‘Peanuts’ animator Bill Melendez dies at 91
Thursday, September 4th, 2008Animator Bill Melendez, who gave life to Snoopy, Charlie Brown and other “Peanuts” characters in scores of movies and TV specials, has died. He was 91.
Melendez’s nearly seven decades as a professional animator began in 1938 when he was hired by Walt Disney Studios and worked on Mickey Mouse cartoons and classic animated features such as “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia.
Melendez was born in 1916 in Hermosillo in the Mexican statdof Sonora. He moved with his family to Arizona in 1928 and then to Los Angeles in the 1930s, attending the Chouinard Art Institute.
Our deepest condoleances to the family and people who knew him best. Thank you Mr. Melendez for a lifetime of magical memories and inspiration.