It was my great privilege to work with cartoonist Charles Schulz and animator Bill Melendez for nearly 40 years. But the one time that stands out the most was a day in May 1965 when we all met at Schulz's studio in Sebastopol, Calif.
The day before, I had received a call asking if Schulz and I had ever considered doing an animated Christmas show, and I kind of pretended that we had. It was a Wednesday, and they needed the story line by the following Monday. I called Sparky (as friends called Schulz) and Bill, and we met the following day.
For a while, we just kind of stared at one another. None of us had ever done an animated special. Then Sparky said: "Maybe we could do something involving the kids doing a Christmas play. I've done a few strips like that over the years." More silence. Then he said: "If we're going to do this and make it worthwhile, we should also talk about the true meaning of Christmas. Maybe have Linus read from the Bible."
So with those two comments, we spent the next few hours putting together what eventually was the final story for "A Charlie Brown Christmas." We even agreed that we would mix traditional Christmas music with the jazz of Vince Guaraldi (who had scored our Schulz documentary in 1963). We assumed there would be only one broadcast.
It is mind-boggling to realize that this year, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" will air for the 40th time. You can watch it at 8 p.m. Tuesday on ABC.
Lee Mendelson is executive producer of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
