Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown

1979 animated television special

What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown! (1978)
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown (1979)

Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown is a prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on January 5, 1979.^[1]

This episode celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip and the 15th anniversary of animated Peanuts specials on CBS, which both took place the following year, in 1980.^[2] It included an interview with Charles M. Schulz. Phyllis George hosted.^[3]

This special followed a 25th anniversary special, Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown, which aired in 1976.

Voice actors

Arrin Skelley: Charlie Brown
Daniel Anderson: Linus Van Pelt
Annalisa Bartolin: Sally Brown
Bill Melendez: Snoopy & Woodstock
Michelle Muller: Lucy Van Pelt
Ronald Hendrix: Franklin
Laura Planting: Peppermint Patty
Casey Carlson: Marcie
Don Potter: Snoopy (singing voice)

Credits

Written, Produced and Directed by: Lee Mendelson
Animation by: Bill Melendez Productions
Animation Directors: Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Cinematographers: David Crommie, Chuck Barbee, Stewart Barbee
Associate Producers: Martha Grace, Paul Preuss, Ron Nelson
Unit Production Manager/1st Assistant Director: Larry Sturhahn
Production Staff: Pat LaFortune, Margaret Howard
Editors: Paul Preuss, Chuck McCann
Sound Recordists: John Barbee, Nelson Stoll
Sound Recording/Mix: Producers' Sound Service - Hollywood
Camera Assistants: Elizabeth Barbee, Randall Love, George Stephenson, Joseph Ward
Production Coordinator: Glenn Mendelson
Assistant Editor: Michael Rosenthal
Voice Recording: Coast Recorders - San Francisco, California
- "The Big Bow Wow" and "Suppertime" Sung by: Don Potter
- "Happiness Is..." Sung by: Becky Reardon, Larry Finlayson
Hair Stylist: Barbara Lorenz
Makeup: Lona Mardock
Gaffer: Jeffrey Gilliam
Electrician: Leo Loverro
Props: John Durr
A Lee Mendelson Production
in association with Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates and Bill Melendez Productions
- © Copyright 1978 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

References

^ Solomon, Charles (2012). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1452110912.
^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 186–187. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 271. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.