a Charlie Brown Christmas page 5 by ric gustafson
Producer Lee Mendelson, with the approval of Charles Schulz, developed a documentary about Schultz and Peanuts. Lee took it to all of the networks including NBC. Nobody wanted it. The documentary was called ' A Boy Named Charlie Brown'. To Lee, it was a flop. Lee knew he needed a sponsor for the project to be a success.
In Atlanta Georgia, J Paul Austin was walking into the lobby of the Coca Cola headquarters. Austin was the President of the company. He was born on Feb 14 1915. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1940. Austin became President of Coca Cola in 1962.
In 1964, Austin joined the Board of Directors of General Electric. General Electric was producing a stop motion animation program for Dec 1964. GE's holiday special was based on a Montgomery Ward booklet called ' Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer'. The special was broadcast December 6 1964. The holiday special became an instant hit. Because of that, Coca Cola now wanted it's own holiday special.
research help: ' Charlie Brown's Christmas Miracle' by Michael Keane
Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric
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