Jazz, joy and one ragged Christmas tree: 60 years of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
Sixty years ago — on Dec. 9, 1965 — a holiday special launched a new Christmas tradition. A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered, and it would become a beloved annual broadcast.
For decades viewers gathered to watch down-on-his-luck 8-year-old Charlie Brown, the star of the Peanuts comic strip, navigate the true meaning of Christmas. It was the first of many Charlie Brown holiday specials to come.
In 1995, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz spoke with NPR’s Bob Edwards, reflecting on the specific vision he had for this animated special.
The following exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Charles Schulz: When we first started doing the commercial Peanuts characters, some of the advertising people thought we should use adults imitating children, but that didn’t work at all. And then we had to decide whether Snoopy should talk, because he doesn’t really talk, he just thinks in the comic strip. So I insisted that we didn’t try to give Snoopy a voice. And then of course, I think the biggest decision — which we’ve forgotten all about now — is the fact that I said no laugh track. I don’t think we have to be told when and where to laugh.
Bob Edwards: And we knew what cartoon music sounded like.
Schulz: Yeah. Remember the old cartoon music with the saxophones and things like that?
Edwards: Lots of sound effects.
Schulz: This was different. You know, Vince Guaraldi — who died, unfortunately, a few years ago — is a wonderful man, died much too young. But he had never done music for a soundtrack like this. […] He didn’t write it scene-by-scene and try to have it fit, according to what was going on. He just knew roughly what the scenes were going to be. And he wrote the jazz score. And somehow, again, all the little things that could have gone wrong just seemed to go right. And of course that wonderful song “Linus and Lucy” has become a minor classic now.
Charles Schulz died in February 2000, the night before his final comic strip ran in the Sunday paper. The rights to the animated specials were purchased by Apple TV in 2020. A Charlie Brown Christmas can be streamed for free Dec. 13 and 14.
California fire victims say fighting with insurance companies has delayed rebuilding
Wildfires last January destroyed communities around Los Angeles. Homeowners say recovery has been slowed by fights with insurers to get their claims paid.
What to know about Trump’s ugly feud with the Federal Reserve
A Justice Department probe of the Federal Reserve marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration's effort to bend the independent central bank to the president's will.
A conservative Supreme Court tackles the question of trans women in school sports
The first case involves an Idaho student barred by state law from trying out for the track team; the second was brought by a West Virginia middle schooler barred by state law from competing.
Today is the Smithsonian’s deadline to give thousands of documents to the White House
The White House says the Smithsonian Institution must submit materials about current and upcoming exhibitions and events for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology."
Trump administration to shutter an immigration court, adding to judges’ backlog
The planned closure of the San Francisco Immigration Court comes as immigration judges spent the last year facing pressure to move through their caseloads faster and streamline deportations.
Trump heads to Detroit to give a speech refocusing on the American economy
The speech at the Detroit Economic Club comes after major foreign policy moves have overshadowed domestic policy.
