A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963 film)

Unaired 1963 television film

For the soundtrack, see Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. For the 1969 feature film, see A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Genre| Documentary
Created by| Charles M. Schulz
Written by| Lee Mendelson
Directed by| Lee Mendelson
Starring| Charles M. Schulz
Voices of|

* Peter Robbins
* Christopher Shea
* Karen Mendelson
* Sally Dryer
* Ann Altieri
* Tracy Stratford
* Chris Doran
* Geoffrey Ornstein
* Bill Melendez

Narrated by| Don Sherwood
Theme music composer| Vince Guaraldi
Opening theme| "Oh, Good Grief"
Ending theme| "Oh, Good Grief"
Composer| Vince Guaraldi
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
Production
Producer| Lee Mendelson
Cinematography| Sheldon Fay
Animator| Playhouse Pictures
Editor| Sheldon Fay
Running time| 30 minutes
Production companies| Lee Mendelson Film Productions
United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Original release
Release| December 1963 (1963-12)

A Boy Named Charlie Brown is an unaired television documentary film about Charles M. Schulz and his creation Peanuts, produced by Lee Mendelson with some animated scenes by Bill Melendez and music by Vince Guaraldi.[1]

## Background

[edit]

On October 6, 1963, a documentary producer and KPIX-TV PSA announcer named Lee Mendelson released a television documentary film about the life and career of baseball legend Willie Mays entitled A Man Named Mays, which aired on NBC that same day. In mid-December 1963, two months after the documentary was released, Mendelson decided that following his film about the best baseball player, he would produce a film about the worst baseball player, Charlie Brown. Mendelson subsequently hired animator Bill Melendez, who had experience working with the Peanuts characters in a handful of commercials for the Ford Motor Company from 1959 until 1962, to direct some interstitial animation based on the strips.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown was screened for the Greater San Francisco Advertising Club in the Spring of 1964, where it was received with considerable enthusiasm, but Mendelson was unsuccessful in securing sponsorship.[2]

Although the special never aired on television and later forfeited, the documentary was instrumental in starting the Greater San Francisco Advertising Committee and garnering commercial support and the creative teamwork that resulted in A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 and the ensuing series of Peanuts television specials. It was the first film to carry the Greater San Francisco Advertising Committee policy.

An album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio with music from the above documentary, originally titled Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, was released by Fantasy Records in 1964.

Portions of the unaired A Boy Named Charlie Brown were later broadcast in 1969 as Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz, a CBS documentary that preceded the release of Peanuts' first motion picture, also called A Boy Named Charlie Brown.[2]

## Voice cast

[edit]

* Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown. This is Robbins’s first performance as Charlie Brown.
* Christopher Shea as Linus van Pelt. This is Shea’s first performance as Linus.
* Karen Mendelson as Lucy van Pelt and Patty. This is Mendelson’s first and only performance as Lucy and her first performance as Patty.
* Sally Dryer as Violet Gray. This is Dryer’s first performance as Violet.
* Ann Altieri as Frieda. This is Altieri’s first performance as Frieda.
* Tracy Stratford provides Lucy van Pelt’s singing voice. Stratford would later go on to do Lucy’s speaking voice.
* Chris Doran as Schroeder and Shermy. This is Doran’s first performance as Schroeder and Shermy.
* Geoffrey Ornstein as Pig-Pen. This is Ornstein’s first performance as Pigpen.
* Bill Melendez as Snoopy. This is Melendez’s first performance as Snoopy.
* The documentary was Don Sherwood’s last film. Sherwood said that A Boy Named Charlie Brown is the closest project he did to relaying the Greater San Francisco Advertising Committee message.

## Home media

[edit]

A Boy Named Charlie Brown is available on DVD through the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Solomon, Charles (2012). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials. Chronicle Books. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1452110912.
2. ^ a b Bang, Derrick. Liner notes for A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017); Kritzerland, Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2020

## External links

[edit]

