Today is my Dad's first heavenly birthday 🎂 A few pages from our new book.

My Dad, Richard (Dick) Goldschmidt, Sr. Passed away. He was one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet and offered his friendship to everyone. So much so, that he became officer Friendly in Alsip. He helped me with my first drawing and inspired me to always do my best. If you lived in Alsip, you probably knew him pretty well. He was a special guy and I am sure he will be well remembered. He made many more friends, when he worked security at Navy Pier. He struggled with Cancer for many years and was a fighter. Now, he is finally at peace.🙏 #Richardgoldschmidtsr

 

 

1940 - 2024 

Ricou Browning R.I.P.

Sorry to hear about Ricou!  I appeared at a few shows with Ricou Browning.  I was lucky to be able to show him my 3-D Creature of the Black Lagoon...

 

Realist behind-the-scenes color slides.  He worked on Ivan Tors shows like Flipper, Gentle Ben, etc.  He also worked on Thunderball.  A very kind guy to meet.  He will be missed.  Ricou Browning R.I.P.  #Ricoubrowning #Creatureoftheblacklagoon

 

I have been off the charts busy this week, with the passing of Jules....

Busy day today!  Look for a nice article on Jules in the New York Times to most likely be published online tonight (I will share) and then in the newspaper over the weekend.   I think this may be the best researched to date.  I assisted with Children’s & Family Awards The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tonight!  They want to honor Jules in December (I suggested Paul Coker, Jr. too).  NPR had me on the radio Wednesday night (Clips from older interviews I did).  The CBC radio show "As it happens" wants to have me on their show soon.  Juggling all sorts of other things here too!  I am expecting the Jack Davis Mad Monster Party shirts to arrive by Saturday.   I will be at the Wheaton All-Night Flea Market at 3 pm Saturday until around 1:30 am or so!   Come on out!  Oh yeah, may be appearing at HOLLYWOOD BLVD. in December.  I will post details. My Rankin/Bass Holiday display goes up at the Orland Park Public Library for the 3rd year in early November too!
 

I have many things to remember Jules by. The death of his daughteJean, r in January 2022, must have hit him hard. She would email me occasionally and say "You are my Dad's Biographer!"

 

Jules Bass R.I.P.

 Jules Bass 1935-2022 

    Jules Bass was a complicated and private man, but he was also a very talented man. He was primarily known for his songwriting work with his partner Maury Laws. Maury usually wrote the music and Jules would write the lyrics, which would typically move the plot along, but this wasn't always the case. In the case of the classic song "One Star in the night," from their 1968 TV Special, The Little Drummer Boy, Jules wrote the music. Maury Laws recalled, "Jules would play this little song he wrote on the piano from time to time. When we got stuck on a song for The Little Drummer Boy, I suggested the song Jules would play on the piano and it fit perfectly." The music catalog of Rankin/Bass Productions is outstanding and Jules, along with Maury, had everything to do with that. In fact, Jules and Maury were both involved in the CD projects I worked on for Mad Monster Party and The Daydreamer. 

 

    In the mid-1970s, Rankin/Bass writer Romeo Muller decided to branch out on his own and wrote other animated television specials. Jules stepped in and became writer for specials like The First Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, Book II, etc. He wrote these under the name Julian P. Gardner. Maury Laws recalled, "The P. Stood for Phoney, and Gardner was the first name of one of Arthur's sons." Often, Jules was given Director credit too, but this was mostly honorary. Arthur Rankin, Jr. was the only one of the duo who traveled to Japan, to oversee the animation production. In the case of the Animagic productions, the actual animators were the true Directors, as was the case with Tad Mochinaga for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Jules often worked with the East Coast voice actors in New York, such as Allen Swift, Rhoda Mann, Bradley Bolke, etc. Arthur often worked with the big name actors like Fred Astaire, Boris Karloff, James Cagney, etc. As the studio got bigger, Jules took on many roles and his dream was to bring a musical to Broadway. Two musicals were in development. One was called HUCK (Based on Huck Finn) and another was written by Romeo Muller called A Month of Sundays. A month of Sundays featured veteran voice actor Allen Swift in the cast and it introduced a great Bass/Laws song called "Elbow Room," which was later used in the TV Special The Mouse on the Mayflower. When the off Broadway show closed after ten performances, it hit Jules very hard. Maury Laws said, "Jules was never the same after that. It really broke his spirit." 

