Broadcasting legend Arthur Rankin Jr the animator, producer and director behind some of televisions most enduring holiday specials has died in his 90th year following a bout of illness.
 
Bermudas own movie mogul, who cornered the market for Christmas specials with his US partner Jules Bass, passed away yesterday morning at his home by Harrington Sound.
 
Starting in the early 1960s, Mr Rankin won the hearts of TV audiences with whimsical stop-motion animation.
 
His company, Rankin/Bass Productions, created perennial classics such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that made broadcast history.