'A Charlie Brown Christmas' producer Lee Mendelson dies at the age of 86
Lee Mendelson, the longtime producer of ‘Peanuts’ TV specials, died on Christmas Day at his home in Hillsborough, California, at the age of 86.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, Mendelson’s sons confirmed his death following a long battle with lung cancer. “It wasn’t great for us, but to have him pass on Christmas really ties into his history and legacy,” his sons said.
Mendelson attended San Mateo High School and graduated from Stanford University in 1954 with a degree in English. He began working in radio and television while serving in the Air Force after college.
According to Variety, he worked for a while for his father’s produce company before joining local TV as a producer for San Francisco’s KPIX-TV in 1961. He earned his first Peabody for ‘San Francisco Pageant’, a series of historical documentaries on the city’s colorful past.
He started Lee Mendelson Film Productions in 1963. According to Rolling Stone, among its first productions was a documentary for NBC about Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants. Following that, Mendelson wanted to make another documentary -- on Charlie Brown from Charles Schulz’s daily comic strip ‘Peanuts’. However, while the two were working on that project, Mendelson was enlisted to produce ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’.
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ won an Emmy Award in 1966 for Outstanding Children’s Program. It was also the beginning of Mendelson working over and over again with ‘Peanuts’ for 50 years -- ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin’, ‘Charlie Brown’, ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’, and many more. He also wrote the lyrics to ‘Christmas Time Is Here’, a song in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
Mendelson, per Variety, also teamed with ‘Garfield’ creator Jim Davis to produce the comic’s first animated short. He also was responsible for the ‘Garfield and Friends’ animated series that ran from 1991 to 1994.
Mendelson is survived by his wife, Ploenta; his children Glenn, Lynda, Jason and Sean; his stepson Ken; and eight grandchildren.
The family, per Variety, has requested that donations be made in Mendelson’s name to Second Harvest Food Bank, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank or the Television Academy Foundation.
