TVSquad

When you think of Rankin-Bass (that's Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass for the unknowing) what's the first thing that comes to mind? Why Christmas, of course! No holiday season would be complete without watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman or The Year Without a Santa Claus (the original, not the bastardized live-action NBC version) at least once. However, Rankin-Bass wasn't only just for Christmas. In fact, they made specials for Thanksgiving, Halloween and . . . Easter.

There were actually three Easter specials, to be exact. The first was Here Comes Peter Cottontail, which premiered in 1971 on ABC. In that one, which starred the voice talent of Casey Kasem, Vincent Price, and Danny Kaye, Peter is a young bunny in April Valley, which is the central hub for all things Easter. The Chief Easter Bunny names Peter his successor, but the citizens of April Valley, including the evil rabbit Irontail (isn't there always an evil rabbit somewhere) declare this monarchy unconstitutional. So, the C.E.B decides to hold a contest between Irontail and Peter to see who can deliver the most eggs. Whoever does gets the Chief Bunny position.

You probably remember the classic Sesame Street album Sesame Street Fever (on the right), a takeoff on the movie soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever and the disco craze in general. The producer of that best-selling album died of bladder cancer on Monday in New York City.

Arthur Shimkin also produced the Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer album sung by Jimmy Durante and came up with the idea that spawned Little Golden Records, which included such artists as Bing Crosby, Alfred Hitchcock, Roy Rogers, and Burl Ives. He also produced the 1961 version of Peter and the Wolf, with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. I remember that album really well. When I was in fourth or fifth grade, if you finished your work in class early, you got to go over to the corner of the room, sit in a comfy chair, and listen to albums on headphones, and that was one I listened to over and over again.

The obit says that Shimkin produced over 3000 records, and that is quite an achievement.