PRESS
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rick Goldschmidt — Official Rankin/Bass Historian/Biographer
Email: Rickgoldsc@aol.com
Website: http://enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com
Rick is available for TV, Radio and Newspaper/Magazine interviews via his email. The holiday season is always a busy one for Rick, so please arrange interviews as soon as possible.
To schedule and interview with Rick Click Here.
Due to limited pressing, no review copies of the books will be available.
PRESS RELEASES:
Rankin/Bass Historian Rick Goldschmidt Releases His New Book: The 15th Anniversary Edition of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio
Rick Goldschmidt's acclaimed book, The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio, chronicling the works of animation pioneers Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass has been expanded into a new 15th Anniversary hardbound ”coffee table” edition.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oak Lawn, IL - November 22, 2012 - Official Rankin/Bass Historian/Biographer Rick Goldschmidt, author of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio, The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Rankin/Bass’ Mad Monster Party releases The 15th Anniversary Edition of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio (Miser Bros Press). Available at: https://www.miserbros.com
Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass are best-known for producing some of the most popular animated holiday TV specials ever aired, including the long-running Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus and The Hobbit. They have also brought us animated feature films including Mad Monster Party and The Last Unicorn, and cartoon series such as ThunderCats, The Jackson Five, and SilverHawks.
This definitive, authorized history and celebration of Rankin/Bass animation documents every one of their productions with rare photographs, production stills, concept drawings and memorabilia, along with extensive commentary by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and dozens of the artists, actors and animators he worked with.
In 2012, this book has been taken to a new level of quality, under the guidance of Arthur Rankin, Jr. Fifteen years of newly discovered Rankin/Bass material has been added to the new 296 page book, many pages in color and beautifully designed by Wes Garlatz.
“Since the release of my original book, I have collected hundreds of photographs, model sheets, collectibles and more, many of which are included in this new, 15th Anniversary edition. We also cover many of the collectibles that came out during the original run of the specials and series and the hundreds (if not thousands) of items that were released after my original book. When putting together this new book, I didn’t want to settle for what I have done in the past, I wanted to create a book that was spectacular. Something that people would be “wowed” with! We have included several new chapters. One about the creation of ANIMAGIC, Rankin/Bass’ trademark style of animation. Another called “Where Are The Animagic Figures Today”, featuring detailed photos of the original Rankin/Bass puppets in their current state, and an art section with wonderful artwork by Patrick Owsley, Jim Engel, Matt Pott, Chris Mason and many, many more! The book is packed with material and a sensational value!,” says Rick Goldschmidt.
Book Features:
- 296 pages containing over 1,000 Images, many Never Before Published.
- 120 pages of New and Rare Content.
- 84 Full Color pages of Photos and Artwork.
- Rare Concept Sketches and Storyboard Artwork.
- 8 1/2” x 11” Coffee Table Book printed on High Quality Paper, weighing nearly 4 lbs.
Media contact: Rick Goldschmidt email: Rickgoldsc@aol.com website: http://enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com
Rick is available for TV, Radio and Newspaper/Magazine interviews via his email. The holiday season is always a busy one for Rick, so please arrange interviews as soon as possible.
Rankin/Bass Historian Rick Goldschmidt Releases His New Book: Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party
Rick Goldschmidt's highly anticipated 3rd book, Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party is the story behind the feature film produced by animation pioneers, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. Now available in hardbound and softbound editions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oak Lawn, IL - October 31, 2011 - Official Rankin/Bass Historian/Biographer RickGoldschmidt, author of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio and The Making Of The Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, releases his third book on the famous animation studios entitled Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party (Miser Bros Press). Available at: miserbros.com
Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass have produced such Holiday TV classics as Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, The Year Without A Santa Claus, The Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. Their trademark form of animation is known as 'ANIMAGIC.' In 1967, they produced a full-length feature film in 'ANIMAGIC' starring Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller called 'Mad Monster Party’. This film hasinfluenced numerous West Coast animators and in many ways inspired Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. It is the only animated feature film to bring together all of the classic monsters that we know today.
