Does anyone remember Snoopy having a voice? I didn’t, but it seems that Charlie Brown’s canine sidekick did in fact utter a few words (or sounds) and the man behind them was Mexican animator and director Bill (née José Cuauhtemoc) Meléndez, who passed away this week at age 91.

Much more than the voice of Snoopy (and Woodstock), Meléndez was the first Mexican animator to work for Walt Disney, back in 1938. He went on to work for Warner Brothers, animating such classics as Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig.

Drawing on his experience at the big animation houses, Melendez founded his own company in the mid-sixties and produced the holiday mainstay A Charlie Brown Christmas, for which he won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Meléndez went on to produce over 70 Peanuts specials with creator Charles Schulz.

A true pioneer in the field of animation, Meléndez will be missed by Peanuts fans all over.

Via / Radio Perú