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Bill Melendez - Wikipedia

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American animator and voice actor (1916–2008)

José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008)[1][2] was an American animator, director, producer, and voice actor. Melendez is known for working on the Peanuts animated specials, as well as providing the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock. Before Peanuts, he previously worked as an animator for Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros. Cartoons, and UPA.[3]

In a career spanning over 60 years, he won six Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for thirteen more. In addition, he was nominated for an Oscar and five Grammy Awards. The two Peanuts specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas and What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, which he directed, were each honored with a Peabody Award.

A native of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Melendez was educated in American public schools in Douglas, Arizona.[1] He later attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (which would later become California Institute of the Arts).[1]

Early animation work (1935–1961)[edit]

On completion of his studies, Melendez found his first job at a lumber mill. After watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he gained employment at Disney in 1938, where he worked as an assistant animator to Hawley Pratt whom he befriended and worked together to developed a naval game with toy ships. He worked on what are now considered classics: Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi and he worked once as an animator for a Donald Duck short, The Flying Jalopy.[4] Following the 1941 Disney strike, Melendez was hired by Leon Schlesinger Productions, later known as Warner Bros. Cartoons, where he served as animator on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. He worked in Bob Clampett's unit, first as an assistant animator for Rod Scribner, and then as a full animator starting with Wagon Heels. After Clampett's departure in 1945, the unit was given to Arthur Davis. When the number of animation units at Warner Bros. was reduced from four to three in 1947,[5] Melendez along with Emery Hawkins moved to Robert McKimson's unit for a time.

After animating several shorts for McKimson, Melendez was fired by producer Edward Selzer. Afterwards, he moved over to United Productions of America (UPA), where he animated on cartoons such as Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950). Melendez also produced and directed thousands of television commercials, first at UPA, then John Sutherland Productions and Playhouse Pictures.[6] In 1963, Melendez founded his own studio in the basement of his Hollywood home. Bill Melendez Productions is still active and is currently run by his son Steven C. Melendez.[7] In addition to animation, Melendez was once a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Cinema Arts Department.

Melendez would also be referenced in the 1961 Looney Tunes short The Pied Piper of Guadalupe, where his name was used for a music instructor for Sylvester to learn how to play the flute. At that point, Melendez has been away from Warner Bros. for ten years.

Peanuts franchise (1959–2006)[edit]

In 1959, Melendez was hired to do some animated television commercials featuring characters from the comic strip Peanuts for the Ford Motor Company. These animations were seen by documentary producer Lee Mendelson, and Mendelson hired Melendez to do some interstitial animations for a film he was producing about the comic strip entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

Melendez was the only person Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz trusted to turn his popular comic creations into television specials. He and his studio worked on every single television special and direct-to-video film for the Peanuts gang and Melendez directed the majority of them. He provided the vocal effects for Snoopy and Woodstock in every single production, voice acting the characters in the studio by uttering gibberish, and the voices were mechanically sped up at different speeds to represent the two different characters, although some later specials had Snoopy speaking in a clear voice, reflecting how he would be thinking to himself in the comics.

According to an article in The New York Times published shortly after his death, Melendez did not intend to do voice acting for the two characters. "Schulz would not countenance the idea of a beagle uttering English dialogue, Mr. Melendez recited gibberish into a tape recorder, sped it up and put the result on the soundtrack."[1] He also directed, did the animation for, and provided voice acting in the first four Peanuts theatrical films, A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), Snoopy Come Home (1972), Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977), and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (1980), as well as the video games Get Ready for School, Charlie Brown! (1995) and Snoopy's Campfire Stories (1996).[8]

The last Peanuts-related production he worked on was He's a Bully, Charlie Brown (2006). Melendez and Lee Mendelson, who also worked on the Peanuts specials, films, and TV shows, formed their own production team and did other animated specials. They were responsible for the first two Garfield animated specials, Here Comes Garfield (1982) and Garfield on the Town (1983), as well as Frosty Returns (1992), the pseudo-sequel to Rankin/Bass' Frosty the Snowman (1969).

