PEANUTS™ Characters Magically Appear in San Diego & Costa Mesa!
It’s Magic, Charlie Brown to Premier at Gallery
Exhibition at the Chuck Jones Gallery Honors Larry Leichliter,
Animator of PEANUTS™ Animated Specials
Costa Mesa, CA—In a rare public appearance, Larry Leichliter, PEANUTS animation artist will be the special guest-of-honor at both Chuck Jones Galleries in California on Saturday, December 1st (San Diego, 5 to 8 PM) and Sunday, December 2nd (Costa Mesa, 12:30 PM to 3 PM) as the galleries unveil original production art from “It’s Magic, Charlie Brown!”, a 1981 television special produced by Bill Melendez, directed by Phil Roman; Leichliter was one of the animators who worked on this film. The reception and exhibition at the galleries will feature original production art, limited edition cel art and rare sold-out cel art editions from many of the most famous PEANUTS television specials of the last 40 years. Mr. Leichliter will also be signing and dedicating art purchased at this event.
The San Diego Chuck Jones Gallery is located at 232 Fifth Avenue in the city’s historic GasLamp Quarter. The Costa Mesa Chuck Jones Gallery can be found at 3321 Hyland Avenue in Orange County’s newest shopping destination, South Coast Collection (SoCo).
Mr. Leichliter’s career in animation began in the 1960s working for Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera at their studio creating animation for television. While there, he worked alongside some of the most renowned animators of the “Golden Age” of animation including Iwao Takamoto and Wiley Ito. Likening working in animation to that of the life of a nomad, Leichliter’s career included stints with Ralph Bakshi where he was able to work with the great animator, Irv Spence (known for his fluid animation of MGM’s Tom & Jerry cartoons of the 1950s) and before he hung his hat at Bill Melendez Productions, the home of the Peanuts television specials, advertising and films. Leichliter has also directed several animation shows for Nickelodeon including SpongeBob SquarePants and Hey, Arnold!
About the galleries: The Chuck Jones Gallery is the destination for art collectors and visitors from around the world. Owned by Linda Jones Enterprises, the publisher and distributor of the art of the legendary animation creator and director, Chuck Jones, it is the only gallery in Orange and San Diego County devoted to the art of the animated film. Included in the on-going display is art from all major animation studios as well as original paintings and limited edition fine art from a variety of internationally known artists and photographers whose work is entertainment related. For more information please call the Costa Mesa gallery at 866-248-2556 or the San Diego gallery at 888-294-9880. The Chuck Jones Gallery may be found online at www.ChuckJones.com. Blog: Chuck Redux.
Mr. Leichliter is available for phone interviews prior to the show and onsite the day of the event. Photos of exhibition art for publication are available upon request.
