Arthur Gardner Rankin, Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. A part of Rankin/Bass Productions with his partner Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation features such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the 1977 cartoon animation of The Hobbit. He is credited on over 1,000 television programs.
Animated TV specials by Rankin/Bass
- Return to Oz (1964) (produced as Videocraft)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964, Burl Ives) (produced as Videocraft)
- The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show (1965)
- The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966; James Cagney)
- The Cricket on the Hearth (1967, Danny Thomas & Roddy MacDowall)
- Mouse on the Mayflower (1968, Tennessee Ernie Ford)
- The Little Drummer Boy (1968, Greer Garson)
- Frosty the Snowman (1969, Jimmy Durante)
- The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970)
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (1970, Fred Astaire)
- Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971, Danny Kaye)
- The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor’s New Clothes (1972) (produced as a division of Tomorrow Entertainment)
- Puss in Boots (1972 TV special)[6]
- ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974, Joel Grey & George Gobel)
- The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974, Shirley Booth)
- The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975, Angela Lansbury)
- The First Easter Rabbit (1976, Burl Ives)
- Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976, Andy Griffith)
- Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976, Red Skelton)
- The Little Drummer Boy, Book II (1976, Greer Garson)
- The Easter Bunny Is Comin’ to Town (1977, Fred Astaire)
- Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977, Roger Miller)
- The Stingiest Man in Town (1978, Tom Bosley)
- Jack Frost (1979, Buddy Hackett)
- Pinocchio’s Christmas (1980)
