Jules Bass

Early life Bass was born in Philadelphia on September 16, 1935 to Max Bass and Bernice Bertha Palat Bass, and grew up with his younger brother, Howard Bass During his teenage years, he caught scarlet fever and nearly lost his life to the disease. He attended New York University before being employed by an advertising agency.

Career Bass started working with Arthur Rankin Jr. at the American Broadcasting Company in 1955. Rankin was an art director and Bass was a copywriter. The pair initially made television commercials, before moving onto television series and movies when they established Videocraft International in 1960. the same year, animated in stop-motion. (1964). Its success paved the way for the theatrical feature Mad Monster Party? (1967), and television specials like The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966).

In 1968, the company was renamed Rankin/Bass Productions, shortly before the debut of The Mouse on the Mayflower and The Little Drummer Boy. The 1970s brought additional television successes including Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) and Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971).

Traditional hand-drawn animation was employed in features like The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967), specials like Frosty the Snowman (1969), and series like The King Kong Show (1966). (1985–1989) and The Wind in the Willows (1987). Bass also wrote for some of the company's specials and series under the pseudonym "Julian P. Gardner" (a moniker Rankin also sometimes used; it combined "Jules" with the name of one of Rankin's sons), some of which include The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow, The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus, and the Emmy Award-nominated The Little Drummer Boy, Book II. With Laws, he wrote songs performed by Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye, Mickey Rooney, Shirley Booth, John Huston, Roddy McDowall, Danny Thomas, José Ferrer, Vincent Price, and the Vienna Boys' Choir. Bass also adapted the verse of J. R. R. Tolkien, approved by the Tolkien estate, into musicalized lyrics for the first completed film adaptation of The Hobbit, in 1977. The animated feature, produced for NBC, was awarded the Peabody Award. and Cooking with Herb. He also wrote fiction for adults including Headhunters, which was adapted into the 2011 Selena Gomez feature, Monte Carlo. Its funeral directors buried his urn at Wellwood Cemetery afterwards. His public memorial service was held at a later date.

Filmography

Films The Daydreamer (1966) (solo) Mad Monster Party? (1967) (solo) The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967) (with Kizo Nagashima) Frosty the Snowman (1969) The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976)

Television series

SilverHawks (1986) (showrunner) ThunderCats (1985–1989) (executive producer)

Writings Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon, 1999, Barefoot Books. Cooking with Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon: A Cook Book for Kids, 1999, Barefoot Books. Headhunters, 2001, The Mythomaniacs, 2013, Eltanin Publishing.