Six decades ago — Dec. 9, 1965 — television history was made.
For it was on that date one of America’s most beloved cartoon strips jumped from arriving on porches in the morning paper to beaming into the family living room that evening.
What had started as a four-panel, black-and-white daily in October 1950 found almost 15.5 million American households tuning in to see their favorite characters come to life. It captured roughly 45% of the total viewing audience that night and was the second-highest rated program of the week, trailing only to the powerhouse NBC western “Bonanza.”
The comic strip is the Charles M. Schulz creation, “Peanuts,” and that history-making broadcast was “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a broadcast that, after its first screening, CBS executives had feared would be a disaster. So much was their disdain for the show they would have pulled it if they could. But Coca-Cola, the main sponsor, expected a finished product — the network already had been airing promotional spots, and advertisers were locked in.
And tens of millions of children and adults alike — your humble columnist included — are thankful they never got that chance.
The show speaks for itself, but the backstory is amazing as well. I found a YouTube channel on that story that’s worthy of sharing: “A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): 15 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know.”
I submit to you a few excerpts regarding that backstory that I think you’ll enjoy.
I also encourage you view the video, as there’s much more than I can include here.
The kids were just general kids from schools and production staff families, some too young to even read a script. Director Bill Melendez solved that by feeding them their lines piece by piece and having them repeat it back. Sound engineers then stitched it all together.
In a reversal of “life imitating art,” an adult Christopher Shea (Linus Van Pelt) notes: “I remember when I went in to audition, I was 7 years old, but even at 7 I did still suck my thumb and I did have a blanket, and I did use that.”
And it was all recorded in a single day. Melendez recalled “directing them was like trying to direct rabbits, but the end result? Pure charm.”
The jazz soundtrack that is so iconic today is due to a taxi ride. Producer Lee Mendelsen heard Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” playing on the radio and was convinced Guaraldi should write the score. The production team was less than enthusiastic about soft jazz as the soundtrack for a children’s special, but director Bill Melendez forged ahead, and magic found its bottle. Schulz approved it the moment he heard it and recollected it was “honest, the emotional glue holding the entire story together.”
The 1965 Vince Guaraldi Trio soundtrack wasn’t just a holiday one off, it went on to become one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.
The show itself won the 1966 prime-time Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Programming. When Lee and Bill brought Charles Schulz with them on stage, Schulz accepted the award in true Charlie Brown fashion: “Charlie Brown is not used to winning, so, we thank you.”
In the days before VCRs, DVDs, DVRs and streaming, it took conscious planning to ensure the family was home on the night it would air. And for yours truly, it was one of the few nights of the year that TV trays were allowed in the living room if supper was running late.
CBS would broadcast it annually for the next 55 years. Sadly, that tradition ended in 2020 when Apple acquired the exclusive rights to the “Peanuts” library. But not all is lost. This Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14, 2025, Apple TV+ is offering a free viewing window via the tv.apple.com link or Apple TV app.
Born from an inquiry by a Coca-Cola ad agent, burdened with a low budget ($76,000) and a seemingly impossible schedule (barely six months), “A Charlie Brown Christmas” should have never made it to air. But it did, and we’re all better off for it.
Yes, on its face, it’s just a Christmas cartoon, but in its message is the true meaning of Christmas. And that’s the most special of all.