Bill Melendez
| Bill Melendez | |
|---|---|
| Born |
José Cuauhtémoc Meléndez November 15, 1916 Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico |
| Died | September 2, 2008 (aged 91) Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Occupation | Animator, film director, voice artist, producer |
| Years active | 1938–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Melendez (m. 1940; his death 2008) |
| Children | Steven C. Melendez, Rodrigo Melendez |
José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was a Mexican American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Walt Disney Productions (working on four Disney films Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi), Warner Bros. Cartoons, UPA and the Peanuts series. Melendez provided the voices of Snoopy and in the latter as well.
A native of the Mexican city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Melendez was educated in U.S. public schools in Douglas, Arizona. He was a very good student, and later attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (which would later become California Institute of the Arts).
Following the 1941 Disney strike, Bill was hired by Leon Schlesinger to animate in Bob Clampett's unit. After Clampett's departure, Bill moved to the Arthur Davis unit. When the number of animation units at Warner Bros. was reduced from four to three in 1948, Melendez, after being moved to Robert McKimson's unit for a time, moved over to United Productions of America (UPA) where he animated on cartoons such as Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950). Melendez also produced and directed thousands of television commercials, first at UPA, then Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Productions. In 1963, Melendez founded his own studio in the basement of his Hollywood home. Bill Melendez Productions is still active and is currently run by his son Steven C. Melendez. In addition to animation, Melendez was once a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Cinema Arts Department.
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