Bill Melendez, the animator who brought the Peanuts characters to screens big and small, turning out some of the most beloved cartoons, passed away yesterday, at 91.<\/p>\n
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Melendez on a couple occasions. He was happy, friendly, and even in his later years, an intense worker. He brought life and motion to Peanuts in a way that wasn’t just Schulz but wasn’t unSchulz either. I’m reminded of it every time my three year old daughter watches A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (which she does once or twice a week these days) and melts in uncontrollable laughter during Snoopy’s fight with the chair.<\/p>\n
Bill also performed voices for both Snoopy and Woodstock, which (paired with the instrumental mute used to make the teachers’ voices) became part of a great unintelligible voice cast.<\/p>\n
Bill’s work went far beyond Peanuts, of course. Early on, he worked for Disney and Warners, and would go on to work on a huge number of commercials, and worked on TV versions of Garfield, Cathy, and more.<\/p>\n
The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> notes that donations should go to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles<\/a>.<\/p>\n