Jules Bass
Born
Julius Caesar Bass[1]

(1935-09-16)September 16, 1935
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 2022(2022-10-25) (aged 87)
Rye, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
  • lyricist
  • author
Years active1955–2022
Known forCo-founder of Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment
Notable workMad Monster Party?
The Little Drummer Boy
Frosty the Snowman
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Here Comes Peter Cottontail
The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Hobbit
Jack Frost
The Return of the King
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Children1

Julius Caesar Bass (September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer, and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency,[2] and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft International, later named Rankin/Bass Productions, with his friend, Arthur Rankin Jr. He joined ASCAP in 1963 and collaborated with Edward Thomas and James Polack at their music firm and as a songwriting team primarily with Maury Laws at Rankin/Bass.

Early life

Bass was born in Philadelphia on September 16, 1935.[3][1] During his teenage years, he caught scarlet fever and nearly died from the disease. He attended New York University before being employed by an advertising agency.[1][4]

Career

Bass started working with Arthur Rankin Jr. at the American Broadcasting Company[5] in 1955. Rankin was an art director and Bass was a copywriter. The pair initially made television commercials, before moving onto television series and movies when they established Videocraft International in 1960.[1] They released their first syndicated television series, The New Adventures of Pinocchio[6] the same year, animated in stop-motion.[1][5] In 1961, Videocraft produced a cel-animated series called Tales of The Wizard of Oz, which was expanded into their first prime-time network special, Return to Oz, on NBC in 1963.

They renamed the company to Rankin/Bass Productions before they produced the long-running stop-motion special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer[7] (1964). Its success paved the way for the theatrical feature Mad Monster Party (1967), TV specials like The Ballad of Smokey the Bear[8] (1966), Santa Claus is Comin' to Town [9](1970) and Here Comes Peter Cottontail[10] (1971). Traditional hand-drawn animation was employed in features like The Wacky World of Mother Goose[11] (1967), specials like Frosty the Snowman[12] (1969), and series like The King Kong Show (1966).[1][5] Bass shared the director credit with Rankin for the aforementioned productions.[13] Their later collaborations included the hit cartoon ThunderCats[14] (1985–1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1987).[5]

Bass wrote the lyrics for many of the films he directed, collaborating with composer Maury Laws. This began with his first solo directing project, the live-action/stop-motion feature The Daydreamer (1966).[15] Bass also wrote for some of the company's specials and series under the pseudonym "Julian P. Gardner" (a moniker Rankin also sometimes used; it combined "Jules" with the name of one of Rankin's sons), some of which include The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow,[16] The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus,[17] and the Emmy Award nominated The Little Drummer Boy, Book II.[18][19] With Laws, he wrote songs performed by Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye, Mickey Rooney,[1] Ed Wynn, Patty Duke, Ray Bolger,[20] Shirley Booth,[21] John Huston,[22] Roddy McDowall, Danny Thomas,[23] José Ferrer,[24] Vincent Price,[1] Phyllis Diller, Boris Karloff,[25] and the Vienna Boys' Choir.[26] Bass also adapted the verse of J. R. R. Tolkien, approved by the Tolkien estate, into musicalized lyrics for the first completed film adaptation of The Hobbit, in 1977. The animated feature, produced for NBC, was awarded the Peabody Award.[1]

Bass stopped directing and producing films in 1987. He later authored a series of children's books, based around the character of Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon[27] and Cooking with Herb.[28] He also wrote fiction for adults including Headhunters, which was adapted into the 2011 Selena Gomez feature, Monte Carlo.[1]

Personal life

His first marriage was to Renee Fisherman.[1] Together, they had one daughter, Jean Nicole, who predeceased Bass in January 2022.[1][4] They eventually divorced. His second marriage, to Sylvia Bass, also ended in divorce.[1]

Bass died on October 25, 2022, at a retirement home in Rye, New York. He was 87 years old.[3][1][4]

Filmography

Films

Other film work

Sources: [13][29][30][31]

