'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' airs Oct. 28 on ABC

The classic animated Halloween-themed "Peanuts" special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, as well as a bonus "Peanuts" cartoon in which Linus runs for class president, will air Thursday, Oct. 28 (8 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

In the 1966 animated special "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," The "Peanuts" gang celebrates Halloween, with Linus hoping that, finally, he will be visited by The Great Pumpkin, while Charlie Brown is invited to a Halloween party. Cast members include Peter Robbins ("Charlie Brown") and Christopher Shea ("Linus"). The cast also includes Sally Dryer as Lucy, Chris Doran as Schroeder, Bill Melendez as Snoopy, Kathy Steinberg as Sally, Tracy Stratford as Violet and Ann Altieri as Frieda.

The special was executive produced by Lee Mendelson and created and written by Schulz. Melendez is the producer and director and Vince Guaraldi is the music composer.

On Oct. 2, 1950, the "Peanuts" comic strip launched in seven American newspapers. Nearly 60 years later, the comic strip appears in more than 2,200 newspapers, in 75 countries and 21 languages. "Peanuts" animated specials have become a seasonal tradition and thousands of consumer products are available in virtually all retail channels. Mendelson and Melendez's association with Schulz stretches back to 1965 with "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which debuted on CBS in 1965 with Mendelson as executive producer and Melendez as animator and director. The three men continued their long-term association until Schulz's death, working together on 50 "Peanuts" network specials and four feature films. The network specials won five Emmys, two Peabodys, and 18 other Emmy nominations.