National Student Film Institute[edit]

During the 1980s and 1990s Melendez served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute.[9][10]

On September 2, 2008, Bill Melendez died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California at the age of 91.[11] No cause of his death was made public, but he had been in declining health after a fall a year earlier.[1] Melendez was cremated and his ashes were given to his family.

Posthumous return to Peanuts[edit]

Archive recordings of his work as Snoopy and Woodstock were used for the film The Peanuts Movie.[12] This makes him the only member of the film's cast to have been involved in a previous Peanuts project, save for Kristin Chenoweth, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. Melendez also has archival recordings on the film's game, Snoopy's Grand Adventure.

Year Film Animator Producer Director Actor Role Notes 1940 Pinocchio Yes No No No Assistant animator Fantasia Yes No No No 1941 Dumbo Yes No No No 1942 Bambi Yes No No No 1943 The Flying Jalopy Yes No No No A Corny Concerto Yes No No No Assistant animator Falling Hare Yes No No No An Itch in Time Yes No No No 1945 Draftee Daffy Yes No No No Wagon Heels Yes No No No The Bashful Buzzard Yes No No No 1946 Book Revue Yes No No No Baby Bottleneck Yes No No No Kitty Kornered Yes No No No The Great Piggy Bank Robbery Yes No No No The Big Snooze Yes No No No 1947 The Goofy Gophers Yes No No No The Foxy Duckling Yes No No No Doggone Cats Yes No No No Mexican Joyride Yes No No No Catch as Cats Can Yes No No No 1948 Two Gophers from Texas Yes No No No What Makes Daffy Duck Yes No No No A Hick a Slick and a Chick Yes No No No Nothing But the Tooth Yes No No No Bone Sweet Bone Yes No No No The Rattled Rooster Yes No No No Dough Ray Me-ow Yes No No No The Pest That Came to Dinner Yes No No No Odor of the Day Yes No No No The Stupor Salesman Yes No No No Riff Raffy Daffy Yes No No No 1949 Holiday for Drumsticks Yes No No No Porky Chops Yes No No No Bowery Bugs Yes No No No Bye, Bye Bluebeard Yes No No No A Ham in a Role Yes No No No 1950 Punchy de Leon Yes No No No Boobs in the Woods Yes No No No Spellbound Hound Yes No No No The Leghorn Blows at Midnight Yes No No No The Miner's Daughter Yes No No No An Egg Scramble Yes No No No What's Up Doc? Yes No No No It's Hummer Time Yes No No No Giddyap Yes No No No Trouble Indemnity Yes No No No A Fractured Leghorn Yes No No No Pop 'im Pop! Yes No No No Gerald McBoing-Boing Yes No No No Bushy Hare Yes No No No Dog Collared Yes No No No Albert in Blunderland Yes No No No 1951 Hare We Go Yes No No No Bungled Bungalow Yes No No No A Fox in a Fix Yes No No No Corn Plastered Yes No No No Georgie and the Dragon Yes No No No The Wonder Gloves Yes No No No 1952 The Oompahs Yes No No No Willie the Kid Yes No No No Madeline Yes No No No 1953 Little Boy with a Big Horn Yes No No No Christopher Crumpet Yes No No No Gerald McBoing-Boing's Symphony Yes No No No 1954 Ballet-Oop Yes No No No It's Everybody's Business Yes No No No 1957 Energetically Yours Yes No Yes No 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Yes No No No 1969 A Boy Named Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1970 The Rainbow Bear Yes No Yes No 1972 Snoopy Come Home No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1975 Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done No No Yes No Escape to Witch Mountain Yes No No No 1977 Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1978 Tooth Brushing No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1980 Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1985 Molly and the Skywalkerz: Happily Ever After [es] No No Yes No Television film for PBS, later, VHS video[13][14][15][16][17][18] 1989 Molly and the Skywalkerz: Two Daddies? No No Yes No Television film for PBS, later, VHS video[17][19][18] 1992 Cool World Yes No No No 2015 The Peanuts Movie No No No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock archival recordings Year Film Animator Producer Director Actor Role Notes 1956 The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show Yes No No No 1 episode: The Election/The Fifty-First Dragon/Twirlinger Twins in the Ballet Lesson 1960 The Bugs Bunny Show Yes No No No classic cartoons 1963 A Boy Named Charlie Brown Yes No Yes Yes Snoopy 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1966 Charlie Brown's All Stars! No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1967 You're in Love, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1968 He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour Yes No No No classic cartoons 1969 Turn-On Yes No No No 1 episode It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1971 Play It Again, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy Babar Comes to America No Yes Yes No 1972 You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1973 There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1974 It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus No Yes Yes No 1975 Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1976 It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock The Sylvester & Tweety Show Yes No