Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer producer Jules Bass dies aged 87-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro

Jules Bass has died (Picture: REX)

TV producer Jules Bass has died at the age of 87, it has been confirmed.

Bass – a director, producer and animator – was best known for his work on Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman and other Christmas classics.

His publicist, Jennifer Fisherman Ruff, announced that Bass died on Tuesday at an assisted living facility.

A cause of death was not given.

Bass teamed up with creative partner Arthur Rankin Jr to produce Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, which debuted in 1964 with Burl Ives and Billie Mae Richards voicing the characters.

Frosty The Snowman followed five years later starring Jackie Vernon, Billy De Wolfe, and Jimmy Durante, while Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town first aired in 1970, with Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney on the bill.

Bass is best known for creating several Christmas classics which are still loved today

With Rankin, Bass worked on several other stop motion productions including The Little Drummer Boy, Pinocchio’s Christmas and Mad Monster Party.

The pair earned an Emmy nominations for The Little Drummer Boy Book II in 1977 before winning a Peabody award for their adaptation of The Hobbit.

They went on to work on an adaptation of another JRR Tolkein book, The Return of the King, which aired in 1980.

Frosty The Snowman debuted in 1969 (Picture: Rex Features)

Bass and Rankin created the Christmas classic under their production company (Picture: Rex Features)

Rankin died in 2014 at the age of 89.

He once spoke of how his award-winning partnership with Bass worked so well, saying in 2004: ‘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.’

In 1982, Bass and Rankin co-directed The Last Unicorn with the likes of Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow and Dame Angela Lansbury – who died last week – lending their voices to the animation.

Bass’ 2001 novel, Headhunters, received a big-screen adaptation for 2011 movie Monte Carlo with Selena Gomez on the cast.

His death will be another blow for the family as Bass’ daughter Jean Nicole Bass died in January at the age of 61.

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