A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Stratford, and Bill Melendez. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Melendez, the program made its debut on the CBS television network on December 9, 1965. In the special, Charlie Brown (Robbins) finds himself depressed despite the onset of the cheerful holiday season. After Lucy van Pelt (Stratford) suggests he direct a neighborhood Christmas play, his best efforts are ignored and mocked by his peers when he chooses a puny Christmas tree as a centerpiece.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Charles M. Schulz in 1956. His goal for the special was to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.
Charlie Brown (left) and Linus (right) with the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. Peanuts is among the most popular and influential in the history of comic strips, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being"; it is considered to be the grandfather of slice of life cartoons. At the time of Schulz's death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of roughly 355 million across 75 countries, and had been translated into 21 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States, and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion.
Official mural of the Peanuts in Aachen
American astronaut Neil Armstrong wearing the "Snoopy cap"
Vince Guaraldi, (L, shown with Bernard Bragg and Don Freeman) provided the music for the first 16 Peanuts television specials and one feature film until his sudden death in February 1976
Charles Schulz's Hollywood walk of fame star. It features the 'television receiver' honor, which is for contribution to broadcast television.