No No classic cartoons 1977 A Glee Cartoon No Yes No Yes Prince Mac, Princess Marjorie It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1978 What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown! No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 1979 You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe No No Yes No Also credited for story adaptation 1980 She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy 1981 It's Magic, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock No Man's Valley No Yes Yes No 1982 Princess Marjorie: A Glee Special No Yes No Yes Prince Mac, Princess Marjorie, Mr. Penguin A Charlie Brown Celebration No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Here Comes Garfield No Yes No No 1983 Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Garfield on the Town No Yes No No 1983–1985 The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1984 It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1985 Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock, Spike The Romance of Betty Boop No Yes Yes No It's Your 20th Television Anniversary, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Snoopy (non-speaking), Woodstock 1986 Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1987 Cathy No Yes No No 1988 Snoopy: The Musical No Yes No Yes Snoopy (non-speaking), Woodstock It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown No Yes No Yes Spike Cathy's Last Resort No Yes No No 1988–1989 This Is America, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Also credited as writer for 4 episodes 1989 Cathy's Valentine No Yes No No 1990 You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Himself Why, Charlie Brown, Why? No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Merrie Melodies: Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends Yes No No No classic cartoons 1991 Snoopy's Reunion No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Snoopy's Siblings 1992 It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown Yes Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock Frosty Returns No Yes Yes No 1994 You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 1995 That's Warner Bros.! Yes No No No classic cartoons 1997 It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 2000 Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy 2002 A Charlie Brown Valentine No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales No Yes No Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 2003 Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock, Spike 2006 He's a Bully, Charlie Brown No Yes Yes Yes Snoopy, Woodstock 2008 Peanuts Motion Comics No No No Yes Snoopy archival recordings
  1. ^ a b c d e Fox, Margalit (September 4, 2008). "Bill Melendez, 'Peanuts' Animator, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Peanuts' animator Melendez dies". BBC. September 4, 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
  3. ^ Beck, Jerry (September 3, 2008). "Bill Melendez 1916-2008". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Bill Melendez, Comics Creator, Businessman and Peanuts Animator". thecartoonists.ca. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010.
  5. ^ "Robert McKimson's "A Ham In A Role" |". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Solomon, Charles (September 4, 2008). "Animator of 'Peanuts' TV specials and voice of Snoopy". The Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "Bill Melendez Prod. Inc". billmelendez.tv.
  8. ^ "Bill Melendez at Moby Games". Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  9. ^ National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 10, 1994. pp. 10–11.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival. The Directors Guild Theatre. June 7, 1991. p. 3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ "'Peanuts' animator Bill Melendez dies at 91". TODAY.com. September 4, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Russ Fischer (March 17, 2014). "New 'Peanuts' Movie First Look: Charlie Brown and Snoopy Head Back to the Big Screen". Slashfilm.
  13. ^ "Molly and Skywalkerz In Happily Ever After". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Molly and the Skywalkerz in Happily Ever After (película 1985)". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  15. ^ "Happily Ever After - Long-métrage d'animation (1985)". SensCritique [fr] (in French). Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "Molly and the Skywalkerz: Happily Ever After (1985)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Kelly, Brendan (December 2, 1999). "Cinar nabs Wonderworks' family pix". Variety. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2024. The two animated pics in the library are "Molly and the Skywalkerz in Happily Ever After" and "Molly and the Skywalkerz in Two Daddies," both featuring the voices of Carol Burnett and Danny DeVito and produced by Henry Winkler.
  18. ^ a b "Molly and the Skywalkerz". www.intanibase.com - Internet Animation Database.
  19. ^ "Molly And The Skywalkerz: Two Daddies? (1989)". Moviefone. Retrieved November 24, 2024.

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