Jules Bass, the animator, producer, director and composer whose work included stop-motion holiday television specials like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” died on Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, publicist Jennifer Fisherman-Ruff confirmed.Bass was known for his longstanding creative partnership with director Arthur Rankin Jr., who died in 2014 at 89.They notched an Emmy nomination for outstanding children’s special for their work on “The Little Drummer Boy Book II” in 1977 and one year later received a Peabody for their animated version of J.R.R.Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” In 1980, they took on another Tolkien adaptation with “The Return of the King.”The pair co-directed a film in 1982 titled “The Last Unicorn,” which featured voice roles from talent including Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin and Robert Klein.Bass was born in Philadelphia on September 16, 1935, went to New York University for college and worked at an advertising agency before joining Rankin at Videocraft International, which later became Rankin/Bass Productions."