Lee Mendelson dies; brought "Charlie Brown Christmas" to TV
Source: AP
By ANDREW DALTON
LOS ANGELES (AP) Lee Mendelson, the producer who changed the face of the holidays when he brought A Charlie Brown Christmas to television in 1965 and wrote the lyrics to its signature song, Christmas Time Is Here, died on Christmas day, his son said.
Mendelson, who won a dozen Emmys in his long career, died at his home in Hillsborough, California, of congestive heart failure at age 86 after a long struggle with lung cancer, son Jason Mendelson told The Associated Press.
Lee Mendelson headed a team that included Peanuts author Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez, and pianist and composer Vince Guaraldi, whose music for the show, including the opening Christmas Time Is Here, has become as much a Christmas staple as the show itself.
Mendelson told The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2000 that he was short on time in finding a lyricist for the song, so he sketched out the six verses himself in about 15 minutes on the backside of an envelope.
This 2015 photo provided by Jason Mendelson shows Lee Mendelson in Hillsborough, Calif. Lee Mendelson, the producer who changed the face of the holidays when he brought "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to television in 1965 and wrote the lyrics to its signature song, "Christmas Time Is Here," died on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. (Jason Mendelson via AP)
Read more: https://apnews.com/7103be1c49b800d7373a38c2cfdb19ce
Mr. Evil
(2,845 posts)You helped bring so much joy to so many people, myself included. Thank you so much.
Botany
(70,516 posts)Lochloosa
(16,066 posts)Kid Berwyn
(14,909 posts)Saw it twice this year.
Raine
(30,540 posts)R-I-P
Paladin
(28,264 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,444 posts)With a little tweaking, Vince Guaraldi's "Caste Your Fate To the Wind" (1962) became the foundation for a lot of the Peanuts music.
My brush with Fame: I lived below Vince Guaraldi in the sixties when he was noodling all the music, and when his windows were open, his newfangled electric harpsichord filled the entire valley with a wonderful sound.
BigmanPigman
(51,611 posts)Omaha Steve
(99,660 posts)The disk offers a clipped widescreen or in the original format with black bars on the side. We watched in the original size. Stunning picture quality.
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Peanuts-Holiday-Collection-4K-Blu-ray/183521/