Rest in peace Bill Melendez

Well, it had to happen sometime. 91 year old animator Bill Melendez, the only man authorized by Charles Schultz to animate his beloved Peanuts characters, had passed away. Cause of death is as yet unreported, but my guess is that it had something to do with him being NINETY ONE YEARS OLD. Once you pass 80, public interest as to the ins and outs of your passage should be less than zero. I think you're allowed a mulligan as a medical professional when you're dealing with a patient one order of magnitude older than you.

All things aside, Melendez represents a dying breed of American animation. These days it's all storyboards shipped overseas to the magical realm of Asia. Who could ever recreate that perfect Snoopy dance, or the dust around Pigpen so eloquently. Not I. Now I'm not one to compare past to present, the stuff Pixar is churning out is pure gold in terms of animation and story. That being said, Christmas just simply isn't Christmas without Charlie Brown. Rest in peace Bill, you are truly timeless.

Fun Fact: In case you did not know, when the schedule for completing A Charlie Brown Christmas ran too tight, Melendez filled in as the voice for Snoopy. As a result he would reprise that role for all the Peanuts series, specials, and full-length pictures.

One last thing: Just between you and me, it's about goddamn time somebody passed on who wasn't black. I was getting pretty darn tired of seeing a prominent African-American male dying every week or so.


I mean this most sincerely when I say that this is not the trifecta of ethnicity-matching deaths I was looking for. Although Isaac Hayes belief in Scientology worried me a little, you can't deny the man's talent. Besides, he was Chef so you have to love him for that. And Bernie Mac had such great stage presence. Leroi, what can I say, that just effin' sucks. Always been a huge DMB fan and it is very sad to see you go. Bartender.

Just for the record here is the trifecta of ethnicity-matching deaths I was looking for:


Sooooo eeeevvviill.
If you stare at them long enough and say George W. Bush three times in a row, homeland security will ship you off to Guantanamo Bay.




Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.