Clark Gesner

Clark Gesner (March 27, 1938 – July 23, 2002) was an American composer, songwriter, author, and actor. He is best known for composing the musical ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'', based on the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''.

None of his other musicals (most notably ''The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall'' in 1979) had been able to match the success of ''...Charlie Brown'', though he had small success in regional productions (mostly ''Animal Fair'' in 1990).

Gesner's song "Happiness" became a hit standard in the 1960s, being recorded by various artists. The latter was also recorded in a smooth jazz version by David Benoit in May 2000, shortly after Charles M. Schulz's death, on an album entitled ''Here's To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!'' The album made it to #2 on the Top Jazz Albums chart. Provided by Wikipedia