* A Boy Named Charlie Brown at IMDb
* Charles M. Schulz Museum store

* v
* t
* e

Peanuts filmography

Animated
specials|

* A Charlie Brown Christmas
* Charlie Brown's All Stars!
* It's the Great Pumpkin...
* You're in Love...
* He's Your Dog...
* It Was a Short Summer...
* Play It Again...
* You're Not Elected...
* There's No Time for Love...
* A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
* It's a Mystery...
* It's the Easter Beagle...
* Be My Valentine...
* You're a Good Sport...
* It's Arbor Day...
* It's Your First Kiss...
* What a Nightmare...
* You're the Greatest...
* She's a Good Skate...
* Life Is a Circus...
* It's Magic...
* Someday You'll Find Her...
* A Charlie Brown Celebration
* Is This Goodbye...?
* It's an Adventure...
* What Have We Learned...?
* It's Flashbeagle...
* Snoopy's Getting Married...
* You're a Good Man...
* Happy New Year...!
* Snoopy! The Musical
* It's the Girl in the Red Truck...
* Why, Charlie Brown, Why?
* Snoopy's Reunion
* It's Spring Training...
* It's Christmastime Again...
* You're in the Super Bowl...
* It Was My Best Birthday Ever...
* It's the Pied Piper...
* A Charlie Brown Valentine
* Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
* Lucy Must Be Traded...
* I Want a Dog for Christmas...
* He's a Bully...
* Happiness Is a Warm Blanket...
* For Auld Lang Syne
* It's The Small Things...
* To Mom (and Dad), With Love
* Lucy’s School
* One-of-a-Kind Marcie
* Welcome Home, Franklin

Feature films|

* A Boy Named Charlie Brown
* Snoopy Come Home
* Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
* Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)
* The Peanuts Movie

TV series|

* The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
* This Is America...
* Peanuts Motion Comics
* Peanuts
* Snoopy in Space
* The Snoopy Show
* episodes

Documentaries|

* A Boy Named Charlie Brown
* Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz
* Happy Anniversary...
* Happy Birthday...
* It's Your 20th Television Anniversary...
* You Don't Look 40...
* Good Grief... : A Tribute to Charles Schulz
* Here's to You... : 50 Great Years
* The Making of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Educational films|

* Tooth Brushing

Musicals|

* You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
* Snoopy! The Musical

* v
* t
* e

Vince Guaraldi

Studio albums|

* Modern Music from San Francisco (1956)
* Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956)
* A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing (1958)
* Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962)
* The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi (1964)
* Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1964)
* A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
* Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus (1967)
* Oh Good Grief! (1968)
* The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi (1969)
* Alma-Ville (1969)
* A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Selections from the Film Soundtrack (1970)
* A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017)
* It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2018)
* A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Original Soundtrack Recording (2023)
* It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2024)
* You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2024)
* Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown: Original Soundtrack Recording (2025)

Compilation albums|

* Jazz Impressions (1964)
* Greatest Hits (1980)
* Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits (1998)
* The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites (2003)
* Oaxaca (2004)
* North Beach (2006)
* Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials (2007)
* Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2 (2008)
* Essential Standards (2009)
* The Definitive Vince Guaraldi (2009)
* Peanuts Portraits (2010)
* The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi (2012)
* Peanuts Greatest Hits (2015)
* The Peanuts Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2015)
* The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings (2018)

Live albums|

* In Person (1963)
* At Grace Cathedral (1965)
* Live on the Air (2008)
* An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet (2011)

with Bola Sete|

* Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends (1964)
* From All Sides (1965)
* Live at El Matador (1966)
* Jazz Casual: Paul Winter/Bola Sete and Vince Guaraldi (2001)
* The Navy Swings (2010)

Singles|

* "Samba de Orpheus"/"Cast Your Fate to the Wind"
* "Zelao"/"Jitterbug Waltz"
* "Days of Wine and Roses"/"Star Song"
* "Treat Street"/"Mr. Lucky"
* "Oh, Good Grief"/"Linus and Lucy"
* "Theme to Grace"/"Adore Devote (Humbly I Adore Thee)"
* "Christmas Time Is Here"/"What Child Is This"
* "I'm a Loser"/"Favela"
* "Eleanor Rigby"/"Peppermint Patty"
* "Blowin' in the Wind"/"Monterey"
* "Linus and Lucy"/"Oh, Good Grief"
* "Christmas Time Is Here"/"Christmas Time Is Here" (alternate vocal Take 5)
* "O Tannenbaum"
* "Baseball Theme"/"Baseball Theme" (alternate take)

Tribute albums|

* Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (1989)
* Joe Cool's Blues (1995)
* Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi (1996)
* Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years! (2000)
* 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas (2005)
* Jazz for Peanuts (2008)
* Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2 (2010)
* The Peanuts Movie (2015)

Related articles|

* List of cover versions of Vince Guaraldi songs

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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