On December 9, 1965, CBS aired the holiday special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Last Monday was the 59th anniversary of that special. When the executives first saw the final cut, they weren’t too thrilled, after all, the story was about the crass commercialization of Christmas, not a topic too fond with the sponsor, Coca-Cola! But supposedly they already had ads out about it, so they had no choice but to air it and it became a classic Christmas special.
On the occasion of this anniversary of this special I have six links to online articles and an SNL parody video of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and then there’s the MBIP Coming Attractions for the return of MBIP next week!
CBS Execs Hated 'Charlie Brown Christmas,' Predicted It Would Flop: Producer - Producer Lee Mendelson remembers how CBS executives said it would be the first and last Charlie Brown show. As we now know, that didn’t turn out to be true!
13 Fun Facts About A Charlie Brown Christmas - This special killed the aluminum Xmas tree!
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”: The gospel truth behind how a humble ‘Peanuts’ holiday classic defied the odds - An all-inclusive story about this seasonal classic.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: 10 Little-Known Facts About The Animated Special You Didn’t Know - Very cool that Charles Schulz stood up against them using a laugh track. That would’ve really cheapened it!
Jean Schulz’s Blog: Refections On A Charlie Brown Christmas - Reflections on the special from Charles Schulz’s widow, Jean Schulz.
“What Is Christmas All About?”: A Charlie Brown Christmas - This article delves into the holiday special and also the songs that were used in the show along with videos of them.
SNL TV Funhouse Charlie Brown Christmas - A classic SNL skit about a classic show!
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MBIP Coming Attractions
Monday: I went to Peoria’s newest cocktail bar and had a Hamm’s beer and a tasty Pepperoni Pizza. The bar is called Nightjar and it just opened up, so I’ll have photos of Peoria’s newest night time destination tomorrow!
Tuesday: Believe it or not, we’re just about done with our MBIP Doughnut eating tour. This Tuesday will be the second to last post and for this one we traveled out of Peoria to Canton and we sampled some excellent doughnuts from a place that only sells doughnuts and the name of this establishment is…what other than…Just Donuts!
Wednesday: I was honored with a Proclamation from Peoria, Illinois by Mayor Rita Ali and Stacy Peterson last Wednesday and I’ll have photos from that and a few from The Greg and Dan Show who had me on as a guest the next day to chat about it.
Thursday: It’s hard to believe, but we’re up to double digits in our monthly fried chicken tour! Month number ten takes us to Carrigan’s Pub in East Peoria, they’re famous for their fried chicken and we found out why! You will too if you tune in on Thursday.
Friday: We’ll have another snack break post and this one will feature some snacks from Jimmy’s Bar!
Saturday: We’ll be taking a look back at Peoria’s past with yet another, Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past post.
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Sunday Comic
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Related Posts: Sunday Links: John Lennon Shooting, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Magical Mystery Tour.