Lee Mendelson.Photo: Beck Starr/WireImage
Lee Mendelson, a well-known producer behind more than 50 animatedCharlie Browntelevision specials, died onChristmasat age 86, multiple outlets report.
Along with producing other holiday specials like 1973’s Thanksgiving episode and 1966’sIt’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Mendelson is perhaps best known forA Charlie Brown Christmas, the 1965 classic for which he also penned the lyrics to “Christmas Time Is Here.”
“It wasn’t great for us, but to have him pass on Christmas really ties into his history and legacy,” one of his sons, Jason Mendelson, told thePalo Alto Daily Poston Thursday.
Lee Mendelson, 2015.Image Group LA/Getty Images
In 2015, Mendelson spoke toRolling Stoneabout the impact ofA Charlie Brown Christmasand its endurance as a holiday viewing staple, adding that the now-famous song lyrics almost didn’t make it to the final version.
“[Vince] Guaraldi had written a very beautiful melody for the opening skating scene, but about two weeks before it was about to run on the air, I thought, ‘Maybe we could get a lyricist to put some words to this,’” he recalled at the time. “… Everyone was busy, so I sat down at my kitchen table and I wrote out a few words … and he recorded it, and we got it into the show about a week before it went on the air.”
He added: “The fact that it’s become such a permanent part of the holiday season is surreal. And every time I hear it on the radio, or I hear it in a store, or someone says, ‘wah, wah, wah,’ I realize we’re very lucky to have been associated with Mr. Schulz and his characters.”
Lee Mendelson.Getty Images
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source: people.com
