RIP Bill Melendez

[ablethevoice]

The only animator Charlie Brown creator Charles Schultz ever trusted to work with his Peanuts characters passed away Tuesday at the age of 91. RIP Bill.

"Peanuts" animator Bill Melendez dies

By Mike Barnes Wed Sep 3, 7:14 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Bill Melendez, best known for bringing the Peanuts characters to life with such classics as "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," died Tuesday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91.

Melendez, the only animator permitted by Charles M. Schulz to work with the Peanuts characters, earned eight Emmy Awards, 17 Emmy nominations, one Oscar nomination and two Peabody Awards. He began his career at Disney and Warner Bros., working on classic characters at those studios, and spent more than 70 years in the entertainment industry.

In 1948, the Mexican native left Warner Bros. and for more than a decade served as a director and producer on more than 1,000 commercials and films for United Productions of America, Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Prods.

It was at UPA that Melendez started doing work for the New York-based J. Walter Thompson ad agency, whose clients included Ford. The carmaker expressed interest in using the Peanuts characters to sell its cars on TV, and in 1959 Melendez prepared his animation work and showed it to Peanuts creator Schulz.

Melendez went on to bring Charlie Brown and his pals to the screen in more than 63 half-hour specials, five one-hour specials, four feature films and more than 372 commercials. In addition to perennial favorites "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965) and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (1966), Melendez produced the Oscar-nominated "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (1971), "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (1973), "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown" (1980) and "You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown" (1975). He also provided the voices for Snoopy and Woodstock through the years.

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[Bamcubz]

An end of an Era. RIP BILL.

[Pittielynn]

Thats sad to hear. Cartoons will never really be the same once Charlie Brown and Garfield and others begin to fade....:(

[foxyphoenix]

I never liked either Garfield or The Peanuts... they just never appealed to me. I mean, I recognize their significance as cultural icons, but I always enjoyed other comics more.
So RIP to a man I can respect but not really appreciate. Sorry.