Thursday, September 4, 2008

Bill Melendez Passes Away

Animator Jose "Bill" Melendez died Tuesday at the age of 91. It's reported that "natural causes" did him in, which if you make it to 91 is pretty much the only thing left to get you. Melendez worked his magic for nearly 70 years, starting out as part of the Disney family back before it became a lackluster conglomo, contributing to classics like "Dumbo" and "Fantasia". In the sixties, Melendez teamed up with producer Lee Mendelson and comic strip artist Charles Schulz to bring the Peanuts characters to life. In addition to animation for the dozens of specials the trio would eventually produce, Melendez provided the voice of Snoopy.

The man was nothing less than a genius of his craft. Snoopy fighting a lounge chair in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is just one of my favorite Peanuts animated moments. Or how about the boxing sequence in Snoopy Come Home? Schroeders solo in A Boy Named Charlie Brown? The flight of the Flying Ace? Melendez' hands helped take something that was already a legend in one medium and make it a legend in another.

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