Think you know everything about A Charlie Brown Christmas? Think again. Here are 11 quick facts you've probably never heard before.
Before it was popular to cast twenty-somethings as teens on TV, Peanuts did it first, casting short adults to play children.
Lucy, then 24, was already married. If you look closely in one scene you'll see where she forgot to take off her wedding ring.
A young Robert Guillaume was originally cast as an extra, but was later replaced by a white girl named Violet.
Charlie Brown actually had a a horrible disease called Hydrocephalus which caused his head to be abnormally large.
Linus quoting the bible in regards to the meaning of Christmas was actually improvised by him. The director loved it so much he decided to keep it in.
Everyone's favorite beagle was all made up. Snoopy was actually played by a terrier.
Pig-Pen was that dirty because he was homeless. After shooting 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' finished, the studio respectfully returned him to the streets.
The original ending called for Charlie Brown to commit suicide but was deemed "too happy an ending" for the modern day Sisyphus.
The short was originally intended to be a thinly veiled allegory about the Cuban missile crisis. While it was later changed to a boy and his tree, threads of the original script are still there.
The original choice for the score was a new band by the name of The Grateful Dead but too many of the actors were getting high and, as a result, TGD was replaced by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
Speaking of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, did you know that other than 'Christmas Time Is Here', you can't name the title for any of their other songs?
I didn't know most of that.
ReplyDeleteAlthough originally, instead of the Bible verse, Linus was to read a list of those he wanted run out of town for not being Great Pumpkin believers.
Did you know that Schultz originally titled the strip "Cashews" and that Charlie Brown pined after a "little white-haired girl," both of which were ideas later swiped by The Jetsons?
ReplyDeleteDarn those thieving Jetsons. This is why we can't have nice things.
ReplyDeleteThat was funny Tim!
ReplyDeleteSnoopy was a Terrier? Oh man! I guess if Lassie could be played by a midget, then why not?