Paul Coker Jr., a longtime designer for the iconic Rankin and Bass holiday stop-motion movies, has died. The illustrator, also known for his appearances on Mad magazine’s “Usual Gang of Idiots,” passed away in his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, aged 93, on July 23rd.
Paul Coker Jr.’s involvement in the realm of beloved stop-motion holiday movies began in 1967 with his first work under Rankin/Bass, The Wacky World of Mother Goose, according to Comicbook.com, followed by Cricket on the Hearth the same year. Over the course of the nearly four decades, Coker would go on to serve as either a production designer or character designer on almost twenty-five Rankin/Bass films, including such holiday classics as Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970), The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976), Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976), Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) and Jack Frost (1979). Coker’s final credited Rankin/Bass production would come in 2001 with Santa, Baby!
Paul Coker Jr.’s Impact on Rankin/Bass and ‘Mad’ Magazine
Many of Rankin and Bass’ most beloved characters were created from Paul Coker Jr.’s imagination and supervision, including Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney), Burgermeister Meisterburger (Paul Frees), and the dynamic duo of Snow Miser (Dick Shawn) and Heat Miser (George S. Irving) from The Year Without a Santa Claus, in which the two brothers – sons of Mother Nature – battle for control of the Earth’s climate.
Along with his work under Rankin/Bass, Paul Coker Jr. was also well-known for his work with Mad magazine, which began in 1961. His partnership with the magazine reportedly continued for decades after the fact. During that time, Coker would be responsible for some of the magazine’s most popular satirical articles, serving as an illustrator or a writer for articles like “The 50 Worst Things About America” (2012), “Overheard in Doggie Heaven” (2013), “Global Warming Haiku” (2013), and “The Hunger Games vs. NFL Games” (2015).
Paul Coker Jr. studied drawing and painting at the University of Kansas. His professional history included working for the Hallmark greeting card company, Esquire, Look, and Good Housekeeping. He is survived by his wife Rosemary Smithson and stepdaughters Carol Burd and Lee Smithson Burd, who, when confirming her stepfather’s death, told Deadline, “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end.”
Much of Paul Coker Jr.’s work for Rankin and Bass is available to stream on platforms such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Peacock, as well as being available for purchase as a DVD or through iTunes or Vudu.