Born in Mexico, Bill Melendez helped create some of the most quintessentially American animation in memory.
He concluded his storied resume Wednesday in Santa Monica, California, passing at the age of 91.
Melendez worked on early Disney game-changers like Fantasia and Pinocchio before moving on to Warner Bros. to animate shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
But it was his collaborations with Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz that would bring him the greatest fame: The award-winning Melendez created more than 70 Peanuts classics, and even gave Snoopy his voice. From A Charlie Brown Christmas onward, he remained the only artist ever authorized by Schulz to animate the Peanuts narrative.
Melendez's credits don't end there: He won an Oscar for Gerald McBoing-Boing, brought Babar, Garfield and Cathy to television, and even delved into C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But Snoopy and his Peanuts work will live on much longer than all of them.
Unlike their talented creator, they are immortal.
