Arthur Rankin Jr.
Arthur Gardner Rankin, Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer, and writer, who mostly worked in animation. He was a part of Rankin/Bass Productions with his partner 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 in over 1,000 television programs.