Arthur Rankin Jr.

Arthur Rankin was an American director and producer specializing in animation. He is particularly famous for being one-half of the Rankin/Bass partnership, which produced beloved stop-motion television specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971).

Rankin was initially inspired to pursue stop-motion animation through his love of the original King Kong (1933). Because Rankin’s character designs were built into wooden puppets by artists living in Japan, he had numerous contacts in the Japanese film industry. In 1966, his studio produced The King Kong Show, an animated series co-produced with Toei Animation.

Due to the show’s success, Rankin was invited by Toho to participate in the production of a live-action adaptation, which became King Kong Escapes (1967).