 

     I always remember the story Maury told me about his appearance in the Rankin/Bass TV film, The Bermuda Depths. Maury played a small role as Magnus' father. When his lab gets overtaken by the sea, Maury had to scream. Maury said, "Jules didn't like my scream, so he ended up doing the scream."

 

      Jules and Arthur both went over the blue lines to my first book, The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio, and I remember Jules being very excited about it. I did conduct long interviews with Jules and I even taped one. He always preferred that Arthur speak for Rankin/Bass Productions publicly. Jules would often contact me for help with various projects over the years, and I always did the best I could. Arthur would always tell me, "Jules was very happy with the way you have promoted his books." Jules sent me signed copies of his Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon books. He released a novel called Headhunters, and many people don't know that was originally a TV script for an ABC FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE, that never got made. After the book release, Nicole Kidman's company bought the movie rights and it was eventually made into a feature film called Monte Carlo starring Selena Gomez.

 

     I will definitely remember Jules for his inspiring work, that has meant so much to generations of people. His songs with Maury Laws, will live on forever! Every time Arthur called me, I would always ask about Jules. They saw each other for dinner regularly, and Arthur wanted to surprise Jules on Christmas eve 2012, with my 15th Anniversary edition of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass. I know there was a lot of love between them. Jules was living in France, when we released my first book, but he moved back to New York and had a home built in Garrison, not far from Arthur's home there, so that said a lot. Jules Bass R.I.P. #Julesbass #Rankinbassproductionsofficial #Lyricist #Author #Director #Writer

 

 

11-20-2022 will be the 25th Anniversary of my first book, The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio. I started working with these two guys in the early 1990s on it, shortly after I graduated from Columbia College Chicago!

 C. 1997 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives

I am dedicating all of my 2022 Holiday appearances to my late and great friend Paul Coker, Jr.! A Wonderful guy who passed away this past July 23rd at the age of 93! I can't believe I still have many things signed by him in my ETSY shop!

 

I just wrote something on Paul, for the December issue of ReMind magazine! It will be a very full issue of people we lost in 2022! Don't forget to look for the October Munsters issue later this month, which I also contributed to. #Paulcokerjr

Paul Coker, Jr. R.I.P.

Sad news today, my very dear friend Paul Coker, Jr. passed away.  I talked to him very recently and he signed a whole bunch of Rankin/Bass postcards for me at 93!  You may know his work from Mad Magazine or Hallmark cards, but Rankin/Bass fans know his designs from Frosty the Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus and Santa Claus Is Comin' to town, among many other TV specials.  Our friendship goes back to the very beginning of my association with Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass.  Paul did the cover for my first book in the mid-1990s, which originally had a yellow background.  Since then he did many pieces of art for me and signed thousands of postcards.  Early on, we did radio show interviews together and he even did satellite TV interviews for Mervyns Department stores, for me.  He appeared in WE ARE SANTA'S ELVES on The Year Without A Santa Claus blu ray, for me.  We appeared together at the North Dallas Comic book show.  Later Paul told me, he came so that he could hang out with me.  Our phone conversations were always filled with laughter.  He poked fun at everything...me, his art, Rankin/Bass, etc.  We had a very similar sense of humor.   I really loved this guy and his work!  He was so important to The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass, I can't even put it into words.  He made doing what I do, so enjoyable. He will live on through his work and the wonderful memories I have of him! #Paulcokerjr #Frostythesnowman #heatmiser #snowmiser #winterwarlock #burgermeistermeisterburger

Rest well, James Coleman Garrett, 1954-2021. Gone way too soon. Now he is at peace. 🙏💔 He just commented on all of my posts of The Lucy Show and I was just thinking of him the other day as I saw Candy on The Donna Reed show. #jimmygarrett

Alfie R.I.P.

Alfie Scopp R.I.P.

Alfie Scopp,  voice of Rankin/Bass Production characters Charlie-in-the-box, Fireball, Socrates the scarecrow and more, passed away at the age of 101 on July 24th, 2021.  He will be remembered and missed. #rudolphtherednosedreindeer #rankinbassproductions #alfiescopp #talesofthewizardofoz #voiceactor https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?n=alfie-scopp&pid=199587565

My dear friend Kevin Burns passed. I am in shock, as I just talked with him and he sent me a treasure trove of things! He Produced the Lost in Space blu ray set, was the world's biggest Munsters collector, Produced A&E Biographies, etc. A sad day! #restinpeace #kevinburns

