Lee Mendelson, Who Brought 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' To Television, Has Died

Via Giphy

Via Deadline:

[Lee] Mendelson died on Christmas Day in Hillsborough, California, following a protracted battle with lung cancer, his family told the Palo Alto Daily Post. 

Mendelson imported comic strip characters Cathy and Garfield to television success but his signature career moment came in December 1965 when he brought Charles Schulz’s legendary Peanuts characters to the small screen in A Charlie Brown Christmas. The half-hour  animated special with the $96,000 budget aired originally on CBS and would become a beloved touchstone of the holiday season, yield a bestselling jazz album, and win the Emmy and Peabody awards.

Read the full obituary here.

Mendelson penned the lyrics to Vince Guaraldi's iconic 'Christmastime Is Here' piece.