John Coates obit

Snowman producer John Coates dies

He was not on the list.

John Coates, the producer of the classic animation film The Snowman, has died of cancer. He was in his eighties.

Coates, recently finished work on a follow-up to the 1982 film to celebrate its 30th anniversary, died on Sunday at his home in Kent.

A spokeswoman for Lupus Films, the production company behind the sequel, said: "It's very sad news. He was very involved [in the new film]."

The Snowman and the Snowdog will be screened on Channel 4 this Christmas.

The film is said to involve a new boy, a "snow dog" and such modern landmarks as the London Eye.

Producer Camilla Deakin said Coates had recently seen the trailer and the storyboard of the whole film and was "very pleased" with them.

Coates served in World War II as an army officer and became a film distributor in Asia before returning to England and beginning to produce animation.

He teamed up with The Snowman writer Raymond Briggs and persuaded Channel 4 to make it one of its first films.

It went on to become a classic repeated every year at Christmas and it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1983.

'Complete innovation'

Coates also worked on the 1968 Beatles animation Yellow Submarine. His other production credits include TV film The Wind in the Willows, which was voiced by the likes of Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Gambon, Michael Palin and Alan Bennett.

He also produced the TV series The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, based on the tales by Beatrix Potter.

Composer Howard Blake, who worked extensively with Coates on films such as The Snowman, Granpa and The Bear, met Coates in New York in 1981.

"He allowed me to go along with my ideas - he let me do the music without any dialogue. The Snowman was a complete innovation," he told BBC News.

He said making The Snowman had all been "very friendly", adding: "We fell out numerous times but always made it up. John always believed everything could be sorted out over a good lunch."

 

Producer

The Snowman and the Snowdog (2012)

The Snowman and the Snowdog

7.2

TV Short

producer

2012

 

The Tale of Jack Frost (2004)

The Tale of Jack Frost

6.9

TV Movie

executive producer

2004

 

Ivor the Invisible (2001)

Ivor the Invisible

6.0

TV Movie

executive producer

2001

 

The Animal Train (1998)

The Animal Train

6.7

TV Movie

producer

1998

 

The Bear (1998)

The Bear

7.0

Video

producer

1998

 

The Willows in Winter (1996)

The Willows in Winter

7.3

TV Movie

producer

1996

 

Famous Fred (1996)

Famous Fred

6.1

Short

producer

1996

 

The Wind in the Willows (1995)

The Wind in the Willows

7.4

TV Movie

producer

1995

 

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992)

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends

8.3

TV Series

series producer

producer

1992–1995

9 episodes

 

Father Christmas (1991)

Father Christmas

7.4

TV Short

producer

1991

 

Dream Express

Short

producer

1990

 

Granpa (1989)

Granpa

8.1

TV Movie

producer

1989

 

Barney (1988)

Barney

6.7

TV Series

producer

1988–1989

 

Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills in When the Wind Blows (1986)

When the Wind Blows

7.7

producer

1986

 

David Macaulay: Castle (1983)

David Macaulay: Castle

7.9

TV Movie

animation producer

1983

 

The Snowman (1982)

The Snowman

8.2

TV Short

producer

1982

 

Heavy Metal (1981)

Heavy Metal

6.6

sequence producer (segment Soft Landing)

1981

 

Bob McFadden in Cool McCool (1966)

Cool McCool

6.9

TV Series

producer

1966–1969

 

Production Manager

Simon Adams, Leslie Phillips, Beth Porter, Victor Spinetti, Rachel Warren, Reg Williams, Susan Sokol, and Lisa Moss in The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979)

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

7.0

TV Movie

production supervisor

1979

 

Yellow Submarine (1968)

Yellow Submarine

7.4

production supervisor

1968

 

Additional Crew

Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills in When the Wind Blows (1986)

When the Wind Blows

7.7

deviser: A.R.S. background system

1986