Peanuts cartoon studio that had Ford as a client. Schulz and Meléndez became friends, and when producer Lee Mendelson decided to make a two-minute animated sequence for a TV documentary called "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" in 1963, he brought on Meléndez for the project. Before the documentary was completed, the three of them (with help from their sponsor, the Coca-Cola Company) produced their first half-hour animated special, the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning "A Charlie Brown Christmas", which was first aired on the CBS network on December 9, 1965. This episode is undoubtedly the most widely recognized of all "Peanuts" TV
Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo 1998 Christmas season. In addition to the title character, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" included the first appearances of characters Father Maxi and Mr. Mackey. Both characters appeared in "Damien", which was produced before "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", but the Christmas episode aired first. Mr. Mackey was inspired by Parker's real-life school guidance counselor; Parker, who provides the voice for Mackey, said the real-life counselor was similarly thin and wiry and that Parker's voice for Mr. Mackey is an exact, unexaggerated version of how his counselor spoke. "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" includes several references to the "Peanuts" holiday