[Off-Topic]: "Charlie Brown Christmas Hits 50" + a bizarre twist The "Charlie Brown Christmas" Special Was the Flop That Wasn't
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charlie-brown-christmas-special-history-television-classic-cbs-180957490/?no-ist [CBS executives] didn't get the voices," Mendelson told The Washington Post. "They didn't get the music. They didn't get the pacing." CBS would only air the show, executives said, because they had already scheduled it to run the following week. Prior to the airing, Time magazine published a review of the special that presaged its overwhelming reception. "A 'Charlie Brown Christmas' is one children's special that bears repeating," wrote Richard Burgheim. On Thursday, December 9, 1965, over 15 million households tuned in to judge for themselves. The reception would turn the special into a classic. CBS soon learned that nearly half of American television sets had watched what the network thought would be a flop. - - - Premiering a half-century ago today, everyone involved was surprised at the beloved classic that resulted, very much more than the seeming sum of its parts. But the world remains a bastion of the bizarre, as coincident with this anniversary comes word that Peter Robbins (59) who voiced Charlie Brown in that original classic and in numerous later "Peanuts" specials, was just this past Monday sentenced to nearly five years in prison for admitting he had hired someone to kill the sheriff of San Diego. GOOD GRIEF! (Details at: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/peter-robbins-who-voiced-charlie-brown-sentenced-to-jail-w159234). --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com I have consulted to Google, but I am not currently doing so. My opinions expressed here are mine alone. _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
