The animated tv movie Return of the King first aired on May 11, 1980. Rankin/Bass who made this also made the Hobbit. Between the two movies was Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings, which covered the first two books - The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Rankin/Bass carried over from the Hobbit Orson Bean as Bilbo (also taking on the role of Frodo), John Huston as Gandalf, and Theodore Gottlieb as Gollum. Due to his death, Paul Frees replaced Cyril Richard as Elrond. Glenn Yarbrough provided the singing narration as the Minstrel. The cast also included Hollywood actors William Conrad (Lord Denathor) and Roddy McDowall (Samwise Gamgee) as well as established voice actors Don Messick, John Stephenson, Casey Kasem, and Sonny Melendrez, and new voice actress Nellie Bellflower.