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Omaha Steve

(99,556 posts)
Sat Dec 28, 2019, 09:28 AM Dec 2019

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

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Lee Mendelson dies; brought "Charlie Brown Christmas" to TV (Original Post) Omaha Steve Dec 2019 OP
RIP Mr. Mendelson. Mr. Evil Dec 2019 #1
He died on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2019. Botany Dec 2019 #2
Best Christmas show ever. Lochloosa Dec 2019 #3
Absolutely. Kid Berwyn Dec 2019 #6
One of my very favorite Christmas specials Raine Dec 2019 #4
Catchy, unforgettable music. Thanks, Mr. Mendelson and crew. (nt) Paladin Dec 2019 #5
Thank Menselson for having a good ear and hiring Vince Guaraldi for the music Brother Buzz Dec 2019 #8
This show and The Grinch will never get old. BigmanPigman Dec 2019 #7
We watched it in 4k this morning Omaha Steve Dec 2019 #9

Brother Buzz

(36,407 posts)
8. Thank Menselson for having a good ear and hiring Vince Guaraldi for the music
Sun Dec 29, 2019, 02:16 PM
Dec 2019

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.

Omaha Steve

(99,556 posts)
9. We watched it in 4k this morning
Sun Dec 29, 2019, 02:31 PM
Dec 2019

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/

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