Last Friday, I got the shocking phone call that my dear friemd, business partner, Co-Author, designer, etc., Wes Garlatz had passed away Thursday night April 2nd of a heart attack at age 52. I am still processing it 😢 A part of me died too. In 2011, Arthur Rankin, Jr., Wes and I Produced the book Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party, followed by the 15th Anniversary book of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio. Arthur was proud to look back at this point. When he passed in 2014, Wes and I Produced The Arthur Rankim, Jr. Scrapbook to honor our dear friend and team member. In 2018, I was driven to get a book done on Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and we obtained some help from Matthew Clayton Mitchell Witten and in 2019, Frosty the Snowman with help from Jonathan Johnson ! The Frosty book came out less than 3 months before Wes passed and I think I know why I felt the urgency. I am so glad we got those last two books done, because I feel they are our best work! Wes was a super guy and I will remember him through our books. I get so many compliments at my appearances for the design of the books and I know that is mostly wes' doing. We are going to try to do a memorial appearance in West Hollywood during the holidays 2020. You can't even have a proper wake/funeral now. Wes leaves his wife Joan and daughters Samantha and Sara behind, which I know meant everything to him. He was proud of them and his Rankin/Bass work at Miser Bros! I will always be proud of him and I dedicate the rest of my appearances to him. Please respect the family's privacy and direct any questions to me. #wesgarlatz #restinpeace

Sue Lyon R.I.P.

Still thinking about Maury!

Still remembering the great Maury Laws! Going through some of my ring binders and old pictures and gave a few quotes for the Variety obit. What a great guy! #musicalsupervisor #conductor #composer #maurylaws #rankinbass 

 C. 2019 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives

Maury Laws R. I. P.

https://www.wichmannfuneralhomes.com/obituary?id=1840754

 We lost my dear friend Maury Laws at the age of 95, THE Rankin/Bass Musical composer and conductor. I spent a lot of time with Maury over the years and even took him into the recording studio to record a career retrospective interview for The Daydreamer soundtrack cd. I dedicated a chapter to him and his music in all of my books as well. I still think back to the first time I called Maury and he had no idea why I was so interested in him and his music. He was very modest and couldn't believe that I wanted the Mad Monster Party soundtrack (Which he sent to me first, after being shelved for decades). Maury and I shared a bond as musicians and he was one of my biggest champions! He ordered many copies of my books for his friends and family. His son John lived in Chicago, so I would meet up with Maury and his family at the Palmer House and The Drake. We would visit Navy Pier and Riva (My Dad worked security there) and talk about everything. Maury was one of the big reasons I became the Rankin/Bass Historian/Biographer. His music wasn't written down for children, it was sophisticated! I got Maury to participate in the documentaries for Mad Monster Party and The Year Without A Santa Claus (The only official Rankin/Bass documentaries for blu ray/DVD). We will be dedicating our new Frosty book to Maury. I was proud to call Maury a friend and am so happy I was able to share a special bond with him. In the world of Entertainment, there is no music that surpasses his! #maurylaws #restinpeace #music #composer #conductor #writer #entertainment #obituary

The Hollywood Reporter

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bradley-bolke-dead-tennessee-tuxedo-cartoons-star-was-93-1176633?fbclid=IwAR0H25zP6ylawvyYs8N6gUTNO_TttFK2FKboaeke_N4Nse89-bhFiZvGItQ

photo from our 20th Anniversary edition of The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass:  A Portfolio

*  Did I mention that Bradley appears in the only official Christmas Rankin/Bass Documentary "We Are Santa's Elves" on The Year Without A Santa Claus blu ray and DVD?   The Mad Monster Party Blu Ray has official documentaries also

Bradley R.I.P.

My dear friend Bradley Bolke passed away today at 93.  You may know him as the voice of Chumley in Tennessee Tuxedo and his tales or Jangle Bells in The Year Without A Santa Claus.  He did many voices such as the ghostly trio in Casper and Norman and Dracula in Rankin/Bass' Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters.  He appeared with me at the museum of television and radio in New York in 2003 and at a few Chiller Theatres.  We were lucky to get him in our Rankin/Bass documentary "We are Santa's Elves" for the Year Without A Santa Claus blu ray and he has contributed to my books.  His brother was Dayton Allen (Deputy Dawg, The Howdy Doody Show).  We will miss him!  Glad I was able to help him out a little in his later years  #bradleybolke #chumley #janglebells #rankinbass #theyearwithoutasantaclaus #madmadmadmonsters