In memoriam: Arthur Rankin,1924-2014

Arthur Rankin poses with Rudolph & Frosty animagic miniatures.

We are saddened to hear about the passing of legendary producer Arthur Rankin, co-founder of the Rankin-Bass studios.

Rankin's credits read like a Hall Of Fame of holiday specials:

Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, A Year Without A Santa Claus, Frosty The Snowman, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Twas The Night Before Christmas, and many more.

As we said years ago in our introductory post, we grew up in the 70s-early 80s, the "classic era" of tv specials. Our Christmas seasons would not have been the same without Rankin's contributions and it's doubtful this blog would exist without the aforementioned specials.

Rankin (left) with partner Jules Bass.

It's nice that Rankin lived long enough to be appreciated by so many fans and animation professionals.  We offer our sincerest condolences to friends and family of Arthur Rankin,