Classic Media, LLC, is an American animation studio, production company and distributor of family programming and classic theatrical and made-for-television films. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to them.

Their library consists of properties that they acquired from other companies, including United Productions of America, Harvey Entertainment, Golden Books Family Entertainment, Big Idea Entertainment, and Entertainment Rights.

In May 2000, Ellenbogen and Engelman launch Classic Media with funding from Pegasus Capital Advisors, Frank Biondi's Waterview Partners and the Tisch family. Classic acquired a number of companies for their media properties including UPA and Harvey Entertainment With Random House in 2001, Classic Media wins a bankruptcy court auction for the assets of Golden Books Family Entertainment including the assumption the debt with Random House receiving all the publishing properties and Classic its entertainment division. In 2002, the company teamed up with the estate of Jay Ward to create a joint venture called Bullwinkle Studios, which manages all rights to the Jay Ward Productions animated catalog (with Classic Media owning an 80% stake and the Ward estate owning 20%). In 2003, Classic Media purchased the assets of the bankrupt Big Idea Productions.

José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was a Mexican-American character animator, film director, voice artist and producer, known for his cartoons for Warner Brothers, UPA and the Peanuts series. Melendez provided the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock in the latter as well.

His father named General Ramon Melendez, a military soldier, originally named him Cuauthemoc Melendez, but had a big fight with his priest, and his mother agreed with the priest, that didn't like the name Cuauthemoc. A native of the Mexican city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Melendez was educated in U.S. public schools in Douglas, Arizona. and had good grades. Later he attended in Los Angeles the Chouinard Art Institute (which would later become California Institute of the Arts).

Following the 1941 Disney strike, Bill was hired by Leon Schlesinger to animate in Bob Clampett's unit. After Clampett's departure, Bill moved to the Arthur Davis unit. When the number of animation units at Warner Bros. was reduced from four to three in 1948, Melendez, after being moved to Robert McKimson's unit for a time, moved over to United Productions of America (UPA) where he animated on cartoons such as Gerald McBoing-Boing. Melendez also produced and directed thousands of television commercials, first at UPA, then Playhouse Pictures and John Sutherland Productions. In 1963, Melendez founded his own studio in the basement of his Hollywood home. Bill Melendez Productions is still active and is currently run by his son Steven Melendez. In addition to animation, Melendez was once a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Cinema Arts Department.

Jim Whelan (born November 8, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey State Senate where he represents the 2nd legislative district, having taken office on January 8, 2008.

Whelan was born in Philadelphia and attended Temple University where he became a nationally-ranked distance swimmer before a broken leg in his senior year cut short his career. His achievements, however, ultimately led to his induction in the Temple University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. He received a M.Ed. from Temple University.

In 1977, Whelan took a job in the Atlantic City School District. Four years later, he made his first foray into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1981. The following year, he won election to the Atlantic City Council, in 1982, and was re-elected in 1986. He won the mayor's office in a landslide in 1990. Whelan served three terms as Mayor of Atlantic City.

Whelan was elected president of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors^{[citation needed]}.