Jules Bass, Producer and Director of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and ‘The Hobbit’, Dead at 87

Jules Bass, director of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, passed away Tuesday (Oct. 25) at age 87.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the producer and director died at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, confirmed by his publicist Jennifer Fisherman Ruff.

The Emmy nominee was best known for his stop-motion Christmas classics including Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. The films were created in collaboration with his friend Arthur Rankin Jr. – who passed away in 2014 – under their production company Rankin/Bass, with some growing to fame under Bass’ pseudonym Julian P. Gardner.

Many fans are paying tribute to the animation legend on social media. “#JulesBass of #RankinBass has died – one of the great names in animation. Most famous as the producer of #Thundercats he also made the glorious Universal horror love letter Mad Monster Party featuring the voice of Boris Karloff. Age 7 both meant the world to me & still do,” wrote producer Jonathan Sothcott.

Director Elle Schneider tweeted, “Goodbye to Jules Bass, co-director of THE LAST UNICORN and THE HOBBIT, both films that shaped my childhood and perspective as a storyteller. The Rankin/Bass style was so unsettling and unique to me.”

And a third fan expressed, “Not only was Jules Bass influential in bringing Frosty and Rudolph to the small screen, but he also co-produced some of my favorite Halloween specials, not to mention the amazing Thundercats show. Endless appreciation for all inspiration.”

Together, Bass and Rankin Jr. also created the 1977 animated TV special The Hobbit and its sequel, The Return of the King, both inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series.

Bass’ final film work includes 1982’s The Last Unicorn, which featured the voices of Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges and the late Angela Lansbury, and 1985’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Bass went on to serve as the executive producer of the Thundercats television series from 1985 to 1989 (also with Rankin Jr.), and was a consultant on the short-lived 2020 reboot ThunderCats Roar.