Existing comment:
Peter Robbins (left), age eight and a half, voiced the part of Charlie Brown in the special and Christopher Shea (right), age seven, was the voice of Linus. It was considered risky at the time to use child actors to provide the character's voice. Prior to A Charlie Brown Christmas, adults usually read children's parts in animated specials. Using child actors did present some unique challenges -- some of the actors did not read or did not read well and had to be "fed" their lines a couple of words at a time by director Bill Melendez.
Peter Robbins (actor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Robbins (born Louis Nanasi, August 10, 1956) is an American former child actor, voice actor and real estate broker. Robbins earned national fame in the 1960s as being the first actor to voice Charlie Brown in the Peanuts films and television specials. Robbins left the entertainment industry as an adult, later pursuing a career in real estate and brief stints in radio. Robbins spent much of the 2010s in legal trouble facing charges from threats and stalking; he served a four-year sentence in prison.
[Note: Chris Shea died in 2010, age 52.] |