Arthur Rankin, Jr. — American Director born on July 19, 1924, died on January 30, 2014
Arthur Gardner Rankin, Jr. was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. A part of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend 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... (wikipedia)