Bill Melendez, a pioneer in animation and best known for bringing the "Peanuts" characters to life, died on Tuesday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica at the age of 91, according to publicist Amy Goldsmith.  (File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Bill Melendez, a pioneer in animation and best known for bringing the "Peanuts" characters to life, died on Tuesday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 91, according to publicist Amy Goldsmith.

    Melendez, who was preparing to celebrate his 92nd birthday in November, died "peacefully," said his doctors.

    A phenomenal talent, Melendez was the only animator permitted by Charles M. Schulz to work with the Peanuts characters. During his career extending over seven decades, he earned eight Emmy Awards, 17 Emmy nominations, one Oscar nomination and two Peabody Awards.

    A Mexican native born in 1916, Melendez began his career at Walt Disney Studios. As a talented young animator, he worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Dumbo and classic "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" cartoons.

    In 1948, he left Warner Bros. and for more than a decade served as a director and producer on more than 1,000 commercials and films for United Productions of America, Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Prods.

    It was at UPA that Melendez started doing work for the New York-based J. Walter Thompson ad agency, whose clients included Ford. The carmaker expressed interest in using the Peanuts characters to sell its cars on TV, and in 1959 Melendez prepared his animation work and showed it to Peanuts creator Schulz.

    Melendez gave the "Peanuts" kids life in more than 63 half-hour specials, five one-hour specials, four feature films and more than 372 commercials. Favorites include "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," "She's a Good Skate Charlie Brown," and "You're a Good Sport Charlie Brown." In addition to creating the cartoons, he also provided the voices for Snoopy and Woodstock.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas"  (File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Over the years, Melendez also animated "Garfield on the Town," "Cathy," "Babar Comes to America," and "the Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe," among others.

    His last credit was as a producer for the 2006 TV special "He's A Bully, Charlie Brown."

    "What made working in commercials fun then was the quick turnover of ideas," Melendez said. "After working on shorts and animated features, that speed was refreshing."

    Under the leadership of his son and other trusted executives, Bill Melendez Productions, Inc., its sister studio Melendez Films in London and Sopwith Productions (Melendez's art distribution unit) will continue to animate, direct and produce features and commercials.

    (Agencies)