Bill Melendez facts for kids

Bill Melendez (born José Cuauhtémoc Melendez on November 15, 1916 – died September 2, 2008) was a very talented American animator, voice actor, film director, and producer. He is most famous for his amazing work on the Peanuts cartoons. Before bringing Snoopy and Charlie Brown to life, he worked as an animator for big studios like Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros. Cartoons, and UPA. Bill Melendez was also the voice of two beloved Peanuts characters: Snoopy and Woodstock!

During his career, which lasted over 60 years, he won six Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for many more. He was also nominated for an Oscar and five Grammy Awards. Two Peanuts specials he directed, A Charlie Brown Christmas and What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, won special Peabody Awards.

Bill Melendez's Early Life

Bill Melendez was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He grew up and went to public schools in Douglas, Arizona, in the United States. Later, he studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. This school is now known as the California Institute of the Arts.

Starting His Animation Career

Working at Famous Animation Studios (1935–1961)

After finishing his studies, Bill Melendez first worked at a lumber mill. But after watching the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, he was inspired! In 1938, he got a job at Disney. There, he helped create classic films like Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.

After a big strike by Disney animators in 1941, Melendez moved to Leon Schlesinger Productions. This company later became Warner Bros. Cartoons. At Warner Bros., he worked on popular cartoons like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. He helped animate many shorts, working with famous directors like Bob Clampett and Arthur Davis.

After some time at Warner Bros., Melendez joined United Productions of America (UPA). There, he animated cartoons such as Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950). He also produced and directed thousands of TV commercials for different companies. In 1963, Bill Melendez started his very own studio in his Hollywood home. This studio, called Bill Melendez Productions, is still active today and is run by his son, Steven C. Melendez. Besides his animation work, Melendez also taught at the University of Southern California's Cinema Arts Department.

Bringing Peanuts to Life (1959–2006)

In 1959, Bill Melendez was asked to create animated TV commercials for the Ford Motor Company. These commercials featured characters from the popular comic strip Peanuts. A documentary producer named Lee Mendelson saw these animations. He was so impressed that he hired Melendez to create short animated scenes for a film he was making about Peanuts.

Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, trusted Bill Melendez more than anyone else to turn his comic strip into animated shows. Bill Melendez and his studio worked on every single Peanuts TV special and movie that went straight to video. He directed most of them too!

One of the most interesting things Bill Melendez did was provide the voices for Snoopy and Woodstock. Schulz didn't want Snoopy to speak English words. So, Melendez would make funny gibberish sounds into a tape recorder. Then, he would speed up the recording to create the unique voices for Snoopy and Woodstock. Sometimes, in later specials, Snoopy's thoughts were shown with clear words, just like in the comic strip.

The last Peanuts project Bill Melendez worked on was He's a Bully, Charlie Brown in 2006. Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson also teamed up to create other animated specials. They made the first two Garfield animated specials, Here Comes Garfield (1982) and Garfield on the Town (1983). They also worked on Frosty Returns (1992), which was a follow-up to the classic Frosty the Snowman.

Bill Melendez's Legacy

Bill Melendez passed away on September 2, 2008, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 91. He had been unwell after a fall a year earlier.

Snoopy's Voice Lives On

Even after his death, Bill Melendez's voice for Snoopy and Woodstock continued to be used! Old recordings of his voice were used for the movie The Peanuts Movie (2015). This means he was the only person in that movie's cast who had worked on a Peanuts project before. His voice recordings were also used in the video game Snoopy's Grand Adventure.

Bill Melendez left behind an amazing collection of animated works that continue to entertain and inspire people of all ages, especially his beloved Peanuts characters.

Images for kids

• Melendez in 2000

  Bill Melendez in 2000

See also

In Spanish: Bill Meléndez para niños