Arthur Rankin Jr.

Birth Name:

Arthur Gardner Rankin

Birth Place:

New York City, New York, United States

Profession

Producer, Director, Writer, Production designer, Visual effects, Art department

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
Originally worked as an art director at ABC
The first televised effort of Videocraft International was a stop-motion children's animation program called "The New Adventures of Pinocchio․"
Known for creating holiday specials based on popular holiday songs including 1964's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and 1969's "Frosty the Snowman․"
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
Was a fan of "King Kong" as a child and would later mimic the same type of special-effects animations it used

Fast Facts