Profiles in History: Lee Mendelson: The Man Behind ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Dustin Bass
Updated:
Lee Mendelson (1933–2019) was the man behind the scenes. He preferred it that way. The Californian had run into success as a local documentarian, winning a Peabody Award and producing a documentary on Willie Mays. Soon he decided to shoot a documentary on another California legend: Charles Schulz.
In just six months "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was produced as a 20-minute Christmas special. (Lee Mendelson Film Productions)
In just six months "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was produced as a 20-minute Christmas special. Lee Mendelson Film Productions

Schulz was the creator of the comic strip “Peanuts,” known for its classic characters Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and Snoopy. Mendelson’s characteristic of jumping the gun often worked in his favor, even when at first it didn’t. Schulz agreed to Mendelson’s idea of the documentary. While Mendelson was driving to meet with Schulz, he heard a jazz band on the radio that he thought would be perfect for the documentary’s soundtrack. It was the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio is featured in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." (Lee Mendelson Film Productions)
Music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio is featured in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Lee Mendelson Film Productions
Mendelson was ready. Schulz was ready. Guaraldi was ready. The TV executives were not.

‘Peanuts’ for Christmas

Two years later, as “Peanuts” continued to grow in popularity, an executive for Coca-Cola came calling. Remembering the documentary pitch, he asked if Mendelson and Schulz had considered creating a “Peanuts” Christmas show. Mendelson jumped the gun again. When the executive asked to have the pitch by the following Monday, Mendelson replied, “No problem.”

He had committed to a “Peanuts” Christmas special without letting the creator know, but Schulz was game. Mendelson, Schulz, and Bill Melendez, the longtime animator who had worked with Schulz on several “Peanuts”-themed Ford commercials, had five days to outline a Christmas special. They finished it in a day. Coca-Cola accepted the pitch.

The trio had only six months to create a 20-minute Christmas special. “Doing a Christmas special in six months is not humanly possible,” Mark Evanier, a comic book and television writer, said in an interview. “It’s one of those situations where you would be thrilled that you got it done at all, let alone that it was any good.”

Luckily for Mendelson, he already had a composer in mind: Guaraldi. Shortly after Guaraldi had signed onto the project, he called Mendelson asking him to listen to a song he had composed. Mendelson said he preferred to hear it in person, but Guaraldi implored him to listen right then before he forgot the tune. Over the phone, Mendelson listened to the eventual iconic “Peanuts” theme song of “Linus and Lucy.”

Lee Mendelson stayed behind the scenes to produce "A Charlie Brown Christmas." (Lee Mendelson Film Productions)
Lee Mendelson stayed behind the scenes to produce "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Lee Mendelson Film Productions
“I knew for whatever reason that was going to have an enormous impact on the show,” Mendelson said in an interview. “It was so right and so perfect.”

As is typical for jazz compositions, there were no words. For the Christmas song, however, Mendelson felt there should be. Guaraldi had already composed a tune, so Mendelson started reaching out to lyricists. In a time crunch, he decided to write it himself. He sat down and wrote out the now classic holiday song “Christmas Time Is Here.” It took him 15 minutes.

The three decided to have the songs sung and the actors voiced by children rather than adults. When Schulz wanted to use biblical passages in the script, Mendelson went with it.

After the three watched the final product, they thought they had ruined “Peanuts.” The CBS executives also didn’t like it, but they had already placed it in the TV guide schedule. The plan was to run it once that Dec. 9, 1965, and never again.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" has become a holiday classic. (Lee Mendelson Film Productions)
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" has become a holiday classic. Lee Mendelson Film Productions

The ratings came in. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” had garnered an astounding 49 percent of television audiences. CBS quickly issued a 15-year contract and it has become an American Christmas classic.

“It became part of everybody’s Christmas holidays,” Mendelson said in a 2015 interview. “We got this huge initial audience and never lost them.”
Dustin Bass
Dustin Bass
Author
Dustin Bass is an author and co-host of The Sons of History podcast. He also writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History.
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