While a primetime commercial Emmy nomination for Coca-Cola’s “It’s Mine” is hard to top, praise of another kind certainly ranks for me personally. In this case the praise comes in the form of a thought that first crossed my mind upon seeing “It’s Mine” during this year’s Super Bowl–that the spirit of the spot was true to the classic Charlie Brown character as captured in TV animation from the great animator, director and producer Jose Cuautemoc “Bill” Melendez.
Melendez died on Sept. 1 at St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica. He was 91.
I met Melendez once, back when he maintained his animation studio, Bill Melendez Productions, on Larchmont Blvd., just blocks from SHOOT’s current West Coast roost on the Raleigh Studios lot in Los Angeles. I also had the occasion to do a couple of phone interviews with him in subsequent years.
He was a warm, sweet, decent man and it struck me that his warmth, sweetness and decency were the same traits that made Charles Schulz’s classic, treasured “Peanuts” cartoon strip so popular and appealing.
Melendez, his studio partner Lee Mendelson and Schulz brought the “Peanuts” characters to life on television, helping to establish the format of the half-hour animated special of which the Charlie Brown shows were a pioneering staple. The very first “Peanuts” special, A Charlie Brown Christmas (originally sponsored by Coke), won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award. It debuted on CBS and is now shown each holiday season on ABC.
Melendez also had a hand in four “Peanuts” theatrical films (A Boy Named Charlie Brown; Snoopy, Come Home; Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown; and Bon Voyage Charlie Brown).
Melendez’s involvement even included his voice for the Snoopy character’s laughs and sobs. According to Melendez’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times, the emergence of Melendez as the voice of Snoopy sprung from fortuitous circumstance. Schulz said that Snoopy couldn’t talk. So Melendez experimented with making sounds that suggested a voice and speeding them up on audio tape. He had assumed a professional voice actor would do a final recording. But time ran short and Melendez ended up serving as Snoopy’s original voice, a role which the animator went on to play in a host of half-hour and hour-long TV specials, the Saturday morning TV show and the four feature films.
Melendez was also a spotmaking artisan. He was a director and producer of more than 1,000 commercials for such studios as United Productions of America (UPA) and Playhouse Pictures. And in 1959, he directed the first animation of the “Peanuts” characters for a series of spots promoting the Ford Falcon.
Melendez’s accomplishments in animation encompassed working at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinnocchio, Bambi and Fantasia, as well as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck shorts.
He later animated Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other classic Warner Bros. characters.
Melendez is survived by his wife Helen, two sons, six grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Donations in Bill Melendez’s memory can be made to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., #29, Los Angeles, Calif., 90027 (www.childrenshospitalla.org).
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Reach Divorce Settlement After 8 Years
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.
Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.
"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt," Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. "She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges.
A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause... Read More