Originally Posted By Dabob2 Best known for being the animator of all the Peanuts specials, he also worked at Disney (including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi), at Warner's where he worked on the classic Warner's shorts, AND at UPA as well - quite the resume. Something I didn't know was that he was the voice behind Snoopy's "laughs, sobs and howls. Schulz insisted that as a dog, Snoopy couldn't talk. Melendez experimented with making sounds that suggested a voice and speeding them up on tape -- assuming a professional actor would do a final recording. But time ran short, and Melendez ended up serving as Snoopy's voice in 63 subsequent half-hour specials, five one-hour specials, the Saturday morning TV show and four feature films. In his later years, Melendez chuckled over the fact that he received residuals for his vocal performances." RIP, Bill.
Originally Posted By mawnck One of the few real animation greats who was still with us. He was quite a character, and full of stories. Maybe they were true, and maybe they weren't, but he could sure tell them. Here he is speaking to an audience of animators and fans about Leon Slessinger, the guy in charge of Warner Bros. Animation: <a href="http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/09/bill-melendez-1917-2008.html" target="_blank">http://www.animationarchive.or...008.html</a>
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy The Peanuts animated cartoons are a totally unique piece of American artwork. Bill Melendez' work will be remembered for many years to come.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Love all the Peanut's specials - animating Schulz's work for cartoons - they made one excellent team
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Those specials are classic, must-sees every year. Just love them! Rest easy, Mr. Melendez... You gave us enduring happy times - a great legacy, indeed!
Originally Posted By mawnck You should hear him talk about what a PITA Charles Schulz was - not in a negative way, but what a perfectionist he could be. He once went through a stack of animation drawings of Charlie Brown and found several that "didn't look right" to him. Bill said, "OK Sparky, how would YOU draw him in that position?" Charles grabbed a sheet of paper, picked up the pencil, and after just looking at the paper for several minutes, said "I'd NEVER draw him in that position." "The defense rests, your honor. We HAVE to." Eventually they decided to not even bother animating turns. When the characters move from straight-on to profile, they just pop to the profile, with no in-between drawings at all. That video clip came from a DVD that ASIFA Hollywood was selling, which also included a similar discussion with Floyd Norman. Those who are interested in such things ought to contact them and see if there are any left.
Originally Posted By mawnck That wasn't all he did, BTW. Besides his stuff for Disney, Warner Bros. and UPA, he also did a lot of commercial work, some other comic-strip-based specials, and a couple features. Probably his best feature is "Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done," which was a very twisted but entertaining Gilbert and Sullivan-based thing done in the style of British cartoonist Ronald Searle. Sadly, the only US release was VHS. Well worth digging up, though. It's PG-13, BTW. He also did an Emmy-winning animated adaptation of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe for PBS. It's cheaply animated, but a lot more faithful to the book than certain other adaptations I could mention. It's available from Netflix. More: <a href="http://www.chuckjones.com/artists/bill_melendez.php" target="_blank">http://www.chuckjones.com/arti...ndez.php</a>
Originally Posted By brotherdave How sad. But, reading about his many accomplishments, we truly were gifted that he gave us so much joy over the years. No holiday is complete it seems without watching the appropriate Peanuts special in our house. And his vocal 'personifications' of Snoopy were perfect!!! My wife, son, and I sometime's imitate Snoopy's unmistakable high-pitched 'Hey!' when we greet! So many great memories... Thanks, Mr. Melendez!!!
