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Bill Melendez Biography
Birth Name:José Cuauhtémoc Melendez
Birth Place:Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Profession Animation department, Director, Producer, Actor, Writer, Soundtrack, Editorial department, Music department
Fast Facts
- Eighteen of the 20 winners in the 1960 American TV Commercials Festival in New York were directed by him
- Won three Art Director's Medals between 1957 and 1961
- Won the George Foster Peabody Award for outstanding children or young people's program for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," among other awards
- Studied at theLos Angeles, Calif․, Chouinard Art Institute, later renamed CalArts
- Walk Disney hired him in 1938, and he worked as an animator on such classics as "Fantasia," "Pinocchio," "Bambi," "The Wind in the Willows" and "Dumbo․"
- Directed industrial films for John Sutherland Productions for 10 years
- Founded Bill Melendez Productions, Inc․ in 1964, which would go on to produce many classic Charlie Brown cartoons, the first being "A Charlie Brown Christmas․"
- Signed with Leon Schlesinger Cartoons in 1941, and the studio became known as Warner Bros․ Cartoons, he animated many Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig short stories
- Started working for United Productions of America in 1948
- Was one of the prime movers in the Disney strike of 1941
Awards
- 1966Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Program: winner
- 1967Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Program: nominated
- 1967Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Program: nominated
- 1967Primetime Emmy-Special Classifications of Individual Achievements: nominated
- 1968Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming - Programs: nominated
- 1968Primetime Emmy-Special Classification of Individual Achievements: nominated
- 1971Oscar-Best Music, Original Song Score: nominated
- 1974Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Special: nominated
- 1975Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Special: nominated
- 1975Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Children's Special: nominated
- 1978Grammy-Best Recording for Children: nominated
- 1979Grammy-Best Recording for Children: nominated
- 1979Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1979Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Individual Achievement - Animation Program: nominated
- 1980Grammy-Best Recording for Children: nominated
- 1981Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1982Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1983Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1983Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1984Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1984Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: winner
- 1985Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1986Daytime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program: nominated
- 1990Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less): nominated