics'' (1972–1973) * ''

Kid Power ''Wee Pals'' is an American syndicated comic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Gan ...

'' (1972–1973) * '' ThunderCats'' (1985–87) * '' SilverHawks'' (1986) * '' TigerSharks'' (1987)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Arthur Jr. 1924 births 2014 deaths American animators American animated film directors American animated film producers Animation screenwriters Rankin/Bass Productions Film producers from New York (state) Artists from New York City Businesspeople from New York City Film directors from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople