Bill Melendez Dies

[filkertom]

Sadness. Bill Melendez, the only animator permitted to work on Charles Schulz' Peanuts and the voice of Snoopy, has passed away at the age of 91.

Comments

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

Much, much saddness. :( I remember watching all the Charlie Brown specials and even the tv show. He'll be greatly missed.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Very much sadness :(

[wookiedamokole.livejournal.com]

Damn, seems like they are dropping like flies lately.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

It's weird; I could never stand the comic, but I'd always loved the cartoons.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

91, huh?

Well, I guess the best thing to do would be thankful that he stuck around so long!

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Sadness, indeed. But he had a good, long run...and we have a couple dozen of the TV specials he helped make to remember him by.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

DRAT

[ldwheeler.livejournal.com]

To quote a mutual friend of myself and Mr. Melendez ...

"Rats."

Just to zero in on one of his many contributions ... consider the handling of Snoopy. By the mid-1960s, when the first of the specials were going into production, Snoppy was no longer the cute little dog who ran around on four legs and acted almost-sorta-kinda like ... a dog. By this point, Snoopy's dialogue (well, internal dialogue) was becoming a major focal point of the strip, as he was developing a sardonic wit. But there was no real way to bring a talking Snoopy to TV without being confusing or hackneyed ... so it was left to Melendez to, essentially, create a new Snoopy, one that would convey everything that was important about the strip's Snoopy but without words. And he pulled it off. Everything one needs to know about Snoopy is seen in his interactions with Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas -- the scene where he mimics her self-important lecture, kisses her to ward off the inevitable explosive reaction and then -- in contrast to Lucy's dog-germs histrionics, sums up the interaction with a simple "Bleeahh!" That was a small slice of Melendez' genius right there.

[amazingadrian.livejournal.com]

Man. Peanuts was one of those things I never thought I would outlive. We are losing too much.

[aylinn.livejournal.com]

*WAH!*

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

First Don LaFontaine, now Bill Melendez. Which voice-actor will be next? o_O