http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i666fc0408...
'Peanuts' animator Bill Melendez dies
Responsible for 'Charlie Brown Christmas,' 'Great Pumpkin'
By Mike Barnes
Sept 3, 2008, 02:26 PM ET
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.
