Paul Coker Jr., whose character and production designs for the classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion and animated holiday specials and his many years as one of Mad magazine’s “Usual Gang Of Idiots” endeared him to generations of fans, died following a brief illness at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 23. He was 93.
His death was confirmed to Deadline by his stepdaughter Lee Smithson Burd. “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end,” Smithson Burd said.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Coker’s contributions to the production and character design of the Rankin/Bass specials helped create some of the most indelible holiday images of the last half-century. As either a character designer or production designer, Coker lent his talents to such Christmas and Easter specials as Cricket on the Hearth (1967), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail...
His death was confirmed to Deadline by his stepdaughter Lee Smithson Burd. “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end,” Smithson Burd said.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Coker’s contributions to the production and character design of the Rankin/Bass specials helped create some of the most indelible holiday images of the last half-century. As either a character designer or production designer, Coker lent his talents to such Christmas and Easter specials as Cricket on the Hearth (1967), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail...
- 7/29/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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