Jules Bass was born on September 16 1935 in Philadelphia. He attended New York University. After graduating from college, he worked in the advertising industry. Arthur Rankin, Jr. was operating his own graphic design firm, which did a good deal of work for the advertising agency at which Jules Bass worked. Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. soon became friends and set about founding a company that would utilize Arthur Rankin, Jr.'s knowledge of television and Jules Bass's knowledge of advertising. Together they founded Videocraft International on September 14 1960. It would renamed Rankin/Bass Productions in 1967.
The first work to emerge from Videocraft International was the TV show The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1960. It was produced using the stop motion technique called Animagic that would become forever associated with Rankin/Bass Productions. Videocraft International followed The Adventures of Pinochio with the TV series Tales of the Wizard of Oz, which utilized cel animation. It would be the year 1964 that would prove to be a breakthrough year for Videocraft International. First, they produced the TV special Return to Oz for NBC's anthology series General Electric Fantasy Hour. It used cel animation. Second, Videocraft International produced what would become the longest running Christmas special of all time, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which was produced using the Anamagic stop motion technique. Like Return to Oz, it originally aired as part of General Electric Fantasy Hour.
The success of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer not only led to more TV specials produced by Videocraft International, but also feature films, the first of which was Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965). Like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was made using Anamagic. Videocraft followed Willy McBean and His Magic Machine with The Daydreamer (1966), which was the first feature film directed by Jules Bass. The Daydreamer featured songs with lyrics by Jules Bass and music by Maury Laws. The Daydreamer was followed by Mad Monster Party? (1967), which was also directed by Jules Bass. Jules Bass and Maury Laws once more wrote the lyrics and music. The Wacky World of Mother Goose, also directed by Jules Bass, was released same year as Mad Monster Party?.
While Mad Monster Party? would become a cult film, none of the feature films released by Rankin/Bass in the Sixties did well at the box office. Regardless, Rankin/Bass saw considerable success on television. With Toei Animation, Rankin/Bass produced the Saturday morning cartoon King Kong, which ran for three years on ABC. They produced the television specials Cricket on the Hearth , Mouse on the Mayflower, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Comin' To Town, each of which was co-directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. Rankin/Bass also produced the syndicated TV series The Smokey Bear Show. With music by Maury Laws, Jules Bass wrote the lyrics for many of the songs in these specials, including The Cricket on the Heart, The Mouse on the Mayflower, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.
The Seventies saw Rankin/Bass produce more Saturday morning cartoons, and Jules Bass directed some of the episodes these included Jackson 5ive, The Osmonds, and Kid Power. They also continued to produce holiday specials, including Here Comes Peter Cottontail, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Frosty's Winter Wonderland, and others. Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. directed the specials, and the lyrics for many of the songs in the specials were written by Jules Bass with Maury Laws providing the music. Rankin/Bass also produced television movie adaptations of The Hobbit and Return of the King. Rankin/Bass produced a two part adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that aired on the anthology series Festival of Family Classics. It was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. Jules Bass served as a producer on the Japanese live-action film The Last Dinosaur (1977).
In the Eighties Rankin/Bass produced the feature film The Last Unicorn (1982), which was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. They produced the TV specials The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold and The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus. Rankin/Bass' last significant production would be the animated series Thundercats in 1985. Jules Bass stopped producing and directing films and television programs in 1987.
Following his work with Rankin/Bass, Jules Bass turned to writing books. He wrote the children's books Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon and Cooking with Herb. He also wrote the novel Headhunters.
There was perhaps no influential producer of American holiday television specials than Rankin/Bass Productions. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the longest running Christmas special of all time. Frosty the Snowman is the only Christmas special to have aired on the same network (CBS) since its debut. A good number of Rankin/Bass Productions' specials would air for years, and many are still seen to this day. For that matter, the feature films Mad Monster Party? and The Last Unicorn have become cult films since their initial release.
Of course, Jules Bass not only directed many of the specials and feature films with Arthur Rankin, Jr., he also wrote the lyrics for many of the songs in the specials, with Maury Laws providing the music. Many of the songs were particularly memorable, and are probably responsible for much of the success of the specials. Indeed, the "Snow Miser & Heat Miser Song" from A Year Without a Santa Claus has even taken on a life of its own. Indeed, music artists have covered it multiple times. As a director, producer, and lyricist Jules Bass leaves behind an impressive legacy.
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