Rick, along with book designer Wes Garlatz, was able to delve into studio archives to offer incite into the creation of the cult classic. Highlights include the original shooting script, unpublished sheet music, courtesy of film composer Maury Laws, and countless photographs and studio sketches. If you love the Rankin/Bass Holiday perennial TV Specials, this book is for you. It's a Mad Monster Party and you are all invited!
Book Features:
- 272 pages containing over 300 Images, many Never Before Published.
- 55 Full Color pages of Photos and Artwork.
- Rare Concept Sketches and Storyboard Artwork.
- The original 1967 Shooting Script in it's entirety.
- Original working Sheet Music including the title song, "Mad Monster Party" written by Jules Bass and Maury Laws.
- The complete Mad Monster Party Dell Comic Book.
- Behind the scene Interviews and Insight form the Cast and Crew.
Media contact: Rick Goldschmidt email: Rickgoldsc@aol.com website: http://enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com
Rick is available for TV, Radio and Newspaper/Magazine interviews via his email. The holiday season is always a busy one for Rick, so please arrange interviews as soon as possible.
Rankin/Bass Historian Rick Goldschmidt Releases His New Book: The Arthur Rankin Jr. Scrapbook: The Birth of Animagic – Thanksgiving, 2015
Rick Goldschmidt's latest book, The Arthur Rankin Jr. Scrapbook: The Birth of Animagic inspired by Arthur Rankin Jr’s original production scrapbook that was kept at Dentsu Studios in Japan from 1959-1961 when he began his first Animagic production.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oak Lawn, IL - November 26, 2015 - Official Rankin/Bass Historian/Biographer Rick Goldschmidt, author of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio, The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Rankin/Bass’ Mad Monster Party and The 15th Anniversary Edition of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio releases The Arthur Rankin Jr. Scrapbook: The Birth of Animagic (Miser Bros Press). Available at: https://www.miserbros.com
Producer Arthur Rankin, Jr. passed away January 30th, 2014. Rankin/Bass Author/Historian Rick Goldschmidt and Co-Author/ Designer Wes Garlatz located Arthur's personal scrapbook he kept at Dentsu Studios (1959-1961) from a source in Japan, literally the weekend after he passed. “It was as if Arthur made sure that we received this as he left us”, states Rick Goldschmidt. The Scrapbook contains a treasure trove of material detailing Arthur’s beginnings in the world of Animation with his trademark form of stop-motion known as "Animagic." Besides many never before seen, behind-the-scene photographs of Arthur in the studio working with the Animagic figures, the scrapbook includes notes, clippings, articles and references to the stations that were airing his syndicated series, “The New Adventures of Pinocchio” and much more. The original scrapbook became the core of this book release.
A portion of the content includes projects that were made after Rankin/Bass Productions was formed with Arthur's partner of many years in the business, Jules Bass. We learn a bit more about Larry Roemer, Ralph Friedman, Tony Peters and others – key players in the development of the Rankin/Bass landmark TV Special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Rankin/Bass archivist, Dale Dunajtsik found some Amazing Trade magazine material on the development of these early Videocraft International, LLC (Rankin/Bass Productions) projects. One of the highlights is a four-page article that goes into specifics about the months leading up to the first airing of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!” Also included are pages on the staff that Arthur assembled for the business in several areas and we learn that Video Crafts was a service that could be hired to Produce commercials in the early years of the company’s existence.
On July 19th, 2014, Rick and his fiancee Denise attended Arthur's memorial/90th Birthday party in Bermuda as guests of Arthur's widow, Olga. It was a touching gathering of Arthur's closest family and friends. This event became part of this book with photographs of the island Arthur held dear to his heart and the opening of an exhibit at Masterworks museum, highlighting Arthur’s career.
Book Features:
- 126 Paged Hard Bound.
- Extremely Rare, Behind-The-Scene Production Photos and Documents.
- 8 1/2” x 11” Full-Color Printing.
Media contact: Rick Goldschmidt email: Rickgoldsc@aol.com website: http://enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com
Rick is available for TV, Radio and Newspaper/Magazine interviews via his email. The holiday season is always a busy one for Rick, so please arrange interviews as soon as possible.