Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown is a prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was originally aired on the CBS network on January 5, 1979.This episode celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip and the 15th anniversary of animated Peanuts specials on CBS, which both took place the following year, in 1980. It included an interview with Charles M. Schulz. Phyllis George hosted.