Arthur Rankin Jr. Biography

Fast Facts

• His and Jules Bass's attempt at adapting J․R․R․ Tolkien's "The Hobbit" won a Peabody Award
• Both of his biological parents were involved in show business, and his stepmother Marian Mansfield was a singer and actress
• Forged a creative partnership with Jules Bass in 1955 and the two formed Videocraft International with the intention of producing television commercials, animated television programs and feature-length films
• The first televised effort of Videocraft International was a stop-motion children's animation program called "The New Adventures of Pinocchio․"
• Originally worked as an art director at ABC
• Often used a stop-motion animation process called Animagic
• Often worked with writer Romeo Muller to write scripts and sketch characters
• One half of the celebrated animation production company Rankin/Bass
• Known for creating holiday specials based on popular holiday songs including 1964's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and 1969's "Frosty the Snowman․"
• Was a fan of "King Kong" as a child and would later mimic the same type of special-effects animations it used