Television series

Showrunner

Other work

Writings

  • Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon, 1999, Barefoot Books. ISBN 978-1-902283-36-4
  • Cooking with Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon: A Cook Book for Kids, 1999, Barefoot Books. ISBN 978-1-84148-040-4
  • Headhunters, 2001, ISBN 9780515131338
  • The Mythomaniacs, 2013, Eltanin Publishing. ASIN B00GM721UC

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Langer, Emily (October 26, 2022). "Jules Bass, who brought Rudolph and Frosty to TV life, dies at 87". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  2. ↑ Yuval., Goldmark, Daniel. Taylor (2002). The cartoon music book. A Cappella. ISBN 978-1-56976-411-4. OCLC 750230016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 "Jules Bass, Producer Behind the 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'Frosty the Snowman' TV Specials, Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter. October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Panaligan, EJ (October 25, 2022). "Jules Bass, Producer and Director Known for 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' 'Frosty the Snowman,' Dies at 87". Variety. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Vitello, Paul (February 5, 2014). "Arthur Rankin, 89, Dies; His Puppet Animation Was a Holiday Hallmark". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Rankin/Bass' "New Adventures of Pinocchio" on Records |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Rankin/Bass "Rudolph" on Records |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Rankin/Bass' "Ballad of Smokey the Bear" on Records & More |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Santa's Been Comin' to Town for 50 Years on TV and Records |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rankin/Bass' "Peter Cottontail" – 50 Years of Yestermorrows |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Rankin/Bass (and Paul Coker, Jr.) "Wacky World of Mother Goose" (1965) |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Rankin/Bass "Frosty" Specials on Records |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 "Jules Bass". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Rankin/Bass "ThunderCats" on Records |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ Goldmark, Daniel; Taylor, Yuval, eds. (2002). The Cartoon Music Book. Chicago Review Press. p. 195. ISBN 9781569764121.
  16. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (June 6, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012 (2 ed.). McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 9781476612409.
  17. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (December 17, 1985). "TV Review – 'Adventures of Santa'". The New York Times. p. C26. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  18. ↑ Crump, William D. (August 28, 2013). The Christmas Encyclopedia (3 ed.). McFarland. p. 265. ISBN 9781476605739.
  19. ↑ "The Little Drummer Boy Book II – Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  20. ↑ Osborne, Jerry (2002). Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide. Jerry Osborne Enterprises. p. 140. ISBN 9780932117373.
  21. ↑ Baxter, Joan (May 1, 2020). Television Musicals: Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 222 Shows Written for and Presented on Television, 1944–1996. McFarland. ISBN 9781476641898.
  22. ↑ Baxter, Joan (May 1, 2020). Television Musicals: Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 222 Shows Written for and Presented on Television, 1944–1996. McFarland. ISBN 9781476641898.
  23. ↑ Baxter, Joan (May 1, 2020). Television Musicals: Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 222 Shows Written for and Presented on Television, 1944–1996. McFarland. ISBN 9781476641898.
  24. ↑ Baxter, Joan (May 1, 2020). Television Musicals: Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 222 Shows Written for and Presented on Television, 1944–1996. McFarland. ISBN 9781476641898.
  25. ↑ Nollen, Scott Allen; Nollen, Yuyun Yuningsih (January 13, 2021). Karloff and the East: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Oceanian Characters and Subjects in His Screen Career. McFarland. p. 433. ISBN 9781476680637.
  26. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (June 19, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012 (2 ed.). McFarland. p. 233. ISBN 9780786474448.
  27. ↑ "Jules Bass". WorldCat. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  28. ↑ Bass, Jules (1999). Cooking with Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon: A Cookbook for Kids. Barefoot Books. ISBN 9781841480404.
  29. ↑ "Jules Bass". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Jules Bass". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  31. ↑ Gifford, Denis (October 24, 2018). The British Film Catalogue: The Fiction Film. Routledge. p. 887. ISBN 9781317837022.
  32. ↑ "Celebrate Rudolph's 75th". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. December 2, 2014. p. 3. ProQuest 1629584320. Retrieved October 26, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  33. ↑ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: The shows, M–Z. McFarland & Company. p. 741. ISBN 9780786420995.
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